Online system aims at brew efficiency

Getting the most from the brewing process is the key aim of a new online-tool designed to maximize productivity by analysing the unique qualities behind individual beer brands, says its designer.

Launched at this week’s Brau Beviale exposition in Nuremberg, Germany, DSM claims that its BrewCoach tool is now available to manufacturers worldwide to determine which of its brewing enzymes products may best suit their individual processing needs.

The company says that the system has been designed in an attempt to play up potential profits improvements from its products within beer making through providing product consistency and manufacturing efficiency.

Personal approach

Christel Rutten, product manager of DSM’s beer operations, said that the availability of a tool designed to offer personalised solutions for brewers will allow manufacturers to better meet the formulation challenges facing the industry.

“Every brewer has different requirements, uses different brewing processes, techniques and equipment and measures success against a range of key processing issues (KPIs) including yield, conversion and filtration times,” she stated. “Add to this the range of different raw materials currently being used, such as malt, raw barley, wheat or adjuncts and the matrix of variables becomes ever more complex.”

Brewing factors

DSM says the system works by allowing a manufacturer to input a variety of variables linked to their operations that may impact upon product output. These factors include:

  • Raw material composition
  • Malt quality
  • The type of equipment used, such as a cereal cooker or lauter tun
  • Level of mash-in and conversion temperatures used in brewing

Key processing issues

In addition to these factors, the manufacturer says the system also looks at KPIs such as the actual conversion time during brewing, as well as product yields, Free Amino Nitrogen content and the use of fermentable sugars and fermentation processes.

According to DSM, the information used by the tool is based upon its own technical experience with providing brewing solutions and enzymes for a number of different brewers.