ITT Corporation (NYSE:ITT) announces the introduction of the Bellingham + Stanley OPTi hand-held refractometer for Brix analysis of beverages and foodstuffs at the National Restaurant Show (NRA) 2011. The OPTi hand-held refractometer is a portable, compact measurement device ideal for the measurement of dissolved solids by cellar services and dispense maintenance engineers in food and beverage retail outlets. The use of the new system will assist the delivery of maximum product yield helping to reduce costs. 

The easy-to-use OPTi digital hand held refractometer provides accurate and rapid measurement of dissolved solids, making it an ideal tool to control the blend ratio and sugar or fructose content of post-mix beverages at point of dispense. With the use of the OPTi refractometer, retail and restaurant outlets are able to ensure product quality and maximum product yield, enabling costs to be easily and effectively controlled. Measurements are completed in two seconds and only a small drop of sample is needed to provide an instant result.

Also highlighted at the NRA Show 2011 is the Bellingham + Stanley ABV (Alcohol by Volume) test kit.  The ABV test kit enables the alcohol content of beer, wine or cider to be calculated from the combined readings of two portable instruments, the dual scale OPTi Wine (ABV) refractometer and a standard hydrometer measuring specific gravity. The kit requires only a minimal amount of sample to be used and provides a fast and accurate reading to 0.5 percent ABV. In addition, the simplicity of the kit ensures that it can be used quickly in micro-breweries and beverage retail outlets so owners can randomly determine the level of alcohol in mixed drinks being served.

The second scale on the OPTi refractometer is dedicated for use in breweries to measure the initial soluble solids of Wort (°Plato) before the addition of yeast prior to fermentation. 

To learn more about ITT Analytics products visit www.ittanalytics.com