Retrofit of an existing brewing system and optimisation of process flows at the traditional Schleicher brewery

Special features of the project

Flexibility and customisation

Thanks to its flexibility and very easy adaptability of recipes, minglecontrol is the perfect partner for implementing the very diverse and innovative product portfolio of Schleicher Brewery. The ability to customise minglecontrol to the needs of Schleicher Brewery has also convinced the customers. For example, the software offers the possibility of cleaning the pipelines and vessels according to the strict requirements of the Demeter certification. 

Fast implementation

Due to its high technical sophistication, minglecontrol is quickly and extensively adaptable. This was also a significant advantage in the implementation into the traditional Schleicher Brewery: production could resume within 14 days after the incident. minglecontrol is thus the optimal solution for the brewery. It serves not only as a replacement for the defective control but also as a simultaneous advancement of the company's technology to the latest standard.

Optimisation of plant use / process optimisation

Schleicher Brewery is a highly automated facility, consisting of a brewhouse, CIP plant, malt storage and fermentation tanks. The high flexibility in managing recipes allows minglecontrol to create an extensive brewing schedule and run it automatically. The brewing process can be monitored and controlled remotely via smartphone and tablet. The brewmaster receives status messages and potential user interactions via push notification on their mobile device.

Optimisation of lautering

In addition to the general plant utilisation, the regulation of lautering was optimised: Depending on the permeability of the spent grain cake (differential pressure), the cutting with the raking machine is only so deep that the wort flow runs as quickly and optimally as possible without stopping the entire lautering and promoting turbidity. To improve the quality of the clear wort, the lautering time was further reduced. Lautering times between 75 and 90 minutes are possible. Additionally, minglecontrol meets another speciality of Schleicher Brewery by allowing a brew to be divided into several fermentation tanks in desired partial quantities.

Use of the "first brew", "last brew" function

On brewing days at Schleicher Brewery, a sequence of 6 to 7 brews runs automatically in parallel and consecutively. To optimise this process, the brewery uses the minglecontrol functions first and last brew. When the "first brew" selection field is activated, the recipe sequence is automatically adjusted so that certain pipelines are flushed and emptied again before contact with a new product. Similarly, the "last brew" function is used for flushing vessels and emptying the spent grain pipelines to the spent grain silo after production ends. New batches are not started at specific times but directly through the states of the preceding brew.

Customised logging of processes

A logging function was also integrated into the new software. The processes, steps and parameters to be recorded were defined by Schleicher Brewery to match the facility. The logs generated are always available as PDFs, significantly improving the traceability of the production processes.