A traditional Franconian craft brewery upgraded its wort cooling process with a plate heat exchanger and centrifugal pump, reducing cooling time by 50%, cutting ice water consumption to one-third, and recovering hotter water for reuse — all while preserving the artisanal methods that have defined their beer for over six generations. This is the story of how targeted process engineering and heritage brewing go hand in hand.

Sonnen-Bräu Mürsbach is not the kind of brewery that chases trends. Nestled in the Franconian countryside, this family operation has been brewing beer for more than six generations. They produce 15 distinct varieties in a small, handcraft facility where the brew kettle is still fired with wood, fermentation happens in open vessels, and every batch is given an unusually long time to mature. These are not nostalgic talking points — they are the daily rhythm of a brewery that measures quality in patience.

But even a brewery that honours slowness can encounter a process bottleneck that calls for a modern solution. For Sonnen-Bräu, that bottleneck was wort cooling — a step that was consuming too much time, too much ice water, and recovering too little thermal energy. What followed was a collaboration that proved craft identity and engineering efficiency are not mutually exclusive.

The challenge — when tradition meets a process bottleneck

Wort cooling is one of the most critical steps in any brewing process. After the wort has been boiled in the brew kettle, it must be rapidly cooled to fermentation temperature — typically between 8 °C and 20 °C depending on the yeast strain and beer style. This rapid temperature drop serves two essential purposes: it prevents microbial contamination during the vulnerable transition from kettle to fermenter, and it triggers the cold break, where proteins and tannins coagulate and settle out, resulting in clearer, cleaner beer.

The efficiency of wort cooling depends on two interconnected dimensions. First, time: how quickly the wort reaches its target temperature directly determines batch turnaround. For a small brewery with limited vessel capacity, every hour of cooling time is an hour that delays the next brew. Second, energy: wort cooling is fundamentally a heat exchange. The thermal energy removed from the hot wort can either be wasted — dumped into drains via warm water — or captured and recovered as hot water for reuse in the next mash or sparge. The cooling medium itself, often ice water produced by energy-intensive refrigeration, represents a significant utility cost.

At Sonnen-Bräu, the existing wort cooling setup was functional but far from optimal. The process consumed more time than necessary, required large volumes of ice water, and the recovered hot water was not reaching a temperature high enough to be efficiently reused in subsequent brewing steps. For a small artisanal operation producing 15 beer varieties, these inefficiencies compounded with every batch. The brewery needed an upgrade — but one that would enhance the process without disrupting the wood-fired brewing, open fermentation, and extended maturation that define their identity.

During the first conversation, we were able to identify that we could not only renew our process but make it significantly more efficient — in both energy and time.

The partnership — from referral to on-site consultation

The connection between Sonnen-Bräu and Euroflow began the way many good partnerships do — through a personal recommendation. An acquaintance pointed brewmaster Daniel toward Euroflow, and within a short time, the first meeting was arranged on-site at the brewery itself. Not in a conference room. Not over a video call. In the brewhouse, where the wood-fired kettle and open fermentation tanks told the story of six generations of Franconian craft.

That on-site visit was decisive. Walking through the facility, the Euroflow team could assess the actual process conditions — the existing cooling setup, the brewery's batch sizes, the water supply, and the specific constraints of a small handcraft operation. The conversation quickly moved beyond simple replacement. As brewmaster Daniel described it, the goal was not merely to install new equipment but to achieve a fundamentally more efficient process.

The first contact with Euroflow came through an acquaintance. Shortly after, we had the first meeting right here on-site at the brewery. We could see that we could not only renew our process, but make it considerably more efficient — in both energy and time. That is why we chose Euroflow.

As an Alfa Laval Master Distributor covering southern Germany — including Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Thuringia, Saxony, Saarland, and Rhineland-Palatinate — we bring regional presence and technical expertise to exactly these kinds of consultations. Our role is not to sell catalogue items from a distance. It is to stand in the brewhouse, understand the process, and identify where targeted component upgrades can deliver measurable gains. For Sonnen-Bräu, the answer came down to two components.

The solution — two components, one optimized process

The upgrade centred on two Alfa Laval components working in concert: a plate heat exchanger from the BaseLine series and a centrifugal pump from the LKH range. Each serves a distinct function, but together they transform the wort cooling process from a bottleneck into an asset.

