Inside of a beer bottle (Photo: DomenicBlair on Pixabay)

Analytics of gushing | In ongoing research, TU Munich is investigating the physical processes during formation of gas bubbles in liquids prone to gushing. Part 1 of this two-part series of articles described the theoretic fundamentals and the measuring instruments developed (BRAUWELT International no. 2, 2022, pp. 96–99). Part 2 presents examples of results of associated experimental studies.

Person in a lab coat lifting a grain with a pair of tweezers (Picture: ZoomAgri)

Assessment solutions | ZoomAgri, a technology company founded in 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, provides assessment solutions for agricultural commodities using AI, computer vision, and IoT. It offers various products for malting barley variety recognition, and for recognizing the physical quality of grains and oilseeds such as corn, soybeans, wheat, and malting barley in real time, at location and against very attractive prices, leading to a higher quality malt and beer.

GEA InsightPartner Brewery wurde von GEA im Design Sprint mit wichtigen Branchenakteuren entwickelt (Foto: GEA)

Always up-to-date | “Monday moaning meetings” – the start of the week for breweries is frequently met with a groan. It is when the folders and reams of data come out. As one of the breweries pioneering a digital innovation developed in a GEA design sprint, Störtebeker Braumanufaktur can in the future dispense with this paper chaos. GEA InsightPartner Brewery provides real-time data, helping quality control and making the Stralsund-based brewery faster, more productive – and smarter. The tool not only gives Störtebeker an intuitive overview of performance data, but also something even more precious: time.

Green oranges hanging from a tree (Photo: Fahd Khan auf Unsplash)

Gently mixing products | This is a topic under perpetual discussion. Economic comparisons, in particular, form the basis for making decisions when choosing a process or when considering the investment required to implement a continuous process. Aside from economic considerations, aspects such as the duration of the process, how well it can be automated and the level of product losses as well as the costs and labor associated with cleaning and maintenance are all very important for manufacturers concerned with upholding high quality standards, since these factors affect the quality and influence the final product during the process.

Person getting a beer at the bar (Foto: Elevate on Unsplash)

Hygienic challenges | For years, alcohol-free beer has enjoyed a steady increase in popularity. This is not only thanks to drinkers taking various social aspects and health concerns into account; it’s also a result of the constantly improved quality of these beverages. Alcohol-free beer is almost exclusively sold in small containers such as bottles or cans. Dispensing it from barrels is rare; even less common is the distribution of non-alcoholic beer in tanks. However, the wish to be able to also offer customers this relatively new type of beer on tap is growing.

Kegs at BGI Ethiopia; BGI fights keg losses by implementing the track and trace solution KegTNT

Asset control | Like all breweries today, BGI Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, has been continuously facing significant financial losses related to the loss of their kegs. To resolve the problem, they engaged experts in breweries automation from Montelektro and their partners from 8Sigma, whose expertise is developing Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and similar Industry 4.0 solutions.

Cylindroconical fermentation tanks in a brewery

Overview | This article is an abridged version of the scientific paper “Fermentation and Spoilage Yeasts and their Relevance for the Beverage Industry – A Review” which appeared in BrewingScience in 2012 [13]. At the time, the article provided a summary of the latest findings on the subject of harmful spoilage yeasts and wild yeasts and still serves as a reference in the event that problems are encountered with these microorganisms.

Portable measurement system InTap for optical oxygen measurement by Mettler Toledo

Beer quality | Oxygen impacts negatively on beer quality in terms of flavour, stability and quality. No oxygen, if at all possible, should get into the product after fermentation. For this reason, residual oxygen is monitored in the trace range at critical locations with in-line sensors or portable devices.

Guy in a white coat working at a lab. The metabolomics and proteomics technologies are being used to profile raw materials, brewing, and beer quality in extraordinary detail.

The new -omics technologies | Over the last few decades, we have all experienced the benefits of increased computer power, either in our daily lives or at work. The sheer volume of data that can be generated has also required increased storage capacity and new cloud-based applications. Blessing or curse, the reality is: we rely on these on a daily basis. Even in the malting and brewing industries, we are facing ever-increasing amounts of data, requests for more data, and faster access. The growth in data is down to a number of technologies such as metabolomics and proteomics which can provide data on hundreds to thousands of compounds. This review is a helicopter view of these two technologies being used to profile raw materials, brewing, and beer quality in extraordinary detail.

Hop pellets (Photo: Markus Spiske, Unsplash)

Quality assurance | Dry hopping has become an essential technique in beer brewing, designed to create the aroma of a beer and to produce pronounced, typical beer styles. This excerpt from an extensive research project provides some insight into the chemical-physical changes associated with dry hopping.

There are several formulae for the prediction of beer color in recipe design. But what if the precalculations do not really match the spectrophotometer values?

Beer color equations | This is the second article in a three-part series about the challenges of specifying beer color at the recipe design stage, as well as measuring it after the beer has been brewed. It examines the most common equations currently in use by brewers around the world for specifying beer color before the brewing process begins.

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