Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1
Lambton College of Applied Arts and Technology
$18,434.00
Design and Implementation of Advanced Control for Refined Fool Brewing Process
FY 2015-16
Summary
Refined Fool Brewing Company is a micro-brewery in the heart of downtown Sarnia, ON. Their main product is craft beer. They have six different beers that are served on a regular basis and produce on average of two seasonals a month (with over 35 different styles produced since opening). The beer can be purchased in 750ml bottles, 2L growlers (filled on site to take home) and on site in 12oz or 20oz glasses or a flight of four 3oz glasses). Currently they employ ten full time employees and five part-time employees.
Refined Fool brews with 400L tanks with an all-electric setup using a panel with 4x 4500W ultra low watt-density elements. They run a HERMS system for maintaining mash temperature. For fermenting they use ten plastic bio-diesel tanks with a glycol chiller in place running coils into each of them for maintaining fermentation temperature. After fermentation Refined Fool packages everything into kegs or 750ml bottles that are for sale in the taproom or retail store.
Lambton College is partnering with The Refined Fool to optimize their system and develop a remote monitoring system that will minimize the space and labour required while increasing energy savings, efficiency and productivity. Brewers will be able to access temperature levels for all tanks using smart devices to access temperature points off site. This will eliminate any errors that may occur while the brewery is not open that can cause lost product and generate additional costs. The second part of the research project will be optimizing the keg washing system. The research team will include a faculty member of Lambton College, a research student and a student graduate from the Instrumentation Control and Engineering program. This project will provide the students with an experiential learning opportunity while developing critical thinking skills. Refined Fool has plans to scale up their production in the future and this project is the first phase to optimizing their process for the larger facility. The results of this project will allow for Refined Fool Brewing Company to run more efficiently therefore producing more product and increasing revenue.
Program
Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1
Location
Ontario, Canada
Recipient Type
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
As published
Application id
490468-2015
Name nom
Sheikhzadeh, Mehdi
Department département
Head Office
Organization id
26621
Institution établissement
Lambton College of Applied Arts and Technology
Province en
Ontario
Province fr
Ontario
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2015
Competition year année de concours
2015
Award amount
18434
Program id
CARD1
Program name en
Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1
Program name fr
Subventions de recherche et développement appliquée - niveau 1
Group en
Research partnerships programs
Group fr
Programmes de partenariat
Committee code
1561
Committee name en
Applied Research and Development Grants
Committee name fr
Subventions de recherche et développement appliquée
Area of application code
501
Area of application group en
Manufacturing processes and products
Area of application group fr
Procédés et produits industriels
Area of application en
Processed food products and beverages
Area of application fr
Aliments transformés et boissons
Research subject code
2518
Research subject group en
Electrical and electronic engineering
Research subject group fr
Génie électrique et électronique
Research subject en
Instrumentation and measurements
Research subject fr
Instrumentation et mesures
Partie
1
Nb partie
1
Application title
Design and Implementation of Advanced Control for Refined Fool Brewing Process
Keyword
NSERC
Application summary
Refined Fool Brewing Company is a micro-brewery in the heart of downtown Sarnia, ON. Their main product is craft beer. They have six different beers that are served on a regular basis and produce on average of two seasonals a month (with over 35 different styles produced since opening). The beer can be purchased in 750ml bottles, 2L growlers (filled on site to take home) and on site in 12oz or 20oz glasses or a flight of four 3oz glasses). Currently they employ ten full time employees and five part-time employees.
Refined Fool brews with 400L tanks with an all-electric setup using a panel with 4x 4500W ultra low watt-density elements. They run a HERMS system for maintaining mash temperature. For fermenting they use ten plastic bio-diesel tanks with a glycol chiller in place running coils into each of them for maintaining fermentation temperature. After fermentation Refined Fool packages everything into kegs or 750ml bottles that are for sale in the taproom or retail store.
Lambton College is partnering with The Refined Fool to optimize their system and develop a remote monitoring system that will minimize the space and labour required while increasing energy savings, efficiency and productivity. Brewers will be able to access temperature levels for all tanks using smart devices to access temperature points off site. This will eliminate any errors that may occur while the brewery is not open that can cause lost product and generate additional costs. The second part of the research project will be optimizing the keg washing system. The research team will include a faculty member of Lambton College, a research student and a student graduate from the Instrumentation Control and Engineering program. This project will provide the students with an experiential learning opportunity while developing critical thinking skills. Refined Fool has plans to scale up their production in the future and this project is the first phase to optimizing their process for the larger facility. The results of this project will allow for Refined Fool Brewing Company to run more efficiently therefore producing more product and increasing revenue.
