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jamest22 · 06-22-2010, 07:36 PM

I would like to buy an inexpensive microscope to use to look at samples of my beer. I was hoping to be able to observe and identify yeast cells as well as other bacteria present in my homebrew. How powerful (what magnification) of a microscope do I need to accomplish this?

Would this one suffice?:
http://www.amazon.com/Vivitar-Micro-View-Microscope-150x/dp/B0030CICSW

jwright · 06-23-2010, 02:20 AM

I don't have any actual help for you, but here are a few intro pages i found on microscope usage and required magnification - one was even beer related.

good luck and I hope you realize you are pushing the geek boundary on this one.

jason

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/methods/microscopy/microscopy.html

http://forums.morebeer.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=34955&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/lmexer1.htm#relative

v2comp · 06-23-2010, 02:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwright

I don't have any actual help for you, but here are a few intro pages i found on microscope usage and required magnification - one was even beer related.

good luck and I hope you realize you are pushing the geek boundary on this one.

jason

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/methods/microscopy/microscopy.html

http://forums.morebeer.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=34955&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/lmexer1.htm#relative

yeah, this time you might have pushed it a little over the line on the geekery.....

jamest22 · 06-23-2010, 10:29 AM

thanks. its not a boundary that I mind pushing.

SPLASTiK · 06-23-2010, 11:13 AM

Not very much, 10x-100x appears to be fine.

Check out the PDF here: http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/microscope.html

This is apparently 40x and they're pretty big and easy to see.

Edit: Apparently White Labs says you want 400x scope for cell counts: http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/cell_count.html.

jamest22 · 06-23-2010, 12:01 PM

thanks. that white labs page is really useful!

**passedpawn** · 06-23-2010, 12:19 PM

I can't see yeast cells with a 40X.

jamest22 · 06-23-2010, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by passedpawn

I can't see yeast cells with a 40X.

hmm... the white labs page says that the slide images on their site were captured at 40x.

WAdamC · 06-23-2010, 01:22 PM

I bet that is supposed to be 400x

tbeard · 06-23-2010, 02:15 PM

The lense at the front of the microscope is 40X and the eyepiece gives a 10X extra magnification, for a total of 400X. As a microbiologist, I can tell you that a microscope will be a waste of time and money for you. If you want viable cell counts I would do a dilute to extinction plate technique, this is far more accurate.