New brewhouse concept Compact-Star™

The heavy demand at drinktec 2009 in Munich and the results of the subsequent market analysis prompted GEA Brewery Systems to develop this innovative concept. The analysis of the brewing behaviour and the brewing capacity of medium-sized breweries resulted in the demand for brewing plants for quantities between 40 and 100 hl. Building large brewhouses smaller was not the issue.

A new cost-optimised development was the objective – this was achieved by standardised, production- and cost-optimised vessel sizes combined with proven products and technologies from GEA Brewery Systems. The agitator paddle with its optimum streamlined shape for gentle mashing guarantees perfectly "lump-free" mashing-in of dry grist in conjunction with the pre-mashing system, which can be adjusted from the exterior. With the raking knives and flow-optimised run-off cones, the Lauterstar™ technology provides for short lautering times and worts of excellent quality. The spent grains removal blade of hygienic design allows spent grains removal in times of around 5 minutes. The wort kettle is equipped with the energy-optimised Jetstar™ internal boiler system. These components combine to make small state-of-the-art brewing plants.

CIP saves production time

The basic configuration Compact-Star™ consists of a mash tun kettle, a Lauterstar™ and a Whirlpool/wort kettle. With this combination up to 5 brews per day and a cast-out cycle of 4 brews per shift are possible. Dry milling and also wet milling with the Millstar™ are not a problem for the small brewing plant, both methods can be used. An infusion and decoction mashing process is set up as standard.

The small brewing plant including product pipes is cleaned using a consumption-optimised CIP concept from GEA Brewery Systems. If the brewery wants to do without the conventional cleaning day and the caustic brew, highly-developed CIP philosophies as used on the "big" plants are possible. These processes ensure reliable cleaning of the pipes while production is still going on in the downstream vessel.

Compact-Star™ is provided largely pre-piped and pre-wired, in a modular design or for open installation without a frame. As a consequence, erection periods are minimised and the costs on site reduced. In addition, there are no limits in relation to vessel finish and vessel appearance.

Compact-Star™ is rounded off by the Gearboxx™ automation and visualization system from GEA Brewery Systems – a well-proven solution for the user-friendly control and monitoring of medium-sized plants.

Future expansion of the brewing plant is also possible without any problems. For example, by integrating a pre-run tank, installing a separate Whirlpool or adding a Millstar™, the brewing sequence can be increased to 12 brews per day.