Not-for-profit testing scheme BIRA has urged brewers in its latest statement below to consider testing after it was revealed this week that the majority of the beers tested in a Queensland survey showed unacceptable variance in alcohol levels.

BIRA’s 2021 quality scheme is now open for interested brewers wanting to test ABV, pH, bitterness and more.

This week Brews News reported on a survey of ABVs across a range of craft beers in Queensland which showed wide non-compliance with FSANZ alcohol labelling regulations. As food and beverage manufacturers, compliance with labelling standards is critical, especially in such a sensitive area as ABV labelling where there are real consumer safety issues at stake.

Accuracy in ABV measurement is not only a regulatory and legal obligation for all breweries, but is essential for the segment as a whole – we owe it to our consumers, customers, community and industry peers to ensure accurate ABV measurement, every time. BIRA (Brewing Interlaboratory Reference Analytes) is an interlab proficiency testing scheme which exists to support breweries and brewing labs verify and improve the accuracy of their analysis. Interlab testing forms a cornerstone of quality assurance of laboratory results, it measures your proficiency across various lab tests, demonstrates your organisation’s due diligence around ABV testing and compliance, and can help identify any problems with your methods or equipment before they result in a costly and reputationally damaging recall.

The BIRA committee urges breweries not already participating to join the scheme – you don’t need a big or sophisticated lab to participate – the scheme is targeted at making proficiency testing affordable and accessible to all breweries.

BIRA is an Australian not-for-profit and volunteer-run association, created by craft brewers specifically for the craft brewing industry. For more details, and to sign up to participate see www.biralab.com