Watch the correct way to aseptically sample beer (i.e., not contaminate a sample) in this excellent video

My endless roaming of the internet continues to benefit CBB readers. As I was looking to see if the American Malting Barley Association had a Twitter handle (it does not), I ran across the American Society of Brewing Chemists (Google thought I might enjoy ASBC’s Twitter account instead). Intrigued, I jumped over to the trade chemists’ website and realized the American Society of Brewing Chemists has been improving technical uniformity in brewing chemistry since 1934. Wow. ASBC provides:

• Analytical, scientific process control methods to ensure high-quality and safety standards
• Science-based approaches and solutions to industry-wide issues
• Scientific support to evaluate raw materials for optimum performance
• Professional development opportunities
• And apparently, some pretty darn cool videos

Well, ASBC has only made two videos right now — both released last year (I completely missed them), both produced with the Brewers Association and both are equally awesome. Make more! These five-minute mini movies are great technical explanations of microbiological control methods, and they’re both really well produced. Example: You absolutely do not want a false positive growth in your beer sample, so avoid contamination with precautions — a sterile sample receptacle, cotton swabs, wash bottle of 70 percent alcohol, flame source, gloves and more. Watch the video above. It explains it expertly.

Below, is the second video: ASBC Microbiological Control 5l: Differential culture media for lactobacillus and pediococcus. We reached out to the Brewers Association to see if any more videos are in the works. We’ll update this article.