Royal Unibrew increases capacity through more efficient fermentation

The Faxe plant has noted dramatic time savings in the fermentation process thanks to the Iso-Mix technology – up to 40% for the stronger beer types.

Jens Erik Klemmensen, Brewery Manager at Faxe, notes that this faster fermentation has been accompanied by improved quality, “thanks to the consistent fermentation each and every time.” In conventional fermentation tanks, there is no forced mixing of the wort and yeast. But as tanks have grown in size and capacity this means that yeast contact with the fermentable sugars is reduced and fermentation is less efficient.

Where the traditional process often led to very long process times in excess of 20 days, the introduction of the Iso-Mix system led to a much more consistent process time. Thus, the variation in process time measured by the standard deviation was reduced from 9.1 to 1.6 days. The Brewery Manager adds that shorter, more consistent fermentation makes it much easier to follow the plans in the bottling section and to predict what to brew.

According to Jens Erik Klemmensen the brewery has seen higher yeast viabilities of the yeast crop than was previously the case.

Improved yeast management

Since these Iso-Mix systems were installed in 2008, the Faxe plant has extended their application to eight yeast storage tanks. 

Jens Erik Klemmensen emphasizes that, “it is crucial that we get homogeneous yeast slurry to be sure to dose the correct amount of yeast.” Using the Iso-Mix system, that is exactly what the brewery gets, along with improved microbiological quality in the yeast storage tanks.

The company also appreciates the fact that one and the same system combines fermentation or yeast storage with efficient and cost-effective CIP tank cleaning.