Beer

Inline measurement supplies readings such as temperature, density, viscosity and speed of sound, from which sugar, alcohol and the course of fermentation can be derived. The Endress+Hauser Fermentation Monitor QWX43 measures these values directly in the tank and updates them every minute. SONEM ultrasonic sensors also record how the signal propagates through the medium and compare it with a reference measurement. The result is a continuous picture of the process instead of individual spot checks.

A multisensor system installed permanently in the tank measures the values from which sugar and alcohol can be determined, without anyone having to draw a sample. Previously, a sample was taken around once a day, carried to the lab and the result entered into a list by hand. This took time and carried a small risk of contaminating the tank. With IoT, the values can be called up at any time on any internet-enabled device.

IoT makes beer quality measurable throughout production instead of checking it only through individual samples. At SONEM, ultrasonic sensors compare the properties of the medium with a reference measurement, without contact and in real time. A machine learning model is continuously trained further with the data on a cloud platform. Endress+Hauser cites consistent beer quality and optimised use of raw materials as benefits of its Fermentation Monitor.

Readings usually flow into a cloud platform that displays them in dashboards and raises alerts at limit values. Endress+Hauser uses its IIoT ecosystem Netilion, which also creates batches and readings automatically and allows custom applications via an API. SONEM relies on Microsoft Azure: data is pre-processed at the edge, analysed in the cloud and visualised for end customers in IoT Central.