Beer brewing 2.0: discover it at the WoTS

The World of Industry, Technology & Science (WoTS) offers visitors and exhibitors every opportunity to transfer knowledge, present themselves and look ahead together in a solution-oriented way. This is where the social aspect of a trade fair inextricably emerges: the drinks.

Beer consists of four ingredients: water, malt, hops and yeast. For centuries, we have understood the art of brewing beer from these four basic ingredients. Nothing has changed about the chemical process, but we have made it easier thanks to technology. Until not so long ago, every step had to be prepared manually. Breweries worked more by feel than by concrete measurement data. Dirk Kop, Technical Manager at JUMO, explains what is involved now before the beer flows from the tap. During the seminar Digitalization: Use & Visualization of Data, he gives a presentation about this.

During the seminar, Kop explains the brewing process and answers the question: what determines the carbonation, flavor and fullness of beer? "If you dissect a modern brewery, you unravel a complex process that consists of numerous components," he says. "And on several levels here there is extensive digitization. To give you a modest idea: Single Pair Ethernet, IO-Link, PROFINET, PLC control, a screen and, of course, a visualization system. And with the visualization system you can watch online what is going on within the brewing process."

Huge efficiency gains

One of the advantages of automation is that we can change the various parameters more and more specifically. We are now able to turn the knobs very purposefully, so we can brew a variety of beer with a variation in taste and experience. "A small adjustment in ingredients already affects the final result," Kop explains. "The automation used by breweries is a huge efficiency gain." The difference between traditional and modern breweries is significant. A modern brewery is an industrial environment. Only the reception area still refers to the classic copper kettles and rough men wearing large leather aprons. Kop emphasizes that the automation step is responsible for the huge leap in efficiency that has transformed the beer brewing process. "Thanks to automation, we now have a huge variety of wonderful beers to choose from," he concludes. 

During his presentation, Kop explains why measurement data such as temperature, pressure, flow and level are important and how they fulfill their role in process control. In addition to JUMO, Kensan, EUCHNER and Yokogawa are also contributing to the seminar.