Brauerei BOSCH GmbH & Co. KG – using a new and energy-efficient boiling procedure for brewing beer.

The BOSCH brewery has successfully designed a more efficient brewing process using innovative technology. The core component of this process is wort boiling in a wort copper. Hops are added as the beer wort is being boiled. This gives the beer its characteristic hop taste. Unwanted aromas are removed with the steam.

In order to achieve rapid heating and evaporating rates and to prevent
overfoaming, wort coppers with internal and external boilers (closed evaporation) are now used in many breweries. This requires the wort to undergo a strong, general evaporating process which consumes a lot of energy – but this is the only way to get rid of the required amounts of unwanted aromas.

Taking the basic research carried out on the process at the Technical University of Munich one stage further, a procedure has been developed by HERTEL GmbH which dramatically reduces the energy requirement for evaporation during the wort boiling process: rectification wort boiling. This procedure is based on the principle of multiple distillation and was implemented for the first time on an industrial scale at the BOSCH brewery. During the rectification wort boiling procedure, the wort is added to a rectification column containing steam. It is then passed through the steam according to the counterflow principle, and in this way additional aromas are removed. As a result the total evaporation required to achieve the desired amount of aroma removal is significantly reduced, as is the amount of energy used. Since the evaporation is responsible for most of the energy consumption in the brewing process, this produces a huge savings potential.

Furthermore, all heat recovery methods can continue to be used unhindered. By using this system, the brewery saves an additional 3,145 hl of drinking water per year. The results mean that the rectification wort boiling procedure is now being introduced throughout the brewing sector.

Assessment
This project shows just how beneficial increases in energy efficiency are not just for large companies, but also for small and medium-sized ones. It is remarkable that the BOSCH brewery in cooperation with HERTEL GmbH has contributed to the development of an innovative and energy-efficient technology which is now ready to be marketed. Basic research carried out by the university was directly incorporated into the implementation of the procedure. This project can certainly serve as an example to other companies.

More detailed information on the project can be found in the data sheet:  "Brauerei BOSCH GmbH & Co. KG – using a new and energy-efficient boiling procedure for brewing beer."