New brewing process - OMNIUM by ZIEMANN

OMNIUM – the revolutionary brewing process

With OMNIUM, ZIEMANN HOLVRIEKA has developed a novel brewing process for the international brewing industry, which is consequently based on the latest product innovation NESSIE by ZIEMANN. NESSIE is revolutionizing the conventional lautering process by means of a continuous separation and extraction of the mash. With OMNIUM, the brewhouse tasks are divided into subprocesses, which are treated individually and, by subsequently combining partial flows, finally completed in an optimal way. As a result, significantly shorter process times and higher raw material yields can be achieved. The process has a positive impact on the quality parameters of the wort. In addition, the fermentation can be accelerated, leading to increased brewhouse and cellar capacities.

As part of the development of OMNIUM, the brewhouse tasks were divided into their respective subprocesses and were improved individually. Finally, these subprocesses were reunited at the optimum time to an overall solution. This innovative brewing process is based on the principle of an advantageous combination of individually improved subprocesses. The core component and centrepiece of OMNIUM is NESSIE.

NESSIE by ZIEMANN – separation and extraction

NESSIE, the core piece of OMNIUM. The separation of the mash is carried out via filter units.

With NESSIE, the mash is separated into wort and spent grains in a continuous process and the spent grains are sparged in order to obtain the extract. With this procedure, the lauter wort is obtained in a dynamic process. The mash transfer time corresponds to the lautering time. The separation of the mash is carried out via four filter units in cascade arrangement, in which the rotary disk filters perform the separation of wort and spent grains. The sparging of the extract is carried out in parallel using a turbulent counterflow extraction. The sparging water is injected via fine nozzles in the transition between the filter units. The flow direction of the water is principally opposed to the flow direction of the solids.

ALADIN by ZIEMANN: Late saccharification of the boiled wort

ALADIN - late saccharification.

Another new development of OMNIUM is ALADIN, a procedure for the late saccharification during the wort treatment process. For this purpose, approximately one percent of the brew volume from the first sieve filter module is temporarily stored. The temperature of the malt extract represents 72 degrees Celsius. In this temperature range, the alpha amylases, required for the saccharification, have their optimal activity. The late saccharification with ALADIN is therefore carried out with malt enzymes, without using technical additives. The malt extract is then added during the trub separation. The effect of the native enzymes, which is based on the combination of different partial flows, results in technological and economic advantages leading to an increased extract yield and time savings during the mashing process.

JANUS by ZIEMANN: Fractional wort boiling for hop isomerization

JANUS: fractional wort boiling for hop isomerization. ALADIN is placed under NESSIE.

The wort boiling process JANUS for a separate hop isomerization is another novelty. For this purpose, approximately two thirds of the brew volume is supplied to the wort kettle. Due to the very good sparging of the mash, the starch particles, which were not completely degraded during the mashing enter the wort boiling process. When using conventional methods, these particles remain in the spent grains. During boiling, these particles can be thermally degraded. Afterwards, these particles can be completely saccharified with the ALADIN malt extract. This leads to an increased malt yield, as it is also observed in conventional decoction processes. The remaining one-third of the brew volume is used for the separate hop isomerization. For this purpose, only the partial flows of the counterflow extraction from the filter units are used, which already have reduced extract content and, due to the dilution, a slightly increased pH value. This fraction includes many minerals, such as magnesium, and it forms less precipitant trub during the wort boiling. These are important factors for the hop isomerization and help to increase the hop yield.

Three flows resulting in one cast-out wort

The subsequent process step combines JANUS and ALADIN, forming the actual cast-out wort. During this process, the unhopped boiled wort is first cooled down to 85 degrees Celsius and afterwards mixed with the ALADIN malt extract. The mixture is casted unto the whirlpool WORTEX by ZIEMANN. In parallel, the degraded starch particles are saccharified and the alpha amylases are deactivated due to the increased temperatures. In the next step, the isomerized hop extract is added to the clarified and saccharified wort. The temperature of the overall wort rises to approximately 90 degrees Celsius. This ensures that no active enzymes enter the fermentation cellar. Finally, the wort cooler lowers the temperature of the completed cast-out wort to the desired pitching value, while large part of the thermal energy can be recovered.

