Froth Tech Newsletter #6
Tēnā koe ,
Greetings and well wishes from Froth Technologies. Here's what's been happening lately at the lab...
In our last newsletter we announced that we had finally started production and we were just about to complete the final details of setting up our custom yeast propagation facility. You'll see from the photos above (featuring two pretty rad dudes), that we have laid on the final coat of epoxy paint on our production floor, in a vibrant orange no-less, which marks the last major task on our setup list. We're always tweaking, modifying and upgrading our yeast brewery in different ways to include more data points, more control over propagations and as much love & care as we can offer our trillions of yeast cells we are raising in-house, ready to go out and party in the tanks of our brewery customers around NZ. We're stoked to have our facility looking so flash & clean, especially with a lot of the work being completed with our own hands, and the hands of our awesome friends & whānau.
So we're now into our fourth month of production here at the lab and the yeast is flowing! We have around seven different strains of yeast in stock, we're brewing one batch of yeast each week, which is a 14-day process from first inoculation in a tiny flask, up to it's final stage of growth in our 1000L stainless steel propagation vessel where we harvest around 100 Trillion yeast cells. The support from breweries around Aotearoa has been amazing, and we now have about 25 breweries on board of all shapes and sizes, brewing beer in batches of 300L up to 25,000L. That's a lot of beer! The feedback has been outstanding too with many brewers loving the ease of being able to buy local, noting fast healthy fermentations, and high quality delicious beer out the other side. (We generously offer taste-testing, and can confirm the beers are tasting outstanding!)
The feedback speaks for itself, and we're so stoked to be serving this industry we are so passionate about, offering support and advice, and helping breweries brew with more locally made ingredients.
GETTING CLOSER TO HOME BREW
Since we first launched Froth Technologies we have piqued the interest of keen home brewers around the country. It turns out crafters of craft beer at home are just as keen as commercial brewers to get their hands on our locally made liquid brewing yeasts. While imported liquid yeasts from overseas are available at a lot of home brew stores... supply can be a bit sporadic, further challenged by the global freight issues related to Covid-19. Yeast needs a very clean environment to be a able to grow in to a healthy population without contamination from other spoilage organisms, and the same goes for the final packaging. Offering liquid yeast in home brew sized volumes isn't as simple as just putting yeast in a smaller bottle. We have an array of shelf stability considerations to think about to be sure we are packaging a precise cell count, the yeast is packaged under sterile conditions, the material is recyclable, and the package can handle a bit of pressure build up, or release that pressure without leaking during refrigerated storage.
It can all sound a bit complicated, but we really want to be able to hook up all you keen home brewers with yeast as soon as possible, and thankfully there are experts out there that specialise in packaging tech. We are excited to be placing a bit foot forward towards this project, by teaming up with a team of material scientists and packaging engineers to help us come up with a solution. In the coming months we will be conducting testing and trials around this, and come early next year we should have a deeper understanding of what we're looking for, and be able to work on getting home brew packs of our yeast to market. So home brewers stay tuned, and we'll be sure to keep you updated on our progress in this newsletter.
SUMMER STUDENT INTERNSHIP POSITION
As things get busier for us in-house, we're looking for a science student to join us for a paid summer internship to work on our research & development goals, and help us to develop a deeper understanding of our yeast strains and what they love the most in order to grow well. If you know a science student in their third year of study or higher, with interest & expertise in microbiology with a focus on yeast and fermentation, please pass on this job description and invite them to get in touch to submit an application. The position is based at our yeast lab in Lower Hutt, full time for 10 weeks over summer break, and is paid a living wage.
LOCAL SHOUT-OUT
Shout out to Wellington Rubber Stamp Co. for making us this awesome new stamp for our boxes. We wanted to make sure breweries know when the Froth has arrived, so they do a little jump for joy and pop the babies in the chiller ready for brew day. Wgtn Rubber Stamp Co. is a small family owned business that has been crafting beautiful stamps for 26+ years now. Thanks team! Love your work.