Finnish Scientists Step Up To Counter Exploding Beer Bottles

, Finnish Scientists Step Up To Counter Exploding Beer Bottles

(Courtesy Lakefront Brewery)

Reports of exploding beer bottles are on the rise. But one group of Finnish scientist may have developed a solution to this growing scourge…

Here’s the deal…

Just last week, the Lakefront Brewery was forced to recall bottles of a popular sour ale that they deemed “too volatile and has risk of explosion,” and they are others. But now researchers at Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) have developed a solution that may help stem this brewing crisis.

VTT cites diastaticus yeasts as “one of the most important and problematic contaminants” in the brewing industry. Considered a “hyperattenuator” Diastaticus ferments beer far beyond what ordinary brewer’s yeast is capable of.

Diastatic yeasts are increasingly being used intentionally for their super-attenuating properties in the production of sours and dry saisons. And in addition to causing occasional off-flavors and alcohol level instability, their use can lead to exploding beer bottles and cans  due secondary fermentations that can led to shrapnel injuries(!).

, Finnish Scientists Step Up To Counter Exploding Beer BottlesMicrobiological tests currently do exist to detect this problem. But those tests are painstaking processes that take several days to yield results.

But now scientists at VTT have come up with a new process that’s more reliable, saves money and delivers results in just hours, decreasing the likelihood of exploding beer bottles and cans and costly product recalls.

“We don’t have an exact date for when this new technology will be available on the market, but we expect by next year because the test itself is quite straightforward,’ Principal Scientist Brian Gibson reported to Food Ingredients First.

The research results were published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

But with the ‘explosive’ growth of Wild Ales around the world, this test’s arrival can’t happen soon enough.

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