Raising the Standard of Active Dry Yeast for Beer
This year, our customers will notice a few changes when brewing with Fermentis yeast. As part of our Superior Yeast project, we’ve not only set a new industry standard in the microbiological quality of active dry yeast (ADY) for beer, but we’ve also made some exciting updates to our packaging.
Thanks to state-of-the-art dry-phase production and packaging lines at Algist Bruggeman, our major factory in Ghent, Belgium, we are now achieving improved quality control, packaging standards, and product traceability, all while raising the microbiological quality of our brewing yeast. Our new-look packaging is currently being rolled out worldwide. Given that not all our beer yeast strains are produced and packaged at Algist Bruggeman, customers can still expect to see our previous design for certain products.
The biggest difference for brewers? We have implemented new easy-to-open technology for directly pitching dry yeast from our 500g and 2.5kg bricks. Read on to learn more about each element of this exciting innovation, as well as our updated primary label and QR code.
Pierceable Target Disc
Our 500g and 2.5kg bricks of ADY produced at Algist Bruggeman now feature an easy-to-pierce target disc. Designed to be used with our Percy™ device (see below), this clean piercing system enables easy and direct dosing of yeast into fermenters. This innovative new method was designed to reduce the risk of cross-contamination in breweries.
The target disc is covered by a grey seal to keep the area clean and protect it from any potential contaminants. When brewers are ready to pitch their yeast, they can opt to use this new method by removing the seal to expose the adhesive target disc. Brewers then use our piercing tool to puncture the brick through the sterile disc.
Percy™ pitching device
This custom-designed tool was created to provide brewers with an easy and efficient pitching method for our 500g and 2.5kg bricks. When used correctly, it helps to maintain the high-quality standard of our ADY and reduce any potential cross-contamination that can occur in breweries when pitching yeast into fermentation vessels.
The plastic tool has a hollow tip and handle. Before each use, the tool must be cleaned and disinfected following our instructions manual. Once brewers have removed the grey label covering the adhesive easy-to-open sticker, they can then puncture the sterile area with the piercing tool.
The tip of the tool is designed to easily pierce our vacuum-sealed foil bricks and adhere to the sticker. When the brick and tool are then inverted, the tool stays securely in place, allowing the yeast to flow through the handle and into the fermentation vessel.
For more information about Percy™, visit our Superior Yeast landing page. You can also check out the tutorial on our YouTube channel.
Percy™ is coming to a distributor near you soon. In the meantime, our new packaging also allows traditional opening and pitching methods.
Primary label booklet
To better service our customers around the globe, we have also upgraded the primary label on the front of our 500g and 2.5kg bricks. This label is now a seven-page adhesive booklet containing our product information in multiple languages for improved accessibility. Brewers can peel back the pages to choose from English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Polish.
Unique QR code
On the back of our 500g and 2.5kg bricks, brewers will now also notice a QR code. This feature was designed to provide better logistical service to Fermentis distributors and clients. Scanning the unique code through the Fermentis app also provides brewers with product data, including batch number, production date, best-before-end date, remaining usage time, and production site.
For more information about Superior Yeast and our innovative new packaging, watch our introductory video here.
If you don’t have the Fermentis app yet, download it from the App Store or Google Play. Register your account, then discover all the great tools and information available at your fingertips.
