Energy-efficient "green" beer? A crew of engineers from Germany's Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) are hashing out a new process that would save 20 percent of the energy used while brewing the frothy potent potable.Yep, green beer is no longer reserved for St. Patrick's Day and food-color concoctions gone awry.
The scientists plan to unveil their energy-saving technique to the masses in Munich on Monday, Sept. 14. Their secret? The Weihenstephan engineers are working with thermo-chemical storage systems coupled with combined heat and power (CHP) stations to cut down on one of the most energy-intensive food and beverage processes.
Normally, beer is brewed in a kettle capable of generating temperatures of 110 to 160 degrees centigrade which boils down the intoxicating smells of hops into "crude beer," or the so-called wort. Almost half of the energy consumed in this traditional brewing process--45 percent to be exact--is used to make the wort.
Dr. Winfried Russ, the crew's project leader, is optimistic that their process will save 10-to-20 percent on energy costs. “We already know that it will work," Russ says in a statement here. "What we don’t know is just how much energy can be saved.”
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