ISSUE 105 SUMMER 2017

THE BIG INTERVIEW

BREWERS ASSOCIATION CHIEF BOB PEASE

LAGER TOP

HAS BIG LAGER HAD ITS DAY?

MEET THE BREWER

MALCOLM DOWNIE FROM FYNE ALES

LOVING LOCAL

BREWERS IN THE COMMUNITY REPORT

HOW MAGIC ROCK BUILT A BUSINESS TO LAST

SOLID ROCK

77SIBA JOURNAL SUMMER 2017

FOCUS

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

More love for your beer

Refine your beer with the Craft2Craft

package

- With the Craft2Craft package you can be sure that your products have a consistent great taste

- The DMA 35 density meter for precise fermentation control

- The Alex 500 alcohol and extract meter for correct alcohol labels

- The CboxQC At-line CO2 and oxygen meter for optimized shelf life stability

Get in touch: www.anton-paar.com

BREWING, BOTTLING AND CANNING EQUIPMENT

Determination of low amounts of oxygen in beer SUPPLIER viewpointHere, the team at Anton Paar, experts in

laboratory equipment and measuring systems, look at the issue of dissolved oxygen in beer.You cannot see it, you cannot smell it, but you still do not want it! The less oxygen (O2) in beer, the better. No matter how big the brewery, oxygen is any brewer’s enemy. O2 has to be observed closely to ensure that specifications are met and, if required, to make corrections possible to avoid changes in taste and color caused by reaction with oxygen.

Today most O2 meters use optical oxygen sensors. They are sensitive, require pleasantly little maintenance, and their response time is fast. The market offers meters for measuring dissolved oxygen (DO) and also for the simultaneous measurement of oxygen and carbon dioxide (CO2) such as CboxQC for measurements from tanks or kegs or, when combined with a filling device, directly out of bottles or cans.

General Hints for DO measurements directly out of packages For measuring samples with very low oxygen concentrations directly out of bottles or cans, nitrogen of 99.999 % purity (nitrogen 5.0) is recommended

to transfer sample into the measuring chamber of CboxQC.

Recommended: Total Package Oxygen calculation Oxygen in the head space is equally unwanted: is all DO consumed, head space O2 will compensate the depletion, migrate into the liquid, more oxidation products will be formed.

The total oxygen content in a beverage container can be calculated based on the determined DO content in the equilibrated package and the sample’s temperature. For the conversion of DO and temperature into TPO serves an Excel Add-In which is provided by Anton Paar free of charge. The input of known factors such as brim/ISO volumes as well as the measured temperature and O2 result will lead to the calculated total package oxygen value.

A glimpse across the fence Not only beer, but also the cans are subject to oxygen impact. Can corrosion may manifest itself e.g. by an increased risk regarding leakage or taste modifications due to metal pick up.

This makes it even more important to keep an eye on comprehensive analyses to ensure low dissolved oxygen levels.

Anton Paar develops, produces and distributes highly accurate laboratory instruments and process measuring systems, and provides custom-tailored automation and robotic solutions. It is the world leader in the measurement of density, concentration and CO2 and in the field of rheometry. Anton Paar GmbH is owned by the charitable Santner Foundation. Go to www.anton-paar.com for more information.

St Austell achieves 65% cost savings using Envirogen Group’s innovative wastewater treatment technologySt Austell Brewery is set to reduce its water discharge costs by 65% following the installation of an innovative wastewater solution developed by The Envirogen Group

The Downflow Anaerobic Carrier System (DACS) water treatment solution installed by Envirogen generated significant cost savings and also provides a future-proofed solution to enable further growth at this successful site.

“It was clear that the wastewater management systems were limiting production capability at this site,” explains Mark Little, European Strategic Projects Director at Envirogen, who led the project.

