Book excerpt: With a focus on brewing science and quality control, this textbook is the ideal learning tool for working professionals or aspiring students. Mastering Brewing Science is a comprehensive textbook for the brewing industry, with coverage of processes, raw materials, packaging, and everything in between, including discussion of essential methods in quality control and assurance. The book equips readers with a depth of understanding to deal with problems and issues that arise during production of beer from start to finish, as well as statistical tools for continual quality improvement. Brewery operations, raw material analysis, flavor, stability, cleaning, and methods of quality control, as well as the underlying science, are discussed in detail. The successful brewing professional must produce beer with high standards of quality, consistency, efficiency, and safety. With a focus on quality and on essential applications of biology, chemistry, and process control, Mastering Brewing Science emphasizes development of the reader's trouble-shooting and problem-solving skills. It is the ideal learning tool for all brewing programs or as a resource for current industry professionals. Features of this book include: Comprehensive understanding through application. Presented in the logical order of the brewing process. All key principles of science are applied to beer production, facilitating a better understanding of both. Check for understanding and problem solving. Each chapter includes a set of problems, questions, and case studies that reinforce understanding of the material. Richly illustrated. Hundreds of unique, full-color illustrations, ranging from micrographs of spoilage bacteria to the inner workings of a beer keg, supplement clearly-written text, making this book easy to understand and appealing to the reader. Emphasis on Quality and Safety. Covers the underlying science and essential methods in quality control with discussion of data management and experimental statistics to ensure consistency in beer production. Safety notes for brewing operations prepare the reader for a culture of safety at the workplace. Glossary. A detailed and authoritative glossary sets the standard for beer and brewing terminology.