Facilities

The Leuven Institute for Beer Research has extensive expertise and state of the art equipment and facilities for beer and beverage research, and beyond. The main arsenal of specialized equipment is listed below:

  • 3 pilot brewing lines, including a large pilot-scale (5 hl) state-of-the-art and fully automated brewery
  • fermenters (2 x 500 l, 6 x 100 l, 8 x 50 l)
  • fully-automated laboratory fermenters (10 x 5L and 4 x 2.5L)
  • a commercial-grade automated bottling machine
  • supercritical fluid extraction for selective isolation of aroma compounds
  • all equipment needed for modern molecular biology research, including several (real-time) PCR thermocyclers, incubators, freezers, centrifuges, automated fluorescence microscopes, hybridization ovens, DNA, RNA and protein analysis equipment
  • Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS)
  • 2 Bioscreen C automated analysers
  • 2 GC-FID, 1 GC-PFPD, 2 GC-MS, 1 GC-MSxMS and 1 GC, all with automated SPME sampling for the identification and quantitative determination of aroma compounds
  • 3 HPLC and 1 UPLC for specific, quantitative analysis of carbohydrates, amino acids, bittering compounds, organic acids, polyphenols and other soluble compounds in wort and beer
  • several Anton Paar alcolyzer to analyze alcohol, density and pH
  • Reverse Phase Chromatography for proteomics
  • a MALDI-TOF for the analysis of biopolymers such as DNA, proteins, peptides and sugars and large organic molecules (such as polymers, dendrimers and other macromolecules)
  • Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS)
  • Fluorescent microscopy
  • CO2 electrode for measurement in oversaturated liquids, Magnets for CO2 dissolution
  • a complete Omnilog identification system
  • an Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer
  • a CEQ8000 (Analis) genetic analysis system
  • a hypoxic/anoxic workstation

LIBR has an ISO 17025 certified analysis laboratory for routine microbial testing and access to the genome sequencing facilities of KU Leuven.

LIBR has a 5 hl. state of the art pilot brewery

pilot brewing line

Using state of the art equipment and facilities we are well equipped to support the beer, beverage and fermentation industry. We have facilities for state of the art brewing on 0,5, 2 and 5 hL scale (fully automated) using a course milling-lautertun or a fine-milling membrane assisted thin bed filter, beer filtration with filter sheets or a kieselguhr candle filter, filling and bottling equipment with double pre-evacuation and foaming before capping and a CIP unit for kegs and fermentation tanks.

LIBR uses a Singer HDA robot for large scale phenotypic screening of yeasts and other micro organisms

Phenotypic screening

Using our robotic cell/medium handling platforms we have the ability to screen a large number of phenotypes simultaneously and take, store and interpret images automatically providing rapid, automated and unbiased assessment of experiments.

LIBR has an extensive arsenal of high tech equipment to analyse flavor compounds in beer

Chemical analysis

We offer standard and advanced beer analysis including quantitative determination of complex sugars (mono-, di- and oligosaccharides), aging aldehydes, polyphenols, yeast aroma's, hop oils and hop essences.