refers to the measurements made on raw materials, process streams, and products. Analysis is critical if a beer is to be produced consistently and within specification. Indeed, those specifications are developed on the basis of suitable and reliable analytical methods.

Within the brewing industry there are two major sets of standardized analytical methods. These are the methods of the European Brewery Convention and the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC). The methods within these compendia address the chemical, microbiological, physical, and sensory attributes of raw materials, process streams, and beer. They are rigorously evaluated for their reliability such that, if the same method is used in different laboratories on the same sample source, those laboratories would be expected to arrive at the same value. If a given laboratory does not generate a value in keeping with those from other laboratories, then they have a problem that must be resolved. These types of “ring analyses” are widely used within bigger companies to ensure that all laboratories are generating reliable numbers. Ring analysis can also be performed between groups of different companies, and indeed the ASBC operates such a service.

Analysis may be performed by trained quality control staff, although simpler procedures may be performed “at line” by the operators who are running the brewery processes. Beyond this, analysis may also be performed “in-line” by specific sensors that relay analytical values either to a computer screen for interpretation or preferably to a feedback control system that will correct any drift from desired values and return the process to “in specification” running in real time.