Sustainable brewing: balancing environmental impact, compliance, and performance

Success can only be achieved by tackling these three challenges head-on: the tightening environmental regulation, the rising compliance costs, and the pressure to maintain quality and yield.  Alfa Laval is well-versed in developing solutions and offering ongoing expertise in all three.  

There are no trade-offs to be made here. Each of these challenges is as important as the other, and none can be taken lightly. To fail in one is to fail overall, and when the stakes are this high, brewers of all sizes need the specialism of global operators with expert teams who have sustainability and technological innovation running through their veins.  

Alfa Laval has the people and the equipment portfolios to give under-pressure brewers the reassurance that they have the very best in their corner to minimize environmental impact, ensure regulatory compliance and deliver exceptional performance and quality.   

Environmental impact  

All those who have directly experienced the shocking weather extremes over recent years will understand that the only sustainable future for any commercial business is to operate in a way that does not negatively impact the environment.  

Saving water and energy while cutting back on waste and CO2 emissions are absolute imperatives – especially in the resource-heavy brewing sector. Brewers who ignore their responsibilities will find operational costs escalating and customers walking away as brand reputations are tarnished.  

With droughts and floods dominating global news agendas, responsible water stewardship for brewers is a must, and Alfa Laval is awash with brewing technology that has a laser-like focus on this challenge.  

Water use in commercial brewing can vary significantly across the industry, but taking a benchmark of around six litres for every litre of beer produced, an estimated 10 billion hectolitres of water would have been used across the globe in 2025 to make beer. (https://www.brewresourceful.com/post/6-easy-ways-to-reduce-water-usage-in-your-brewery) 

At a time when water availability is decreasing as the global population increases, any technology that can turn the dial down on resource-use could have a major impact in tackling water scarcity, which is an increasing issue in many regions.  

The wide scope of Alfa Laval's expertise means there are a range of solutions on offer to tackle this challenge, as what works for the major global operator may not work for their craft-brewing cousin.  

One game-changing solution is the REVOS system, which has been developed to concentrate beer at the site where it is brewed, for rehydration at a location closer to where it will be sold.  

The concept remains relatively new to the market, but big breweries have been quick to pick up on the many sustainability advantages, and are already implementing the process at their sites.  

The high-pressure, low-temperature reverse-osmosis technology of REVOS removes the water from the beverage after fermentation, delivering a quality concentrate that has up to 22% alcohol by volume (ABV).   

The water extracted – around 70% – can then be treated and recycled to be part of the process for the next brewing batch, while the concentrate goes on to be rehydrated with the same taste, aroma, minerals and alcohol content that the product usually has.  

The regular customer can then enjoy their drink as always without knowing the fundamental shift in the process behind the scenes, which means the beer they are drinking now has a much smaller water footprint, as well as a reduced CO2 impact with the number of transport journeys cut back because of the reduced volume of product that ends up in transit.  

While REVOS is clearly a flagship piece of pioneering technology, the drive to save water runs deep throughout Alfa Laval's portfolio of brewing and hygiene equipment used in traditional processing, from the innovative ThinkTop pulse-seat cleaning technology for drain valves to the world-class Brew series beer separators.  

Indeed, energy efficiency often walks hand in hand with water-saving, and it is the precision engineering features behind the Brew series separators that add up to significant reductions in energy use.  

The hermetic design and the eMotion module combine to protect the brewing system from the impacts of air, and the friction-free vacuum conditions can save energy use by up to a game-changing 75% – huge for the brewer looking to save costs and boost their sustainability credentials.  

This same focus on efficiency means that minimizing waste, especially in the brewhouse, is always a feature driving Alfa Laval's brewery solutions. Less waste means more yield, and technology such as Foodec decanters dewater spent yeast and grain with the utmost efficiency to recover wort and beer for further use, and leave a dried trub rich in nutrients and antioxidants that has a high value in other industries, such as cosmetics.  

Compliance   

In brewing, compliance isn't optional. Without the licence to brew, it's game over.  And with international laws and local regulations becoming ever tighter – whether that is assessing local water use and disposal, other environmental factors, or food safety and hygiene – this is something brewers just have to get right.   

It is imperative that standards are maintained, and the equipment and knowledge supplied by Alfa Laval ensure that brewers not only meet the necessary regulations but also exceed them.  

And what's more, it has the necessary technology to provide full and comprehensive reporting that leaves regulators and local authorities in no doubt that Alfa Laval customers are leading the way when it comes to sustainability and responsible operations.  

Alfa Laval's processing equipment and systems have been precisely engineered to comply with the toughest regulatory standards setting out requirements for product safety, wastewater minimization, and resource conservation.  

Local authorities do not want to see their own water and energy systems compromised by large brewing operations in their region, so Alfa Laval will work closely with the customer and other parties to generate transparent and open dialogues that will offer reassurance and faith in Alfa Laval's expertise.  

Through this process, Alfa Laval experts can identify any compliance issues and carry out the actions needed to ensure equipment and processes meet the very latest safety, environmental, and operational requirements.   

With issues like water scarcity becoming ever-more pressing, these requirements can evolve quickly, and working with an expert whose finger is on the regulatory pulse means that brewers are not caught off guard and blindsided by unexpected changes.  

As part of this compliance package, Alfa Laval will help brewers document and demonstrate compliance, including detailed inspection reports and condition assessments.  

Performance  

Brewers can get it right for the environment; they can get it right for the regulators, but if they don't get it right for their customers, the road to success hits a brick wall.  

Finding equipment and expertise that can deliver on the first two and still produce a beverage high on quality and taste can be the biggest challenge of all for brewers, but fortunately for them, Alfa Laval is on hand to provide an all-in-one solution to this particular conundrum.  

Consistency, precision and efficiency are key, and these are golden threads that run throughout the portfolio of Alfa Laval, which understands that a brewer's reputation is built on the quality and reliability of their beer.  

That means that when it comes to separation, the process is taken to the highest level to ensure that the brew is free from contaminants and other bodies that may impact taste and quality.  

The same quality brew over and over again is what is required, and that is what Alfa Laval's tried and tested equipment delivers across the process. This includes a broad range of yeast management modules that help control the variables in brewing and minimize inconsistencies.   

These modules are designed for gentle and consistent handling of yeast, which leads to consistent fermentation performance time and time again – which is what brewers crave.  

Meanwhile, the Intelligent Whirlpool system goes to work in the key phase of separating the trub, pelletized or whole hops from the wort, to ensure a cleaner final product and improve overall beer quality before fermentation.   

In total, the system can recover 99% of wort otherwise lost as trub, yielding more beer, and protecting the process from fouling and clogging in the wort cooler, while converting the remaining trub into valuable protein-rich byproducts. 

Beer into the future  

The one constant about the brewing industry in the 21st century is change. Environmental concerns are likely to become more intense and regulations ever tighter.   

With Alfa Laval as an expert partner, a responsible, sustainable brewer may have a handle on resource management, compliance and operational performance, but are they future-proofed for the next market shift? Are they ready to maintain their superior sustainability performance through any alterations required to meet new consumer trends and stay profitable?  

Dynamism and agility are key, and with Alfa Laval technology and expertise, brewers can hit the ground running, and as tastes may swing towards healthier, non- and low alcohol beverages, they can be confident of adding new products and process lines without impacting sustainable performance.  

Alfa Laval's unbeatable and innovative equipment, such as the highly-efficient Flexitherm module, optimizes hygiene and pasteurization, and can operate alongside ground-breaking technology, such as the De-Alc de-alcoholization module, to arm the brewer of today for the sustainability challenges of tomorrow and beyond.