The laboratory Alcohol, which formerly belonged to the Swiss Alcohol Board, Chemical Analysis and Research Section, has been transferred at the Federal Office of Metrology (METAS) since 1^st November 2011. The laboratory Alcohol continues to conduct ethanol quality analyses for Alcosuisse upon purchase and sale.
 
The laboratory Alcohol is ISO 17025 accredited, and therefore uses official analysis methods where possible. For pharma clients, ethanol is examined based on the Swiss or European Pharmacopoeia, and for the food sector, methods from Commission Regulation (EC) No. 625/2003 and the Swiss Food Manual are used. Even though these methods include many modern instrumental techniques such as gas chromatography, for example, some traditional wet chemistry methods, based mostly on colour reactions, continue to exist.
 
The laboratory Alcohol examines around 1,700 samples for Alcosuisse every year, and an average of seven different analysis methods are used per sample. For each batch, the results are set out in an analysis certificate, and can thus be given to the clients of Alcosuisse.
 
As Alcosuisse provides its clients with a just-in-time service, the laboratory has to be able to carry out all analyses in just a few hours.