Weissacher Tälesbräu GmbH is a small but excellent craft beer brewery that focuses on traditional beers with innovative flavor nuances. The temperatures during the fermentation processes are primarily responsible for the aromas. “This area is totally underestimated”, says managing director and brewmaster Andreas Huber. He therefore relies on precisely controllable fermentation cooling systems from LiquoSystems.
“The topic of cooling is enormously important for us in brewing,” Andreas Huber says by way of introduction as he presents his business. “Weissacher Tälesbräu” is a typical craft beer brewery with an attached restaurant and various events and promotions throughout the year. Around eight different beers and a special beer schnapps, the “Kupferstecher,” are produced here year-round. After boiling, the professional cooling of the products begins. “You have to cool the wort down quickly, because hops release bitter substances, and otherwise too many substances that you don’t want in the beer will dissolve. Also, the yeast doesn’t like it when things get hot in the next step.”
The Task: Precise Fermentation Control with Fermentation Diagrams
The cool wort now moves into the fermentation tanks along with the yeast and thus becomes beer. But how good the beer turns out depends crucially on the temperature profile over the next few days. “Beer brewing is commonly associated with the brewhouse. However, fermentation is the decisive phase for beer flavor, which is always underestimated. Some homebrewers believe: the yeast will take care of it.” But the brewmaster’s cooling curves are crucial for the formation of aromas. Huber controls the various fermentation phases using fermentation temperature diagrams, as he learned at Weihenstephan. These dictate the temporal sequences in which the yeast is approached with different temperatures. Of course, some things are modified over time through personal experience. “We want to take known beer styles and abstract, change, and reinterpret them.” Which exact temperature profiles are applied remains the trade secret of each brewer.
The Requirement: Reproducible Top Quality
Both earlier brewmasters and Huber have had to learn that precise temperature control and thus controlled fermentation management are not a given: because climatic conditions fluctuate considerably throughout the year. “That’s a general problem”, says Huber, “which is why people didn’t brew in the summer in the past, as it was then much too warm for fermentation and storage.” The beer cellar with an ice cellar in the breweries then provided a remedy, but it didn’t completely solve the problem either. Temperatures there could not be adjusted arbitrarily and tailored to the yeast or beer type. Huber also had this problem, as he used to ferment and store his beer in his home cellar.
“Especially with wheat beer, you noticed it extremely.” What was brewed in summer tasted fruitier than what was brewed in winter. Therefore, it was clear to me: I will only let my results be measured when I have professional fermentation control with which I can work properly.”
As long as temperatures in the brewhouse fluctuate due to external conditions and cannot be controlled, reproducible top quality in beer production is simply not possible. Especially when many varieties are produced in parallel, and each requires its own temperature curves.
The Solution: LiquoSystems
“At a brewing trade fair, we were able to compare various providers of systems for controlled fermentation management. The decision fell on LiquoSystems”, as they specialize in small and medium-sized businesses and “it fit technically. I really enjoy working on the Nano Terminal with the touch panel. There I not only see my tanks, but I can flexibly label which of the changing beers is currently in which tank. I can also display the temperature curves and change individual values if needed.” Especially with the high dynamism of seasonal beer production, it is important to always keep an eye on and control what is happening in the individual tanks.
Controlled Fermentation Management in Detail
Weissacher Tälesbräu GmbH primarily brews and stores in permanently installed tanks. These include several fermentation tanks of 10 hl each for year-round beers and 5 hl for seasonal beers, plus several storage tanks of 20 hl each. A Nano Terminal from LiquoSystems is used as the central control, with several Nano Top control units, as well as temperature sensors on the tanks and a refrigeration unit from the AquaSnap Line. All tanks can be controlled individually, and each beer in them is created with its own temperature curves and profiles. The Altschwäbische Landbier, for example, is first cooled down to 8 degrees, then the controller increases the temperature curve for a few days to 10 and then to 12 degrees. When fermentation is complete, it is slowly cooled down.
The control units from LiquoSystems control each tank time-dependently with individually programmed temperature profiles. Since yeast is a natural product, the brewmaster intervenes with corrections almost daily. Either because he has to. Or because he wants to, as he enjoys experimenting with seasonal beers: for example, a red Märzen that is brewed darker. Here, a combination of hop and fruit aromas is played with. Or a beer schnapps that looks like whiskey and has a fruity aroma like a “Willi-Schnaps.” “For all these variations, you always need the temperature.” This can also be done after work. “Every now and then, I also access it from my laptop on the couch to check the current temperature and adjust it if necessary.” The precise fermentation control allows him to specifically bring out aromas.
Controlled Maturation and then Storage
Once the yeast has done its main work, the post-fermentation or maturation phase begins. Now, temperatures are not lowered abruptly, but slowly and continuously, so that the yeast can continue its work. “Young beer contains bouquet substances that smell unpleasant, somewhat like rancid butter.” These still need to be removed. Only after post-fermentation is complete does Huber cool the beer down to very cold regions for storage. “Storage tanks for top-fermented beers require different temperatures than for bottom-fermented ones. Wheat beer, which is meant to be cloudier, is not left at 0 degrees because it clarifies faster.” In total, the beer is matured in storage tanks for 4 to 6 weeks before bottling. That much time is necessary. And temperature also plays an important role during bottling, because: “If beer is not properly cold during bottling, it immediately starts to foam.”
In Case of Emergency: The Service
But what happens if the cooling system has a leak? “If a service case arises, LiquoSystems is quickly there, that really has to be praised, the service is excellent. When something happened to the refrigeration unit once, LiquoSystems Service immediately took care of it and sent a new one. That was worth gold”, says Andreas Huber, with a view to possible production downtimes.
The Customer: Weissach Tradition Meets Tälesbräu
The Weissacher Tälesbräu is a young craft beer brewery with an attached restaurant. Here, they have committed themselves to the “production of the highest quality Swabian craft beers”. Under the motto “Can beer. Also different”, Tälesbräu aims to reinterpret well-known beer styles. Typical representatives of this style are the fruity Weissacher Woiza and the Schnätterle: a palatable Old Swabian country beer with a hint of “ice candy” as a “kick”. Additionally, according to the brewmaster’s taste or popular demand, seasonal beers like the Stachelbock are offered: During “Stacheln” (stinging/spiking), a glowing metal rod is dipped into the bock, caramelizing the sugar. All creations are made within the framework of the Reinheitsgebot (German Beer Purity Law), a quality feature that holds great importance for Tälesbräu. Everything is unfiltered, handcrafted, and sustainable. This means: little automation in conjunction with green electricity. The founding was not easy due to Corona. In 2018, they started only with the gastronomy, and the subsequent sales declines in 2019 could be compensated by bottle sales. With a capacity of around 1,000 hl, they are still among the smaller players in the market. But production is already being continuously expanded, and the next products have already been ordered from LiquoSystems…