Once again, it’s time for the craft brewing community to come together to learn and share at the annual Craft Brewers Conference. For everyone at GEA, being part of this thriving and vibrant conference and industry has been a gratifying and enjoyable experience.This year, we are especially eager to tell you about some product updates and enhancements that will improve efficiency and create more sustainable operations at breweries of every size. Find out what we can do for you. Stop by our booth and speak to our process, product and service experts.

Here are just a few of the technologies and services you can learn about at our booth:

• Our game-changing GEA HBi craft beer centrifuge skids with integrated direct drive are now better than ever. A resource-efficient solution, our GEA HBi separator skids carry the “Add Better” label – a TUV validated eco-label. The high-efficiency motor transfers energy directly to the bowl without the use of belts and clutches, reducing energy consumption by up to 10%. The GEA HBi also has service intervals extended by 100% and a noise level below 76 dB(A) during operation. The patented, no oxygen-pickup GEA twin hydrohermetic inlet protects the high quality of your beer – batch after batch! See both a semi-automatic and fully automatic unit at our booth.
• Learn about the groundbreaking and newly designed GEA QBOIL. It works to reduce energy consumption during wort boiling by 60% compared to conventional systems that offer no energy recovery. It combines three technologies: 1) the fed-batch process with gradual addition of wort; 2) fractional boiling; 3) heat recovery by vapor condensation. The result: a total evaporation rate of less than 0.5% instead of the usual 4% observed, and boiling time reduction from approximately 80 to 45 minutes. This creates additional capacity in the brewing process and reduces the thermal load on the wort.
• “De-alc and Do More” – that’s what our GEA AromaPlus Membrane dealcoholization can do for your brewery. Stop by and see our Model R membrane filtration plant. This small unit is ideal for product testing and can be used to begin the scale-up process. You can also learn more about our testing facility in Hudson, WI. Use our facility to test your beer and find out how good it will taste without the alcohol!
• Discover our range of hygienic valves – perfect for use in a multitude of beverage applications. A display manifold will be part of our exhibit and shows the many valve types you can select from. 

Much more to discover:

• See a demonstration of GEA InsightPartner Brewery software. This digital cloud-based tool captures real-time process management data, monitors production performance and alerts users to deviations.
• Looking for ways to make your brewery even more sustainable?  The “Add Better” GEA Centrifuge Water Saving Unit enables a transfer of emitted heat from the operating separator via recirculating cooling water to glycol or iced water. This reduces the cooling water consumption by 99.9% compared to conventional cooling of the separator. The result: savings of more than 1.3 million liters of water per year and per separator.
• Discover how to source the CO2 generated during fermentation with a system specially developed for small- to mid-sized breweries. Besides helping to reduce production costs, CO2 recovery results in a greener process overall, with lower emissions and a reduced carbon footprint.
• Find out what a GEA hiHop decanter can do for your production output. The hiHop decanter provides for a swift, easy and efficient clarification of heavy solid loads as seen in the dry hopping process. It can also mean up to 10% more beer from each batch.
• Learn about GEA systems and equipment for production of spirits and whiskey and understand what the possibilities might be for your facility.