Craft breweries are expanding in India at a fast pace, with several businesses currently exploring opportunities in this sector and expected to join the bandwagon in the near future.

Brewing is a science as well as an art, and every brewer wants his/her brewery designed in a way such that the plant delivers the brewing process parameters as per his/her recipe.

Hypro, a Pune-based company offering turnkey solutions for brewing, Carbon dioxide (CO2) recovery and hygienic processes, has engineered the brewing process in a manner that is operationally easy and simple, with ease of accessibility for cleaning of the equipment and piping batch after batch.

HyMi system

For research-oriented professionals, Hypro brings a smart solution in its HyMi brewing system that can produce up to 50 litres of brewing wort in one batch. The distinct feature here is the possibility of experimenting with a variety of mashing cycles, infusions, decoctions, single infusions, double and triple decoctions.

One can experiment with lautering cycles to arrive at the most optimum parameters for faster wort collection and increased conversion efficiency at the same time.

Compact design, with the possibility of steam-based heating for pressure boiling of wort and user-friendly panels with loggers is among its benefits. Only the size gets smaller, but all other features remain the same. The results from HyMi systems can be related for scaling up operations.

Precise process control in sync with bigger brewery plants is a distinct advantage with the system. It can also be a useful product for those seasonal market resorts where, though the consumption is less, fresh, crafted beers can be offered.

HyCrC plants

Keeping in view the environmental impacts of CO2, and looking at the higher and higher size of craft breweries, Hypro has introduced a very innovative product. The HyCrC plants effectively stop the release of the gas into the atmosphere and instead reuse it in the brewing process.

Such plants can produce as small as 6 kg/h to 120 kg/h liquid CO2, based on requirements (for larger capacities Hypro has the MEE CO2 recovery plants).

HyCrC can be operated manually or automatically and delivers pure CO2 at 99.9% V/V at the outlet of the plant and 7/g pressure in vapour form.

The main advantage is that the breweries receive 100% food-grade CO2 in-house and eliminates the handling of gas cylinders.

CO2 recovery

CO2 is generated in a brewery during fermentation of the wort and the gas generated is adequate to cater to the needs of a brewery. To be self-sufficient in CO2 supply, a brewery should have high efficiency and a reliable recovery plant.

Hypro’s reliable and proven technology results in the most energy efficient (MEE) CO2 recovery plant. It is highly energy-efficient and finds easy acceptance from global beer brands.

The company has also introduced into India the glycol-based liquid CO2 evaporation system, which has resulted in the saving of steam energy and also the recovery of refrigeration energy.

Nearly 40 such installations are running successfully in India and other Asian countries. They include Carlsberg India, UB Group, Carlsberg AG, SAB Miller, Ab InBev, Molson Coors and Blossom Breweries.

These plants are considered extremely reliable and utilise a technology which was, until recently, dominated by European companies.

Energy savings

Wort cooling is a mandatory unit process in breweries, which uses a huge amount of refrigeration energy. Hypro ‘Smart Wort Cooling System’ is an innovative offering that has found ready acceptance and has already replaced more than 10 traditional wort coolers in India.

It results in huge potential energy savings compared to traditional wort coolers, and is a proven product that not only saves water for the breweries but also electrical energy spent in the refrigeration plant.

Refrigeration is a very important process in brewing and a major source of energy consumption. Conventional breweries run with ammonia as a primary and glycol as a secondary refrigerant.

Subsequently, few breweries opted for a direct ammonia expansion scheme to save, to some extent, on energy required in the refrigeration plants by increasing the evaporation temperature of ammonia in the main plant.

With the burning issue of power savings becoming critical, the focus has certainly shifted to analysing if the current systems are energy efficient or whether scope exists to save on power in the current systems.

Every unit saved on power is not only a cost-saving but also contributes to a greener and cleaner planet.

Split refrigeration

To make systems increasingly energy efficient, Hypro has focused on energy requirements in a brewery and now has an innovative solution on offer. Multi-evaporation, split refrigeration is an offering, which eliminates the risky, direct-liquid, ammonia-based cooling in the brewing process.

At the same time it offers power savings using the safe, secondary refrigerant, Propylene Glycol.

Another important aspect in craft brewing is the ‘cleaning in place’ of equipment and pipelines. This is an area where plants designed by Hypro excel and helps the brewer maintain clean, hygienic conditions.

The system eliminates the possibility of contamination arising from dead legs, dead pockets and inaccessible areas.

Hypro also engineers services like steam, refrigeration, cooling systems in a way that optimises operations, resulting in a lower cost of operation. Installation of steam-heated kettles for mashing and boiling is a standard procedure, which has its own unique advantages over direct electrical-heated systems.

Founded in 1999, Hypro has executed several projects for industrial breweries, micro- and craft breweries and also offers innovative, energy-saving schemes for breweries and CO2 recovery plants.