Up to 30 percent shorter brewing times

Real brewing times can be reduced by up to 30 percent.

OMNIUM offers numerous advantages for the international brewing industry: since a complete saccharification is ensured in the last process step and the hop isomerization is performed separately, the process times for mashing and wort boiling can be reduced. The conventional lautering of the wort has become a transfer step. Thanks to NESSIE, the real brewing times can be reduced by up to 30 percent. For a medium-sized brewery with a two-shift operation, this means, for example, that one additional brew can be produced. The higher contents of yeast vital substances in OMNIUM worts accelerate the primary and secondary fermentation, resulting in increased cellar capacities.

Small Footprint

Another advantage is the improved raw material yield because all extraction processes are dynamic and run at their optimum operating point. The brewer can react both thermally and enzymatically to fluctuating malt qualities. In addition, the quality of the brewed beer can also be optimized with OMNIUM: thanks to the gentle brewing process and the rapid fermentation, the brewed beers have high turbidity stability, possess excellent foam and outstanding flavor stability. Moreover, increased wort and beer diversity are possible even within the scope of the German Purity Law. These improvements help brewers to reduce their production and operating costs. Further advantages are, among others, a smaller space requirement for the equipment and reduced construction costs. The novel brewing process OMNIUM is revolutionizing the conventional brewhouse work in almost all relevant areas of beer production.

Benefits at a glance

The OMNIUM brewhouse in Reckendorf.

Less floor space required

• The OMNIUM brewhouse in Reckendorf can produce 120,000 hl p.a. and is built on only 69 sqm: less floor space, less construction costs.

Freedom of Choice

• Even local grains which are not applicable for industrial state-of-the-art brewhouses can be used: underlines your local approach.
• All kinds of starch sources can be processed: cost savings due to alternative or local starch sources.
• OMNIUM processes various kinds of grist compositions: existing milling systems can be used and can be integrated easily.

OMNIUM requires only 69m².

Shorter Process

• Reduced brewing process time - up to 30 %: leads to less TBI, reduced washing out of undesired ingredients, less polyphenols => leads also to better drinkability

Higher Yield

• OMNIUM achieves higher yield of hop due to separate hop isomerization: cost savings.
• OMNIUM achieves higher yield of starch sources due to better extraction and separation: cost savings.

Increased Wort Quality

• Wort contains less polyphenols from malt due to short contact time in NESSIE: leads to higher drinkability.
• OMNIUM preserves natural ingredients in the wort, while more undesired ingredients remain in the grain.

More Flexibility

• The steps of the brewing process are separated and can be optimized easily - maximum of creativity for the brewmaster.
• The batch size is no longer determined by the load of the lauter tun: the brewmaster is free to go for even smallest batches.
• The first wort concentration is unrivaled: up to 32 °P: High gravity is no longer restricted by the applied brewhouse vessel.
• Add hop at any step of the brewing process.

This means: a huge variety of beer styles can be produced.

Dominik Eichhorn in front of the world's first OMNIUM brewhouse.

OMNIUM Beer

• OMNIUM achieves increased foam stability
• OMNIUM leads to less polyphenols
• OMNIUM preserves natural ingredients in the beers.

Consumers appreciate it.

OMNIUM is implemented for the first time in Reckendorf

The world’s first OMNIUM brewhouse is installed in the Schlossbrauerei Reckendorf. This pioneering role is taken by the medium-sized Reckendorf brewery in Franconia. “The decision in favor of the OMNIUM brewhouse is essentially based on the greater flexibility. The brewhouse tasks are divided into sub-processes and optimized accordingly. This allows us to work with a wider variety of raw materials, such as traditional cereals, which are nowadays considered to be less suitable for industrialized production processes”, explains the graduate engineer and brewmaster Dominik Eichhorn, who is responsible in the third generation for the fortunes of the family brewery.

More information here.