Process control in brewing is complex but essential. And by embracing modern technology, breweries can help elevate themselves above the competition, too.
When it comes to brewing, monitoring and managing each stage of the process is imperative to ensure quality, consistency, and efficiency in beer production.
By operating in a sector where even the smallest variations can significantly affect the final product, process control is central to making beers that meet both consumer expectations.
According to Kieran Bennett, industry account manager at Bürkert, recent innovations in this area have focused on precision, automation, and sustainability, significantly improving production practices.
He explains: “The brewery industry exemplifies the positive impact of recent developments in fluid process control.
“Modern breweries employ advanced process control systems to manage every stage of beer production, from mash preparation to fermentation and packaging.
“Automated systems monitor and adjust the flow of ingredients, ensuring consistency in flavour and quality.
“Precision sensors control the fermentation temperature and pressure, crucial for producing different types of beer.”
As one of the simplest and most common examples, he explains, it only takes a deviation of a couple of degrees during mashing or fermentation to have a noticeable impact on the flavour of the beer, which affects product quality.
Process automation has numerous benefits, especially in terms of repeatability and accuracy. Modern process control valves can deliver this as well as achieving a long service life in a hygienic environment that is exposed to regular washdowns and humidity.
Aside from a clean and polished aesthetic, process valves can offer highly visible cues using multi-coloured LEDs to indicate proper operation or process faults, enabling any issues to be resolved quickly with minimal interruptions to production.
This status indication is supported by more advanced, fieldbus technology, which enables process components to be integrated, commissioned and operated more easily.
For smaller installations, modern communication technologies offer a greater freedom to experiment with new recipes while retaining the consistency and repeatability associated with the brand.
Furthermore, the ability to monitor operations remotely with notifications of alarms and out-of-tolerance conditions, enable operators to focus on core tasks and even spend time away from the brewery.
Precision data collection
He explains: “Beyond control valves, sensors also play a vital role in establishing the data points required for a consistent production facility and while many have remained unchanged for years, new technologies can improve process performance.
“Flowmeters are just one example. The challenges of accurately measuring the flow of fluids containing entrained gases have more recently been overcome using surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology.”
Their solutions for the brewery sector include the ‘Element’ series of pneumatic control valves, which are well-suited to many applications, from small scale craft processes to much larger industrial-scale enterprises.
He says: “The FLOWave offers excellent accuracy, even with challenging fluids, while retaining the flow and hygienic characteristics of normal process pipework.
“Recent advances in fluid process control are transforming the food and beverage industry, driving improvements in precision, automation, safety, quality, and sustainability.
“These innovations not only enhance the efficiency and reliability of production processes but also support the industry’s commitment to producing safe, high-quality products while minimising environmental impact.
“As technology continues to evolve, fluid process control will remain a key area of focus, shaping the future of food and beverage manufacturing.”
Pushing the pump boundaries
And in the world of pumps, a British brewery has become the first UK business to trial a new type of heat pump which can cut emissions by up to 90 percent.
Sussex-based Hepworth is using a Greensteam heat pump, developed by Surbiton start-up Futraheat, to deliver low-carbon heat to fuel the brewing process.
Unlike most heat pumps, which deliver hot water up to around 80°C, the Futraheat heat pump can produce steam up to 130°C – vital for the brewing industry and believed to be a first for the UK.
The prototype heat pump is the latest step in a long-term sustainability drive by the independent brewer.
Hepworth Brewery expects the new heat pump will reduce the energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with wort boiling by up to 90 percent, whilst lowering fuel costs by up to 40 percent, with potential to roll out the groundbreaking technology across the whole brewing process.
Heat, delivered through high temperature steam pipes, is a vital component of brewing, and many other industrial processes, and is usually delivered by boilers running on gas or fuel oil.
With the new system, Hepworth Brewery can now recycle waste vapour from the brewing process, normally vented to atmosphere, and boost it via Futraheat’s heat pump to deliver useful steam back to the brewery at 130°C.
This will reduce the brewer’s reliance on a CO2-emitting oil boiler and enables it to switch almost all of its heat requirement for wort boiling to the electrically powered heat pump, which runs on a green electricity tariff.
In future, the pilot project could be scaled up site-wide to offset almost all of the fossil fuel generated heat used at the brewery.
The key to the heat pump is a novel, patented turbo compressor, known as TurboClaw, which sits at the heart of the Greensteam system and can boost temperatures by up to 60 degrees.
The ground-breaking heat pump is one of a number of initiatives being adopted by the brewer as part of its commitment to sustainability. Other measures include solar panels, a reed bed and a new waste system which will convert organic matter in wastewater into biomethane.
Hepworth Brewery chairman Andy Hepworth said: “This pilot project is demonstrating how Hepworth Brewery can adopt innovative technology to switch off our oil boiler and use a reliable new way to recycle our waste heat with minimal emissions.
“The high temperature heat pump from Futraheat will help us cut costs and CO2 and is straightforward to integrate within our existing processes. If this technology were adopted across the whole brewing process, it would reduce our emissions significantly.
“Sustainability has driven the way we do business from day one. We have always looked to source our barley and hops locally wherever possible, to minimise our food miles, and since moving to our current brewery in 2016 we have put in place a number of measures to make us a more sustainable business. This heat pump trial is an important next step on our sustainability journey.”
The company behind it, Futraheat, believes their technology can be applied to many industries beyond brewing. Around 70 percent of all UK industrial energy demand is for heat, and much of this can be delivered via high-temperature heat pumps.
Its CEO Tom Taylor adds: “Heat is a major component of a huge range of industrial processes, from pharmaceuticals to food and drink, and vast amounts of this is delivered by steam.
“Until now, heat pumps have been both unaffordable and unable to deliver heat at the temperature that industry requires. This project demonstrates the technology can now be implemented within a brewery.
“We’re confident it can then be rolled out across a range of industries, in the UK and worldwide.”
The current project has been delivered in partnership with Hepworth Brewery and the Department for Energy Strategy and Net Zero’s Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator (IEEA) programme, managed by the Carbon Trust.
Futraheat secured £2million investment in 2023 from backers including the Clean Growth Fund to develop and deploy their next-generation machine, which will incorporate two TurboClaw compressors to deliver heat up to 150 degrees.
The company said it’s also in discussions with a number of industrial end users who could adopt this next iteration of the heat pump technology.
