Hygienic hop oil dosing in the existing brewing process
The challenge
A British brewery wanted to revamp the addition of hop oil following filtration. The existing dosing system had grown over the years and consisted of several separate components, including tanks, pumps and control units. The new solution was required to make the dosing process more compact and clearly structured. At the same time, the system had to be integrated into the existing production environment without fundamentally altering the existing process structure.
Specific requirements arose from the application itself: the highly concentrated hop oil is dosed directly into the beer stream only at a late stage in the production process. Even minor deviations in the dosage can influence the sensory profile of the finished beer. Consequently, precise dosing and a design tailored to the hygiene requirements of beverage production are of paramount importance. What was therefore required was not merely the replacement of individual pumps, but an integrated system solution for dosing, integration and operation.
The sera solution
sera developed compact dosing systems tailored to the available space and the brewery’s mechanical, electrical and control interfaces. The dosing components are housed in enclosed cabinets. Transparent fronts allow a view of the installed technology without the need to open the cabinets during normal operation. At the same time, the components are shielded from the surrounding production environment.
All components relevant to hop oil dosing are arranged in a structured manner within the units. The systems were integrated into the existing pipework and control environment and designed to meet the application’s requirements. For the components in contact with the product, materials and connections were used that are intended for the requirements of beverage production. After filtration, the hop oil is dosed directly into the beer stream. The dosing solution is designed to ensure a defined and repeatable addition within the existing process.
In addition to the dosing process itself, the practical requirements of day-to-day production also played an important role. The compact design takes account of the available installation space, whilst the arrangement of the components allows access for inspection and maintenance. The new installation thus combines components that were previously arranged separately into clearly defined dosing units and integrates the hop oil dosing into the existing production structure.
Customer benefits
- Dosing of hop oil after filtration
- Integration into the existing process and control environment
- Enclosed dosing units
- Transparent fronts for visual inspection
- Product-contact components tailored to beverage production
- Compact arrangement of system components
- Accessibility for inspection and maintenance
Conclusion
With the new dosing solution, the addition of hop oil has been integrated into the existing brewing process without the need to rebuild the entire production structure. The installation, which was previously spread across several components, has been converted into compact dosing units. This has resulted in a clearly structured solution for the precise addition of hop oil after filtration and its integration into the existing process environment. The project demonstrates how existing dosing processes can be specifically optimised when the medium, application, space constraints and existing interfaces are considered together.