NBB® Nutrient Media for Beer-Spoiling Bacteria

Innovative detection system for beer-spoiling bacteria

Beer spoilage microorganisms are mainly facultative or obligate anaerobic lactic acid bacteria that are alcohol and hop tolerant, e.g. Lactobacillus brevis, L. lindneri or Pediococci, etc. The spoilage microbes may already be present in raw materials such as water or company yeasts and in subsequent production path from brew house to bottling, from unfiltered to bottled beer. They can be introduced, for example, by inadequate industrial hygiene, contaminated raw materials, empty reusable containers, returned beer, biofilm formation in bottling, or even by humans.

The NBB® portfolio comprises solid and liquid media in order to provide the ideal detection solution for all samples throughout the entire brewing process. During the development of this medium around 40 years ago, the inventor, Prof. Werner Back prioritised safety, speed, selectivity and cost efficiency. The discovery of specific growth promoters ensures that even bacteria with very slow growth can be safely detected within a short period of time, while a balanced system of inhibitors suppresses the dominating yeast culture.

Since then, NBB has faced the constant challenge of being able to detect new bacteria such as Lactobacillus acetotolerans. Every NBB production batch is tested for functionality using a bacterial panel of select isolates. This is why renowned customers active in the brewing industry around the world place their trust in this high standard, extensive knowledge and expertise. Publications containing independent investigations and comparisons reinforce the product’s position as the market leader.

• NBB®-B (broth) is a ready-to-use broth primarily intended for testing brewing yeast for beer-spoiling bacteria. A pH-based colour indicator shows possible contaminations early on by changing colour from red to yellow.
• Ready-to-use NBB®-C (concentrated broth) is used to test large sample volumes of unfiltered and filtered beer to safely detect even the smallest numbers of bacteria.
• NBB®-A (agar) is a ready-to-use agar medium for quantitative detection, primarily of membrane filtered beer. A pH-based colour indicator shows possible contaminations early on by changing colour from red to yellow.
• NBB®-PCR Broth is a ready-to-use liquid enrichment specifically for subsequent PCR analysis, see link.
• NBB®-B-Am is used in hygiene monitoring, see link.