Development of an Automatic Equipment for Craft Beer Maceration

Small craft beer producers do not have the adequate equipment nor the precise process control for malt maceration, which is a fundamental step in beer fabrication. In this stage, different temperature levels are used to degrade the malt starch into simpler sugars; thus, it is necessary to have structurally functional containers (durable materials). Moreover, since temperature regulation is critical because it regulates the activity of the enzymes that generate fermentable sugars (alpha amilases), it is necessary for the temperature monitoring to be automatic and not manual, to avoid inhibition of their activity. Thus, an automatic equipment for craft beer maceration is proposed. Testing was done in a stainless-steel cylindrical tank with a 45 L net production. Operation temperature is 65°C, which is the temperature at which alpha amilases activate. The method consisted of the structural design of the tank and the implementation of a temperature controller in a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) S7-1200.