Ex 1:Halifax’s Bugs and Brews had been working on making a flavourful high-alcohol beer in the range of 18 to 20% alcohol by volume (ABV). Because of budget and facility constraints, the brewery could not increase the amount of grain or malt used in the brewing process to the level needed to achieve such a high ABV. Standard methods of creating the high-ABV, such as adding sugar, were also found to alter the target flavour, aroma, and mouthfeel of the finished beer. The brew team was unsure how to elevate the ABV while retaining the same flavourful, full-bodied characteristics of its lower ABV brews. It set out to investigate alternative fermentation procedures and ingredients that could be incorporated into its high-ABV process.

Ex 3: Bonbon Brewing had been making a chocolate-infused beer that was available for retail through The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO). After five months of production, the brewery started receiving complaints about the beer cans exploding and premature product spoilage. As a result, the LCBO returned all lots of the product, which the brewery had to dump. A preliminary analysis of the brewing equipment and processes did not reveal any obvious reason for secondary fermentation or premature spoilage to occur after canning. To identify the root cause of the problem and develop a solution, Bonbon Brewing needed to advance its understanding of each ingredient relative to the processing steps and storage parameters. After several months of investigation, the brewery had identified multiple contributing factors related to spoilage.

Ex 5: It is well known that aging beer in a bourbon, tequila, or wine barrel can enhance its flavour by infusing it with various oils, tannins, and other chemicals found in the wood and ingredient residues. Northern Pines Brewery had been using this aging technique to add unique characteristics to its wild blueberry-infused beer. There was no information available from online or industry sources about which alcohol barrels would create the desired combination of flavours with wild blueberries, or how the natural blueberry sugars and acids would affect secondary fermentation within a barrel environment. The brewery set out to advance its understanding of barrel aging technology and related flavour chemistry that could occur under specific conditions.