Meet the Bell Lager lady chief brewer
<b>AGNES Acom Okuuny </b>is the head of quality at the East African Breweries and a master brewer. She reveals to <b>James Odomel</b> how quality is achieved and maintained in brewing Bell Lager.
AGNES Acom Okuuny is the head of quality at the East African Breweries and a master brewer. She reveals to James Odomel how quality is achieved and maintained in brewing Bell Lager.
QUESTION: What is the essence of the Bell quality?
ANSWER: Bell Lager is a mild, strength-refreshing beer with a crisp bite and welcoming aroma.
What quality processes do you observe in beer brewing?
Our process starts with understanding our consumers’ requirements and consequently planning inputs and processes to achieve them.
To bring out Bell’s quality, we ensure that the raw materials specification design and management will give us what our customers are looking for at the end of the process.
The materials are processed through various stages. The product is tested and tasted at each stage of processing to ensure that the specified processing standards are met.
In addition, we ensure we maintain process capability and carry out internal and business partners’ audits and work with them to ensure that defined systems are operating effectively.
Which raw materials do you use to brew Bell Lager? How do you tell that they are of the best quality?
These include high quality crisp Equatorial lager malt, purified fresh water, premium aroma and bitter hops.
To ensure their quality, we design material specs to achieve the highest quality, select and buy from capable and reputable suppliers and strictly adhere to the set material standards.
The materials are also approved against set standard internally and we run further quality assurance tests through independent laboratories.
Apart from raw materials, are there any other standards that you observe?
Internally, we have in-process standards for each stage of processing and the final product
Other standards include International Standards Organisation Quality management system – ISO 9001: 2000, international food safety standards and the Uganda National Bureau of Standards - all of which the business is certified to.
When brewing, how do you make sure that the senses of sight, taste, smell and hearing are harmonised?
We plan all process steps. We do stated activities as defined, check conformance to specification at each stage and act on areas that need improvement.
In all this, we focus on best quality material, use capable equipment, highly automated to achieve consistency, high levels of human resource selection and development, adapt correct processing methods/procedures and measure to check against performance.
How unique is Bell Lager’s brewing compared to other beers?
The profile for Bell is set at the recipe level, different from any other lager in the market.
The master brewer defines material ratios to achieve this unique character. All the raw materials and process standards are designed to meet the unique character of the brand.
How do you rate Bell Lager brewing and quality internationally?
Bell is brewed against international standards for lager brewing, quality and product safety which gives Bell its world-class status.
How can a layman tell a well-brewed beer?
This is almost instantaneous, starting with what the consumer’s see and feel of the beer followed by taste and after taste attributes.
In a nutshell, what does the brewing process entail?
Brewing broadly involves conversion of raw material to fermentable sugar, developing into aroma, colour and bitterness.
Our quality checks on Bell Lager do not stop until the consumer confirms with their senses. They see it, hear it, smell it and taste it.
QUESTION: What is the essence of the Bell quality?
ANSWER: Bell Lager is a mild, strength-refreshing beer with a crisp bite and welcoming aroma.
What quality processes do you observe in beer brewing?
Our process starts with understanding our consumers’ requirements and consequently planning inputs and processes to achieve them.
To bring out Bell’s quality, we ensure that the raw materials specification design and management will give us what our customers are looking for at the end of the process.
The materials are processed through various stages. The product is tested and tasted at each stage of processing to ensure that the specified processing standards are met.
In addition, we ensure we maintain process capability and carry out internal and business partners’ audits and work with them to ensure that defined systems are operating effectively.
Which raw materials do you use to brew Bell Lager? How do you tell that they are of the best quality?
These include high quality crisp Equatorial lager malt, purified fresh water, premium aroma and bitter hops.
To ensure their quality, we design material specs to achieve the highest quality, select and buy from capable and reputable suppliers and strictly adhere to the set material standards.
The materials are also approved against set standard internally and we run further quality assurance tests through independent laboratories.
Apart from raw materials, are there any other standards that you observe?
Internally, we have in-process standards for each stage of processing and the final product
Other standards include International Standards Organisation Quality management system – ISO 9001: 2000, international food safety standards and the Uganda National Bureau of Standards - all of which the business is certified to.
When brewing, how do you make sure that the senses of sight, taste, smell and hearing are harmonised?
We plan all process steps. We do stated activities as defined, check conformance to specification at each stage and act on areas that need improvement.
In all this, we focus on best quality material, use capable equipment, highly automated to achieve consistency, high levels of human resource selection and development, adapt correct processing methods/procedures and measure to check against performance.
How unique is Bell Lager’s brewing compared to other beers?
The profile for Bell is set at the recipe level, different from any other lager in the market.
The master brewer defines material ratios to achieve this unique character. All the raw materials and process standards are designed to meet the unique character of the brand.
How do you rate Bell Lager brewing and quality internationally?
Bell is brewed against international standards for lager brewing, quality and product safety which gives Bell its world-class status.
How can a layman tell a well-brewed beer?
This is almost instantaneous, starting with what the consumer’s see and feel of the beer followed by taste and after taste attributes.
In a nutshell, what does the brewing process entail?
Brewing broadly involves conversion of raw material to fermentable sugar, developing into aroma, colour and bitterness.
Our quality checks on Bell Lager do not stop until the consumer confirms with their senses. They see it, hear it, smell it and taste it.