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Lab Analyses & Technical Consulting

We don’t just sell individual products. Working with Murphy & Son’s technical and laboratory team, we help identify the cause of a process problem, choose a suitable solution, and set its dosing for your specific brewery.

Depending on the request, a recommendation may draw on a water analysis, a lab test of a sample, a trial of different fining doses, or an assessment of the recipe and production process.

Murphy operates dedicated chemical and microbiological laboratories and offers analyses of beer, water and raw materials, as well as fining optimisation. The lab holds UKAS accreditation; for any specific analysis, it’s always worth checking the accreditation scope stated on the resulting report.

Consult a process problem

Services offered

Water analysis & treatment design

Based on a lab analysis of your source water, the target beer style and the technology you use, we design a suitable water treatment approach.

reducing alkalinity with AMS
adjusting the chloride-to-sulphate ratio
topping up calcium, magnesium or other minerals
a recommendation to use DWB or individual mineral salts
guideline dosing for both mashing and sparging water

For a precise design we need a current water analysis, the target beer style, the water volume and basic information about your process. Murphy offers both a complete water analysis and analysis of individual ions.

Gluten content testing

Lab analysis lets you verify the gluten content of the finished beer, for example when using the DeHaze enzyme.

Using the enzyme reduces gluten content, but that alone is not proof that a specific batch meets the requirements for a "gluten-free" label. If a beer is to carry a gluten-related claim, we recommend testing every production batch with a suitable analytical method and keeping the results on file. Murphy offers both standard and expedited gluten testing.

Fining dosage optimisation

Fining performance depends on the raw materials, process, temperature, contact time and separation method. Trialling several doses on a sample of wort or beer lets us determine the dose suited to your specific operation.

Protafloc and Koppakleer
Super F and other cold-side finings
Pristine PVPP and Pristine PRO
combined fining and beer stabilisation

The output is a recommended dose, application point and, where relevant, a proposed production trial. Murphy states that for its finings it runs optimisation on a supplied sample and then provides a report with the recommended dosing. We don’t promise this service is automatically free of charge — price, sample shipping and scope of work are always confirmed in advance.

Product & application selection

If the cause of a problem isn’t clearly identified, we start with a short technical consultation. Based on that, we decide whether a product recommendation is enough, a production trial is needed, or it makes sense to send a sample to the lab.

a suitable product or combination of products
a guideline starting dose
the application point and method
the required contact time
a plan for assessing the first production trial

Ongoing quality control

As a lower-key supplementary service, we can help set up a regular quality-control programme. Murphy offers, for example, measurement of alcohol, bitterness, colour, CO₂ and polyphenols, microbiological analyses, and stability testing. Scope and frequency can be tailored to your brewery.

Troubleshooting process problems

Problem	What we assess	Possible outcome
Haze	Haze type, malt used, wort clarity, filtration and stabilisation	Adjusted fining, an enzymatic solution, or a PVPP + silica gel combination
Diacetyl	Fermentation progress, temperature, yeast and, where relevant, a VDK analysis	A process adjustment or a recommendation of ALDC
Sulphur notes	The nature of the fault, yeast condition, nutrition and fermentation progress	Preventive measures or a verification trial with Zetolite 63
Unstable foam	Recipe, process, filtration, cleaning agents and dispense	A process measure or a recommendation of PGA Solution
Excess foaming	The location and intensity of foaming in the copper, fermenter or CIP	A recommendation of ReFoam and a suitable application point
Inconsistent fermentation	Yeast condition, available nutrition, temperature and raw materials	A nutrition adjustment, dosing Yeast Vit, or an enzymatic solution

How the collaboration works

You describe the problem or the result you’re after.

You add the recipe, batch size, process and current product dosing.

We determine whether a consultation is enough, or a lab analysis or sample optimisation is needed.

Before sending a sample, we confirm its quantity, packaging, address, price and expected turnaround.

You receive the result and a recommendation on product, dosing and application.

After the first production trial, the recommendation can be refined further.

For many lab services, Murphy states a typical turnaround of ten working days from receiving the sample; some specialised tests can take longer.

Consult a process problem

Describe the problem or the result you’re after — we’ll get back to you with next steps, or propose a lab analysis or an optimisation trial on a sample.

We always agree the shipping address and method individually, based on the type of analysis — please don’t send a sample in advance without confirming first.