Can Small Breweries Use Automated Process Measurement?

The craft brewery industry is growing. Business is good and beer lovers have voted with their dollars on their favorite brew. Brewers who want to meet demand need to automate – they need to know what tools and systems are available to them, now.

“The need behind automation is to improve on the repeatability,” says Ola Wesstrom, Endress+Hauser Industry Manager. “Any craft brewery can make different beers over different weeks, but to make the same beer over and over and over again, that’s where the automation comes in.”

Smaller breweries won’t need the complicated systems used by their largest counterparts, but nonetheless they’ll need the right tools. “In a beginning stage, there are only a few things that they are really looking at and that’s simple temperature measurements, simple pressure and level measurements and some simple flow measurements,” adds Wesstrom. With the right tools to meet these goals, breweries can upgrade from manual operations to a more effective automated process.

The diagram below depicts a brewery cooling system used by breweries, the tools that growing establishments will need to automate their process.

Image courtesy Endress+Hauser

Temperature

Areas designated with a T require temperature measurement and more often than not, a number of options are suitable. A simple and reliable option is the EasyTemp TMR35 hygienic compact thermometer. Optimally sized and hygienically designed, the TMR35 is used throughout the food and beverage industry to measure temperatures from -50°C to +150°C (-58°F to +302°F).

Pressure

The Cerabar M PMP51 and its PMP55 variant are most suitable for a system’s digital pressure transmitter needs and are located in areas highlighted with P in the diagram above. The PMP51 is typically used in measuring liquids or gases. An alternative is the entry level pressure transmitter PMP135, it lacks the display but is a very cost effective alternative.

Level

Level switch (LS) tools, found throughout the brew house and cooling systems vary in model from location to location. The Soliphant M FTM50 is a recommended choice for Grain and malt The Liquiphant FTL50H is a recommended compact vibration level switch for liquids. It’s measurements are not affected by changing media properties, flow, turbulences, gas bubbles, foam, vibrations or build-up.

Flow

The Proline Promag H 100 Electromagnetic flowmeter and Promass F 100 Coriolis massflow and Plato meters deliver optimum flow measurements in areas highlighted above with F. The Promag H,Magnetic flow meter is great for wort transfer flows, foundation water and yeast. Featuring a multivariable measurement for flow, temperature and conductivity, the Coriolis flowmeter Promass F is used for wort transfers, lautering and yeast recovery/pitching. Featuring an accurate density function it displays wort extract in °Plato.

All of these products are designed for the food and beverage industries, exceeding industry hygienic requirements and designed to hold up to wash-down conditions. So are these tools maintenance free? “Generally once you put them in, you won’t have to touch them again. There might be an annual or biannual calibration check, but that would be it,” says Wesstrom.

The EasyTemp TMR35 and Cerabar T PMP135 mentioned above can be found on Endress+Hauser’s shopping platform, E-direct. The other products can be requested through your local Endress+Hauser representative. To explore diagrams similar to the one shown above and research what parts may be best for different systems, visit the Endress+Hauser Applicator.

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Automation in the Brewing Industry

Endress+Hauser has paid a fee for promotion of its measurement tools to ENGINEERING.com. It has had no editorial input to this post. All opinions are mine. – Jim Anderton