One of the most expansive economic booms happening in America today is that of craft beer breweries. By offering a more distinct and diverse product than its national competitors, the craft beer market has managed to almost double in size over the last 
decade, as microbreweries continue to open across the country.
One reason that such a rapid growth of the microbrew industry has been possible advances in modern technology that allow for the economies of scale much smaller than those enjoyed by large multimillion-dollar companies. One is these advances is accurate sensing technology that makes automation and precision attainable, even for startups.
Brewing beer requires extremely rigorous measurement of liquid and dry ingredients, water levels, and temperature. Inaccurate measurements on any front could result in a completely wasted batch, meaning ruin for a small brew business. That’s why accurate level and temperature sensors are so important to the brewing process.
The Best Sensors for Beer Brewing Applications
SMD Fluid Controls has several sensors that are perfect for microbrew applications. Our ultrasonic or multilevel level sensors are ideal for brewing processes like sparging, in which hot water is run through a bed of grain mash in order to create the sweet, fermentable liquid known as wort. Greater or lesser quantities of water and mash produce different qualities in the final product, and accurate level switches can ensure that storage containers don’t overflow. This results in a more consistent product, as well as reducing waste and safety hazards.
The temperature during fermentation of the wort is a crucial component of the brewing process. A longer fermentation period at lower temperatures means more of the sugars are fermented, and a light clean beer is a result; hotter, shorter fermenting makes for a more robust product. In either case, continuous, highly accurate temperature readings are absolutely crucial. SMD Fluid Controls’ FT20 temperature sensors are perfect for these applications. The FM22 is a combination level/temperature gauge great to reduce the installation footprint.