ATP Bioluminescence Procedure for Viability Testing of Potential Beer Spoilage Microorganisms. Terrance M. Dowhanick and Jadwiga Sobczak, Research Department, Labatt Breweries of Canada, 150 Simcoe Street, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 4M3. J. Am. Soc. Brew. Chem. 52:0019, 1994.

A procedure is outlined whereby adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence is used to evaluate the potential for an unknown species of microorganism to survive and/or proliferate in a finished product. Using ATP internal standardization and commercially available test kits, precise amounts of ATP can be calculated in beer at specific times. These ATP values can be plotted so that the viability trend of the potential beer spoilage microorganism can be assessed with high resolution. The use of internal standardization ensures that low values of relative light units are real and not false negatives associated with enzyme instability. Using test strains of Lactobacillus and Pediococcus species, trends were consistent for ATP and colony-forming units (cfu), and several orders of magnitude of growth or death were easily detected when between 10⁶ and 10⁷ cfu were inoculated into a finished product at the start of the analysis. This procedure offers significant value in assessing the potential of a microorganism to spoil beer.

Keywords: ATP, Bacteria, Beer, Bioluminescence, Spoilage