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Modern technology for the brewing process

February 2023

...clean water is essential to delicious beer. That’s why Welde draws water from its own well. The long-established brewery uses chlorine dioxide to disinfect its brewing and process water...

Chlorine dioxide systems at Welde

Modern technology for the brewing process

Heidelberg, Germany, 7 February 2023: The first draught beer was tapped in the 18th century – in 1752 to be precise, the same year that the Zum grünen Laub brewery (renamed Welde in 1888) was founded. Today, the brewery produces numerous beers and beer-based mixed drinks in Plankstadt under the Weldebräu name. Clean water is essential to delicious beer. That’s why Welde draws water from its own well. The long-established brewery uses chlorine dioxide to disinfect its brewing and process water. Water treatment, measuring and control technology, metering technology and web-based solutions from ProMinent ensure its systems work efficiently and without interruption.

Bello Zon CDVd chlorine dioxide systems are installed between the tank used to store the water drawn from Welde’s own well for beverage production and each of the pipes that feed it. These disinfect by adding chlorine dioxide in proportion to the quantity of well water and can be used to treat anything from 50 to 10,000 m3 of water. Sensors from the product family DULCOTEST monitor the correct concentrations of up to 0.4 ppm CIO2.

Welde also uses chlorine dioxide in its bottle washing machine. Depending on the measured values, up to 2 ppm CIO2 is metered to disinfect the beer bottles. Sensors continuously monitor the precise chlorine dioxide content in the water bath of the bottle washing machine. DULCOMETER diaLog DACb controllers process the measured values and control the pumps. The waste water produced during the bottle cleaning process is treated for reuse as washing water.

Tried-and-tested ProMinent gamma/ X solenoid-driven metering pumps are used to meter disinfectant and lubricate the conveyors in the bottling hall. In the brewhouse, meanwhile, sigma motor-driven metering pumps deliver a 50 % sodium hydroxide solution to the Cleaning in Place systems, for example. Such systems enable all parts to be cleaned in situ, without having to dismantle machinery.

Reliable cooling

In addition to clean brewing water, reliable cooling is a must for breweries. Appropriate temperatures are required for everything from fermentation to wort cooling.

Through the addition of inhibitors and biocides to the cooling water and the use of filters, the Plankstadt-based brewery protects its cooling tower against corrosion, deposits and biological growth. To this end, the controller AEGIS continuously monitors and regulates conductivity and controls biocide metering. Solenoid metering pumps ensure constant and precise metering here too.

Regional proximity – basis for the perfect partnership

Given its proximity to Plankstadt, the Heidelberg-based pump manufacturer is the perfect partner for Welde. And the partnership works the other way round, too, as ProMinent collaborates closely with the brewery to test new products quickly in real applications. “The moment we come up with something suitable, we approach Welde with the product,” says Thomas Eifel, Head of Sales at ProMinent Deutschland. “We jointly examine how the products work in practice, which is always better than simply talking about them. This is very important to us because breweries are a focal industry for our disinfection technology.” Master Brewer Stephan Dück adds, “For us, this means we are using state of the art solutions at all times.”

Given the many years of partnership, Welde is always happy to open the door to ProMinent and its innovations. Take for example the area of product networking – through the use of DULCONNEX, the brewery has been able to create a smart network connecting its chlorine dioxide systems and pumps.

Remote and yet close: digital fluid management

The digital platform DULCONNEX enables efficient system operation without interruption at Welde and can be reached from anywhere in the world via the internet. The brewery benefits from direct access to all information relating to its on-site devices and systems.

There is now no need for brewery staff to conduct continuous physical inspections to determine whether tanks have to be refilled, etc. A lot of time is saved as a result. DULCONNEX also generates automated reports at Welde, eliminating the manual effort previously involved. Such reports are required by law. For example, the brewery must ensure impeccable well water quality and maintain verifiable records of specified measured values, including the chlorine dioxide level. Thanks to digital measuring, control and metering technology from ProMinent, it is very easy for Welde to monitor the chlorine dioxide concentration at all times, make alterations where necessary and document all parameters.

Statements

Stephan Dück, Master Brewer and Beer Sommelier at Welde Brewery

“You can tell what a good partner ProMinent is by how seldom we need to request a site visit. The products are simply flawlessly reliable and need little maintenance.”

Thomas Eifel, Head of Sales at ProMinent Deutschland

“Welde is a great customer for us given its location nearby. We can test new products in practical applications there with little effort, to the benefit of both parties.”

Key data

Company: Weldebräu GmbH & Co. KG in Plankstadt

Industry: regional brewery

Founded in 1752: family-run brewery in its ninth generation

Turnover: ten million euros (equivalent to approximately one million litres of beer or three million 0.33 l bottles)

17 beer types: Welde No. 1, naturally cloudy shandy, wheat beer, alcohol-free wheat beer, various craft beers, etc.

Distance from ProMinent: 7.4 kilometres

ProMinent products in use: chlorine dioxide systems, measuring and control technology, metering technology for conveyor lubrication

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