Automating Brewery Processes with Sophisticated Modular Systems
What happens when modern process automation technology meets stonebuilt production premises dating from the Middle Ages?
The answer is a product, craft beer, of exceptional quality and unique character, made by a brewery which is set for a sustainable future and growing revenues. But achieving this outcome required a sensitive and carefully calibrated approach to implementing automation technology – an approach to which the modular products and collaborative culture of WAGO were well suited.
21st Century Equipment in a 14th Century Building
The brewery in question, Orm’ s Brewhouse, operates out of 14th
46 FDPP- www. fdpp. co. uk century farm buildings on the Ormside Hall Estate in rural Cumbria, in northern England on the fringes of the scenic Lake District. Its location is rich in history, but presents difficulties for operators of modern manufacturing equipment and processes. A five-barrel( 5BBL) craft brewery founded in 2025, Orm’ s Brewhouse has embraced the challenge of preserving the buildings’ traditional character.
But the difficulty of operating in premises from another age militates against the brewery’ s ambition to create the perfect pint. Director Ian Purves insists that the brewery has to respect the‘ soul’ of the place where the beer is made. After all, the age and history of the premises underpin the Viking story that the Orm’ s Brewhouse brand tells its customers. But as Ian says,‘ We were working against the building, not with it.’
When Orm’ s Brewhouse was founded, the ancient building was equipped with refurbished vessels, pumps and extraction pumps. Mechanically, the system was sound. From a control and automation perspective, however, it was extremely limited. The control panel offered little more than basic start /