“Due to the brewing process, wastewater streams can have high organic loads and this high Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) makes a big difference in the calculation of wastewater disposal charges. As a result, St Austell Brewery was tankering

high strength wastewater streams from site, at an additional cost to the significant discharge fees required from its local water company, which levies some of the highest charges in the UK.”

Mark Little continues: “Our work with many breweries over the years has shown that their wastewater streams are ideal for anaerobic treatment. This significantly reduces the COD content of the wastewater by converting it into biomethane. St Austell Brewery’s wastewater stream COD content will be reduced by 90%.”

Clive Nichols, St Austell Brewery’s project engineer, said: “Envirogen’s solution not only delivers greater returns than the other tenders we received, but its technology caught our eye with its simplicity and low running costs. We’ll save money straight away with full return on investment realised within five years and we’ll continue to receive income through the renewable energy incentives.”

For more information go to: www.envirogengroup.com/food-beverage.

DACS Process flow diagram:

Mark Little explains how it works: “The wastewater is screened and held in a balance tank, where the flow and concentration of the wastewater is continually mixed to form a homogenous feed to the next process stage. The wastewater is then directed to the conditioning tank where it is mixed with some of the anaerobically treated wastewater.”

This ‘conditioned’ water then makes its way to the DACS anaerobic treatment reactor. The biogas generated as a by-product of the DACS anaerobic process, is collected in the reactor headspace before the next stage of treatment. The buffered biogas is combusted in a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant to generate electricity. The hot water produced by the CHP plant is diverted to a closed-circuit water loop via a heat exchanger. This source of heat can be used on-site to supply hot water to other systems - and generate additional income through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) - or used as a source of heat energy to elevate the temperature across the anaerobic system.

“The anaerobically treated wastewater and off-gases from the Balance, Conditioning and Divert tanks, are then passed to a simple aeration phase to oxidise any residual malodourous compounds, prior to discharge to the sewer,” he adds.

Designed with the community in mindMark Little continues: “We designed the system to deliver the maximum benefit to the brewery’s business at the lowest cost. To reduce the capital outlay, we made use of existing useful vessels and pipework. By using gravity flow where possible in the process, this solution benefits from particularly low operating costs.

“The DACS plant will be built from prefabricated process blocks that are engineered and manufactured off site and then constructed on-site as a ‘plug and play’ solution. This reduces construction time and minimises disruption on a busy site.”

Artists impression of the DACS wastewater treatment plant:

“Our brewery is located within a market town, so we wanted to make sure that any change we made would be to the benefit of the local community,” highlights Clive Nichols. “Envirogen worked hard to ensure that the development would have the lowest possible profile ensuring that it would blend discreetly into the surrounding environment. As the COD concentration of the wastewater stream will be much lower after DACS treatment, we’ll require no tankering, which is great for the budget, and equally importantly, for the traffic around St Austell.”

Could you reduce operating costs just by using water better?Water treatment technology and process expertise

Discover more…

For every drop of water entering your site, to every drop that leaves, we’ve got it covered… From pre-treatment for incoming water to process filtration, wastewater treatment, reuse and even waste-to-energy generation, Envirogen technology and expertise helps our customers use water more intelligently.Our systems clean, purify, reduce, reuse and repurpose water flows.We employ a powerful combination of engineering expertise, world class technology and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and capabilities to deliver outstanding lifecycle performance.

Take a look at our full range of services and industry case studies at: www.envirogengroup.com/food-beverageTo discuss ways to solve water problems at your site call 0800 316 2450 or email Contactus@envirogengroup.com

European HeadquartersEnvirogen GroupBromyard Road Trading Estate, Bromyard Road,Ledbury, Herefordshire HR8 1NS, UK

European Manufacturing, Sales & ServiceEnvirogen GroupUnit 9, Wimsey Way, Alfreton Trading Estate, Alfreton, Derbyshire DE55 4LS, UK

European Sales & DistributionEnvirogen GroupPenningweg 71, 1507 DG Zaandam, Netherlands