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This article provides an overview of color measurement for determining the quality of distiller's grains.
 
Dried Distiller's Grains are a cereal byproduct of distillation processes, usually from brewers, and fuel ethanol production. The byproduct is dried to give it a longer shelf life. Distiller's grains are sold as a high nutrient feed for livestock. The picture above shows four different distiller's samples which exhibit visual differences from one another. Like most products, the color of distillers is directly linked to the quality.
 

High quality distiller's is usually a golden honey or golden caramelized color, like that of the lower right sample. Darker colors of distillers are an indicator of poor quality and are a result of excessive heat during the drying process. When evaluating the quality of the distiller's grains with color measurements the L* value from the CIE L* a* b* color scale is used as the primary indicator. Low L* values indicate that a sample is dark and of poor quality. Medium L* values indicate the ideal golden honey color of good quality Distillers. High L* values indicate that the sample is too light and not of good quality.

Hunter Lab instruments are able to accurately measure the L* value of opaque non-metal samples, such as the samples. By measuring the L* value, you are able to determine the quality of the product.

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Keywords: Applications, Distillers Grains