Wort boiling is the most thermal energy intensive process in brewing. Proper wort boiling is
not only critical to achieve the desired beer quality but also important from the point of view
of productivity and specific energy consumption (Megajoules/Hectolitre of production). Based
on our observation across breweries we find that both process and energy benchmarks vary
significantly during each batch. For example, not only are there significant variations in the
brew length, but also variations in the evaporation ratio, degree plato and higher steam
consumption against the theoretical requirement (see table below)
Deeper insight gained across plants indicates that actual energy consumed exceeds
theoretical energy consumption on an average by about 25-30%. This is not only due to the
steam system but also due to gaps in process parameters. The illustration below
summarises our observations across key process and energy parameters in the wort kettle
and their impact
By reducing the supply steam pressure to the wort kettle and addressing the issue of
condensate evacuation we have been able to significantly reduce its energy consumption.
Furthermore, our solutions provide visibility of key process and energy parameters like inlet
and outlet wort volume and temperature, evaporation ratio, degree plato, hops addition, wort
level, pH, steam consumption, steam pressure, temperature and pressure across the wort
cooler and enable accurate control of wort boiling to deliver the desired quality and
productivity with the lowest energy consumption.