Measuring wort and condensate effectively and efficiently
A consistently familiar beer taste is one of the most important criteria of your beer brand. To ensure the high level of quality remains the same for every batch, you need to check the wort content in the brewing process carefully. To work efficiently, you also need to know how much energy you actually need for your brewing process. This is, for example, indicated by the condensate that is produced when the wort is heated in the brew kettles with steam. Find out how you can make your brewing process more efficient and save valuable time and energy when measuring wort and condensate!
The challenge every master brewer faces
The technical equipment in your brewery requires steam or hot water for brewing, pasteurization, sterilization, washing and cleaning. The challenge: excessive energy consumption is a burden on profits and resources. You can only work efficiently if you know the exact amount of energy required for the brewing process. You also need reliable measurements to determine the wort gravity, which is essential to ensure the ideal taste and alcohol content of your beer.
1st goal: Guaranteeing the quality of your brewing product
For high-quality brewing products, you need to be able to reliably measure individual values such as temperature, concentration and volume in order to determine the wort gravity. Do you still record and control these values manually? That is a complex and time-consuming process.
The wort content is measured in °Plato. The longer the wort is boiled, the more concentrated it becomes and the more alcohol is produced.
The wort gravity is measured using a hydrometer – samples are collected manually.
Why you should rethink conventional methods for measuring wort
Coriolis flowmeters can measure wort volume and gravity, but they are more costly to purchase and difficult to handle due to their size and weight. Not every model measures the temperature.
Electromagnetic flowmeters (EMFs) measure only the flow rate – not the wort gravity.
2nd goal: Optimizing energy consumption
Your brewing plant needs to operate as energy-efficiently as possible. You want to know exactly how much energy you need to provide for each step in the beer production process. Your process can only be optimized when you know what is needlessly eating up energy. By processing measurement data in a heat quantity calculator, you can receive real-time process data.
A flowmeter can measure the amount and temperature of the condensate. If you optimize the energy flow with these measurement results, you can increase the efficiency of your plant - and your energy balancing.
Why conventional methods of condensate measurement have disadvantages
Conventional solutions consist of two temperature sensors in the supply and return lines, a flowmeter for steam and a heat quantity calculator. However, these components are complicated to install and the high temperatures cause them to wear more quickly.
Flow measurement with SAW technology is the solution
The Bürkert FLOWave flow sensor measures not only the flow rate but also the temperature and the wort gravity – thereby ensuring the beer keeps flowing with the known quality. Your production benefits: your brewing plants work all the more efficiently after optimization.
Since FLOWave measures liquids conductivity independently, you can also easily determine the amount of heat in condensate. This gives you a decisive advantage: with the Bürkert system solution you can identify and optimize the energy consumption of individual consumers in the production process.
FLOWave provides you with a compact flowmeter which, thanks to innovative SAW technology, does not require sensor elements in the measurement tube. SAW stands for surface acoustic waves. These occur in nature, e.g. during seismic activities. We utilize their effect for inline flow measurements.
No parts in the measurement tube means: no deposits, no material incompatibility, no maintenance, no pressure drop, and easy cleaning.
Eight reasons why your brewing plant works more efficiently with FLOWave
Networked with all common industry standards
The fieldbus gateway ME43 networks FLOWave with all commonly used industrial standards for Industrial Ethernet or PROFIBUS. It reliably calculates the wort gravity from the density factor and the temperature in f(x) and calculates the heat quantities of the condensate. The values are communicated digitally to the controller.
Wort: This is how you will definitely save time!
Would you like to see an example calculation? Conventional flow rate sensors are unable to measure the wort gravity. Master brewers therefore collect a sample manually, cool it and use a hydrometer to measure the wort – twice per brew on average. With FLOWave, you can measure the flow rate and wort gravity automatically as the beer flows, thus enhancing the efficiency of your brewing plant with ease.
Conventional plant Plant with FLOWave
for collecting samples, cooling, measuring and documenting
Time saved each working week with 9 brews per week
Condensate: Discover your savings potential!
Conventional solutions are often complicated to install and entail very high purchasing costs. Instead of a flow sensor, a heat quantity calculator and two temperature sensors, you can simply install FLOWave together with ME43.
Installed on the condensate line, this compact solution alongside a temperature sensor in the steam line reliably detects your energy quantities – as well as potential impurities caused by possible cracks in the heat exchanger. In addition to energy efficiency, we do everything to ensure that your plant enjoys a long service life.
Discover more technical details about the unique FLOWave flowmeter.
FLOWave SAW flowmeter
- No obstacles inside the measuring tube, compact, lightweight and low energy consumption
- Conforms to hygienic requirements, CIP/SIP compatible
- Ideal for liquids with low or no conductivity
- Digital communication, parameterisation via Communicator, display
- Optional: ATEX/IECEx certification, II 3G/D