The Small-but-sophisticated Award went to Vintessential Tasmania
Greer Carland and I (Annie Baldwin) were ever so delighted to receive the inaugural BIRA ‘Small but Sophisticated Laboratory of the year’ for 2018. We have proudly placed our award for all to see in our reception area.
A bit about…
Fermented juice drink ordered off the shelves by the Health Department!
A concerned client raced in to see us recently after their low-alcohol fermented juice drink had been ordered to be taken off shop shelves by the State Health Department. They produce a “healthy, partially-fermented juice product” that is…
Alcohol in other fermented drinks
The market place seems to have no end of interest in other fermented drinks. It is no news that craft brewers are popping up all over the country. Cider makers are also much more prevalent now than say a decade ago. And of course craft distillers…
Low alcohol “artisan” drinks
We are seeing more and more interesting styles of fermented drinks in our labs. A number of them (e.g. kombucha) are usually sold as a fermented beverage, but are not intended to be alcoholic. Often these drinks are marketed as a healthy alternative…
Did I flush the tank before putting the gin in it?
A client cleaned his stainless steel tank with caustic solution (Sodium Hydroxide) and then couldn’t remember if he had neutralised the caustic with citric acid. Gin was then added to the tank and the distiller was worried that the gin could…
Cider pre-bottling analysis
We recently had a client ask us to check the condition of their cider before they bottled it. The cider was to contain enough sugar at bottling so a secondary fermentation in the bottle would occur and a sparkling cider would result.
The…
Why does my cider have high acidity?
A cider-maker had concerns about the high level of acidity in his cider. He had measured the pH and got a result of 3.1, which is low for this style of drink. He said he thought it tasted “a bit acidic” as well. He couldn’t think why the…
Foaming cider kegs
We recently had a customer who had a cider product that was in kegs and was giving a hotel customer some issues. The keg in question was foaming so much that the publican could not use the product at all and returned the keg to the maker. There…
Bacteria in drinking water
Many producers in rural areas use rainwater for drinking water in their tasting rooms and restaurants. Normally the rainwater is not treated the way that reticulated town water is. This can be a health risk due to the presence of bacteria in…
