GASSL BRAEU
Klausen, Italy
Fermentation cellar and brewhouse control with a common PLC system
Gassl Bräu
In beautiful South Tyrol, near Bolzano, you will find Gassl Bräu. This quaint inn has a special feature: a brewery integrated into the dining area. Guests enjoy fine food in combination with house-brewed beer and a direct view of the shiny copper-coloured brewing kettles, an open fermentation tank, storage tanks and analysis equipment. Helga and Norbert Andergassen are responsible for this. Mr Andergassen is one of the first Italian certified beer sommeliers in his field. He has developed a total of seven types of beer so far. From classics following the Reinheitsgebot (German Beer Purity Law) to exceptional recipes like his basil beer or chestnut beer, the master of the house is extremely keen to experiment.
He turned to DriveCon to tailor the technology to his requirements. The goal was to merge the fermentation cellar, installed in 2019, and the existing brewhouse control into a common PLC system to keep an eye on the entire facility at all times. We planned the implementation of minglecontrol for Gassl Bräu together and it was commissioned in February 2023.
7
types of beer
10
hl brewhouse
3
brewhouse devices
Project description
The challenge at Gassl Bräu was the separate control of the fermentation cellar and brewhouse. Moreover, cooling, ventilation and the separation of the wort to the fermentation tank during the brewing operation were still to be operated manually. During the new automation of the brewhouse and fermentation cellar with minglecontrol, the plate cooler and wort aeration were automated and a mobile switch for automatic transfer to the fermentation tank was implemented in minglecontrol.
The brewery thus has the option to prepare the respective fermentation tank before brewing and fill it with cooled and aerated wort during the brewing process automatically and without further intervention from a brewer.
Special features of the project
Another reason for minglecontrol was the integration of the glycol system. Here, minglecontrol also provides proactive support. Before cooling the wort, the target temperature is lowered by about 10 K through a signal exchange with the glycol system. As a result, all fermentation and storage tanks, as well as three cooling cells, are automatically switched off or put on standby. This ensures sufficient cooling capacity for cooling the wort.
Conclusion
Thanks to the web-based structure of minglecontrol, the entire Gassl Bräu facility can be controlled simultaneously and independently. Mr Andergassen is spoilt for choice: control via the existing touch PC in the fermentation cellar, a PC workstation in the brewhouse, from the brewmaster's office, or comfortably on the go via smartphone or tablet.
This means the customer can now keep an eye on his entire facility at any time. From the malt mill to the storage tanks, nothing escapes the brewmasters at Gassl Bräu anymore.
Would you like to know what else sets minglecontrol apart? We provide you with numerous reasons why it is exactly the right process technology for your production!