Modern CIP concept reduces energy costs

The Gutmann wheat beer brewery in Titting, Bavaria, has been family owned and operated since 1855. Since 1913, wheat beer has been produced in Titting. Meanwhile, the Gutmann family has specialized in this type of beer and is still using the original traditional method. In addition to consistently high product quality, conservation of natural resources is an important issue for the brewery. This is laid down in the brewery’s environmental management, which is certified according to DIN EN ISO 14001:2004. One of the objectives is the continuous reduction of energy and water consumption.

As part of these efforts, the CIP processes in the brewery were closely examined in 2009. GEA Brewery Systems, Kitzingen presented its new CIP concept and demonstrated its advantages in a direct comparison with the existing CIP process.

The previous CIP concept of Gutmann Brewery included automatic cleaning of the vessels in the following order: mash tun kettle 1, mash tun kettle 2, lauter tun, pre-run tank, wort kettle, Whirlpool. After cleaning of the brewing vessels, the pipes were cleaned with a manual caustic brew. The upgrade concept from GEA provides for combined vessel and pipe cleaning, a caustic brew is not required.

To allow a direct comparison, the Gutmann CIP system was prepared for the existing cleaning method in exactly the same way as for the modernized cleaning process and cleaning agents were dosed.

The comparison showed that after the CIP upgrade the consumption of cleaning agents was reduced. The new constellation of the CIP areas also had a positive effect on the power consumption during cleaning. The higher energy consumption with the previous concept can be attributed to the caustic brew.

The upgrade of the CIP processes results in a time advantage of about 3 hours. This means the brewer does not need to be present in the brewhouse for these 3 hours. Furthermore, the new concept makes it possible to run production processes and CIP cleaning processes in the brewhouse simultaneously.

In the final evaluation of the concepts, the CIP concept developed in Kitzingen had significant advantages in terms of energy costs and consumptions and increased plant availability at the same time.