A Croatian brewery wanted to produce a premium, non-pasteurised lager, requiring the installation of a cold stabilisation module. A partnership between Parker BioScience Filtration and Agidens Process Automation achieved microbial stability while protecting the taste of the lager.
Zagrebačka pivovara, which is part of Molson Coors,commissioned Agidens Process Automation to install the cold stabilisation module (CSM) at its brewery site because of the company’s expertise in cold stabilisation technology. Agidens has offices in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Switzerland, and is active in the food & beverage, tank terminals, fine chemicals, life sciences, and infrastructure sectors.
The CSM uses Parker Bioscience Filtration’s Perpor NG and Bevpor BR filters in a combination to achieve microbial stability and protect the taste characteristics of the premium lager. The CSM at the Zagrebačka pivovara site filters an average of 250 hectolitres of beer per hour. Parker Bioscience Filtration, part of Parker Hannifin, is a manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems and has operations in California and the UK.
Bespoke system In just five months,Agidens’ engineering team was able to provide a tailor-made CSM solution that was integrated into the brewery’s existing production line. The CSM installation consists of three modules: a filtration skid, a distribution cluster and a CIP skid, which covers a total length of 6.75 m. As the site was only accessible via a small elevator, the CSM had to be custom designed, disassembled and transported before it could be re-built and installed on site.
Parker Bioscience Filtration’s BEVPOR BR range of filters have been constructed with a special Polyethersulphone (PES) membrane, which offers a long service life and is therefore a highly efficient solution with a low cost of operation in sterile filtration of beer applications. Its PREPOR NG filters have been specifically developed to remove yeast and particulate such as filter aids and haze components. The high level of retention ensures that a consistent quality of brew is delivered and provides a greater level of membrane filter protection during cold stabilisation.
Sterile filtration solutions provided by Parker Bioscience Filtration are designed to allow brewers to significantly reduce the costs of microbial stabilisation while still protecting the beer’s sensory appeal.
Effective partnership Parker Bioscience Filtration’s partnership with Agidens Process Automation, which was announced in 2018, has enabled the global brewing industry to access systems which integrate Parker Bioscience Filtration’s microfiltration solutions with Agidens’ automated processing technology. Lee Pattison, product manager, Food & Beverage at Parker Bioscience Filtration, said: “We’re delighted that our partnership with Agidens Process Automation has been able to create an effective solution for Zagrebačka pivovara.
“It is an example of how breweries are able to tap into Parker Bioscience Filtration and Agidens Process Automation’s combined expertise in order to access innovative sterile filtration technology. By using cold stabilisation modules in their processes, breweries can benefit from the numerous advantages that sterile filtration has over pasteurization, such as reducing product losses and energy costs, while protecting taste from the effects of heat treatment and increasing shelf life.”
Tomislav Rorbach, process optimization engineer at Zagrebačka pivovara, said: “The cooperation with Agidens was flawless and they have fully met our expectations with their CSM module.”
Parker Bioscience Filtration has five decades of experience in working with the international food and beverage sector and offers a wide range of filtration solutions. It also has specialist expertise in the dairy, bottled water and wine industries, and supports companies in improving process control, efficiency and security throughout their production and packaging processes.
About the author This article was supplied and written by Lee Pattison, product manager, Food & Beverage at Parker Bioscience Filtration.
