Abstract: A method for the rapid, high-sensitivity detection of bacteria in a malt beverage comprising liquid and solid components, wherein the method comprises the steps of:aseptically sampling said malt beverage;separating the solids in the sample from the liquid by means of a substrate having antibodies attached thereto;extracting DNA from the separated solids;subjecting the extracted DNA to a nested polymerase chain reaction, said reaction comprising:enzymatically amplifying at least one fragment of said extracted DNA using at least one highly conserved primer to produce a first amplified sample;enzymatically amplifying a product sequence from said first amplified sample, using a less highly conserved primer to produce a second amplified sample;examining said second amplified sample for the presence of DNA fragments associated with said bacteria.