30 years of centrifugal separation
at Krombacher Brauerei
The strategy of Krombacher Brauerei for its brewing technology is both successful and simple: translate traditional knowledge into automated processes with as few changes as possible. An important tool in this process are centrifuges of GEA Westfalia Separator, which are used upstream of the filter for clarifying the kellerbier and also for recovering barm beer.
Content
Natural fluctuations are reliably standardised
Beer filtration is a very complex process, and depends on many parameters such as yeast, malt, brewhouse work or storage. In order to be able to ensure that the filtration process is effective and reproducible despite these variables, these fluctuations have to be standardised directly upstream of the filter cellar.
Reduces strain on filters, operating times increased
At Krombacher, this is the reason for the development of a separator procedure which considerably reduces the level of strain on the filter during the solids separation process and thus considerably increases the operating times of the filter.
After storage, high-performance separators are used to remove some of the suspended particles from the Krombacher Pils. A certain amount of trub is deliberately allowed to remain in the Pils as a “spacer” for the kieselguhr, as this arrangement achieves the best results in the filter cellar.
At present, Krombacher uses four clarifiers of the type SC 120, which have been running in fully automatic operation for around 20 years. They are maintained regularly; otherwise, they operate so reliably that one almost forgets that they are part of the technical equipment.
Separator reduces filtration costs – fully automatically
The separation processes are fully automated by means of a differential turbidity measurement, which ensures that the relevant suspended particles are maintained reliably in a defined range. This results in numerous advantages for Krombacher which are backed by statistics:
- The capacity of the filter cellar can be spread evenly throughout the year
- Cost reduction due to less kieselguhr per hl
- Operating lives of the filters are extended
Barm beer recovery with decanters - high quality and economic
Barm beer recovery is the second area of application for centrifugal separation at Krombacher Brauerei; in this process, the brewery uses two decanters of GEA Westfalia Separator, each of which processes max. 50 hl barm beer per hour.
The yeast recovered in this way is used in various applications, including applications in the food and pharmaceuticals industries. The beer which is contained in the yeast is separated gently and very quickly, so that it reliably meets the required specifications and can be recycled back into the production process.
Information about the author: Helmut Schaller
Helmut Schaller is the technical director at Krombacher Brauerei. Born in Augsburg, he originally trained as a brewer and then studied in Weihenstephan. He is a certified master brewer and a beverage technologist. He has also successfully completed his studies as a graduate economic engineer. Helmut Schaller started in 1983 in Krombach, originally as the assistant to the technical director. He was appointed as head of Production in 1988, and since 2002 he has also been responsible for Logistics.
Photos (except machines): www.krombacher.de