Jörg Engstle (1), Heiko Briesen (1), Petra Först (1); (1) Chair for Process Systems Engineering, Weihenstephan, Germany
Technical Session 7: Brew House Operations
Monday, August 15 • 8:15–9:30 a.m.
Tower Building, Second Level, Grand Ballroom
Problems during lautering are common for brewers. The blocking
potential of mash depends on raw materials, process characteristics, and
properties of the spent grain cake. Raking knives are used to loosen
the cake and to prevent blocking. Nevertheless, raking knives cause a
higher turbidity and result in a longer process time. The spent grain
cake consists of horizontal layers of different properties. Blocking
layers in the cake have been reported in the literature. But today there
is no correlation between the blocking potential of certain layers and
the composition of these layers. It is known that particle size
distribution and particle shape have a large impact on filter cake
resistance. Therefore, these parameters have been measured by laser
diffraction, dynamic image, and sieve analysis. It can be shown that the
particle shape of husks has a high impact on the blocking potential of
layers near the false bottom and that particle size dominates the
blocking potential of upper cake layers.
Jörg studied brewing and beverage technology in Weihenstephan and
received his engineering degree in 2012. Currently he is working on his
doctoral thesis at the Chair of Process Systems Engineering in
Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich. His field of research is
lautering. His main interests are spent-grain cake structure,
differential pressure in lautering and the effect of milieu conditions,
such as pH value and ionic strength, on the behavior of fine mash
particles.
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