CASE PROBLEM 3.
1 (page 145)
Quality Control at Rainwater Brewery
Overview
Rainwater Brewery is a micro-brewery that has developed a proven product with an
appealing taste. Their primary concern is to ensure that the quality of the beer that they
brew is not compromised. Hence, they are planning about what quality-control techniques
they should employ. They cannot financially afford to reject the entire batch of 1000 bottles
if the taste or colour of the beer was even a little off the norm.
The process chart of Rainwater Brewery is shown below:
Mixture ready
according to
Ingredient the formula Placed in
Mixture is Stainless
ready
cooked in container
according to
Vat
formula
Specific gravity starts Mixture is
out about 1.006 to fermented for
1.008 & decrease several weeks
about 1.002. Temp is
Brew filtered 50-60 F
PH, specific
into
Stainless gravity,
Brew Temperature
pressurized
fermented monitored
container
daily
Temperature
monitored
Carbonated
and the Filling in the Distribution
beverages bottle
for a week Ready for
Ready for filling
distribution
Quality Control and Management
Quality Control and Management is an important aspect of production. If the quality is not
up to the mark, then huge financial losses will have to be incurred which will not be good for
the company. Hence, it is advisable to spend on quality control rather than spend money
firefighting and dealing with the consequences.
The quality costs are of two types: Conformance costs and Non-conformance costs. Under
conformance costs, we have prevention costs and appraisal costs and under non-
conformance costs we have costs incurred due to internal failures and those incurred due to
external failures.
For Rainwater Brewery, the emphasis should be on the prevention of defective and poor-
quality beer in order to reduce the probability of producing defective products. Prevention
activities lead to reduction of appraisal costs and both type of failures, that is, internal
failures and external failures. Hence, different quality control methods should be used to
ensure good quality and lesser financial burden later.
Quality Control Methods and Tools
1) Prevention Activities: Those activities associated with design, implementation,
maintenance, and planning prior to actual operation in order to avoid defects from
happening in the first place.
Sensory methods: It is very important to evaluate your beer in order to
identify any quality issues prior to releasing. It includes evaluating the taste
and colour of the beer as well. There are several software programs available
nowadays that help in tracking the sensory results. In order to successfully
carry out this program and analyse the results, it is essential to have a good
and clean glassware, a dedicated room to perform the sensory, and a well-
trained team to evaluate the samples.
Supplier evaluation: A thorough evaluation of the supplier and the raw
materials that have been provided by them would also be a very useful
quality control tool and help in prevention of defects.
Quality training programs: Qualified personnel is required to carry out
evaluation of taste and colour of the beer being manufactured to ensure
minimum deviations from the expected and required product and thereby,
reducing chances of incurring costs due to poor quality. Hence, putting
regular quality training programs in place would contribute immensely in
maintaining the quality of the brewery process as well as saving unnecessary
costs.
2) Appraisal Activities: Such activities are focussed more on the discovery of defects
rather than prevention of defects. These activities are carried out to detect defects
to assure conformance to quality standards and require analysis using specific
instruments and chemical tests.
PH analysis: A pH meter should be used to note down and monitor the pH
daily of the mixture before fermentation. By comparing the pH of the new
batch of beer with the standard pH limit, errors can be found and rectified at
that stage itself preventing incurring costs due to poor quality.
Package beer must be analysed for CO2 content (carbonation) and bottle
“air” for flavour stability. These are both measured on a device called a
Zahm-Nagel.
Consistency: Consistency in the brewing process is achieved through quality
control which includes regular testing and monitoring of ingredients and
processes to achieve consistent result over multiple batches and minimize
the risk of contamination. Digital testing technology is said to be easy to use
and available for every level of brewer and hence, should be utilized to
maintain consistency in the brewing process.
These are the quality control techniques which should be employed by Rainwater Brewery
to ensure that their beer is up to the mark and to avoid future financial costs which they
might have to incur in case of a poor quality product.
