Watson-Marlow solve dosing accuracy problem for Belgian brewery

A 520 Series peristaltic pump from Watson-Marlow Pumps Group has been installed at a brewery in Belgium, where it is helping to dose very specific quantities of sugar into premium beer. The new project was reliant on accurate, contamination-free dosing, and only Watson-Marlow was up to the task.

When Brasserie de Blaugies won a significant ongoing order to fill 20 and 30 litre plastic fermentation vessels with one of its beers, the challenge was to dose the precise amount of liquid sugar to ensure the beer is brewed to offer the required levels of alcohol and flavour.

For each vessel, a precise measurement of liquid sugar is required. As all brewers will say, too much or too little sugar can be disastrous for the final product, so the importance of the dose is not to be underestimated.

Installed in September 2009, the 520 Series pump accurately doses the sugar quantities into the vessels after the other beer ingredients have been pumped in at a temperature of 2°C.

After a certain period of fermentation, the beer is decanted into smaller bottles ready for sale.

In an added benefit to Brasserie de Blaugies, peristaltic technology ensures nothing but the tube touches the fluid, thus eliminating the risk of the pump contaminating the fluid or the fluid contaminating the pump. The complete closure of the tube, which is squeezed between a roller and the track, gives the pump its positive displacement action, preventing backflow and eliminating the need for check valves when the pump is not running.

The 520 Series pump at Brasserie de Blaugies is used in combination with Marprene tubing, Watson-Marlow's exclusive thermoplastic elastomer. Marprene is the longest life tubing with a wide chemical compatibility.

More information on 500 series pump range.