Plate heat exchanger — efficient thermal transfer

The plate heat exchanger is the thermal heart of the system. Hot wort flows through one set of channels while cooling water (or ice water) flows through adjacent channels in counter-current. The thin, corrugated stainless steel plates create a large surface area in a compact footprint, enabling rapid and efficient heat transfer. The Alfa Laval BaseLine series is designed specifically for hygienic applications in dairy, food, and beverage production. Plates are available in 304/304L and 316/316L stainless steel, and the gaskets — available in NBR, EPDM, or FKM — comply with FDA regulations. The unit operates within a temperature range of –20 to 160 °C and a pressure range up to 14.3 bar. Its flexible configuration allows the heat transfer area to be modified, and the design ensures easy opening for inspection and cleaning, with full CIP (Cleaning-in-Place) compatibility.

LKH centrifugal pump — consistent, gentle flow

The Alfa Laval LKH centrifugal pump drives the wort through the heat exchanger at a controlled, consistent flow rate. This matters more than it might seem: uneven flow leads to uneven cooling, which can affect wort quality and extend the overall cooling cycle. The LKH is a premium hygienic pump built for food and beverage applications. All product-wetted steel parts are manufactured in AISI 316L stainless steel, and EPDM elastomers are standard. Its semi-open impeller with a special vane design ensures efficient yet gentle handling of the product. The pump is designed for CIP, features a front-loading shaft seal that can be replaced in minutes, and comes with an extended 3-year warranty on all non-wear parts. Motor sizes range from 0.75 to 110 kW across 13 pump models (LKH-5 through LKH-90), providing a wide performance envelope suited to operations of every scale.

We use an Alfa Laval plate heat exchanger and a centrifugal pump to make our wort cooling process efficient and to maintain consistent wort quality.

The two components complement each other directly. The pump ensures optimal, steady flow through the exchanger — the precondition for maximum heat transfer and minimum cooling time. The exchanger, in turn, captures the thermal energy from the wort and transfers it to the cooling water, recovering it as hot water at a usable temperature. Neither component alone would deliver the same result.

The results — quantified impact

With just two new components — a centrifugal pump and a plate heat exchanger — Sonnen-Bräu achieved improvements that reverberate through every brew day.

50% faster cooling

Halving the cooling time means each batch moves from kettle to fermenter in a fraction of the previous duration. For a small brewery with limited vessel capacity and 15 beer varieties to produce, this translates directly into greater scheduling flexibility. Faster cooling also reduces the window during which the wort is vulnerable to contamination — a food safety benefit that complements the efficiency gain.

Ice water consumption cut to one-third

Ice water is not free. Producing it requires energy-intensive refrigeration, and consuming three times more than necessary means three times the energy cost. By reducing ice water consumption to one-third of its previous level, the upgrade lowers both utility costs and the environmental footprint of every batch. For a craft brewery that fires its kettle with wood and values sustainability as part of its identity, this reduction carries weight beyond the balance sheet.

Hotter hot water recovery

The thermal energy extracted from the wort does not disappear — it is captured in the cooling water, which can then be stored and reused as hot water in the next mash or sparge. The more efficiently the heat exchanger operates, the hotter that recovered water becomes. At Sonnen-Bräu, the upgraded system recovers water at a higher temperature than before, reducing the energy needed to heat it for the next brew. This is thermal recycling in its most practical form.

With the installation of two new components — a centrifugal pump and a plate heat exchanger from Euroflow — we were able to cut our cooling time in half, reduce our ice water consumption to one-third, and recover hotter hot water that we can reuse for brewing.

All three results stem from the same targeted intervention. There was no overhaul of the brewhouse, no disruption to the wood-fired kettle or the open fermentation vessels. The artisanal character of Sonnen-Bräu's beer remains untouched. What changed was the efficiency of a single process step — and the compounding benefits of getting that step right.

The brewer's perspective — heritage and engineering, hand in hand

Brewmaster Daniel has spent his career at the intersection of tradition and pragmatism. He is the custodian of a brewing method that stretches back over six generations — wood-fired, open-fermented, and unhurried. When he speaks about Sonnen-Bräu, the pride is unmistakable. "We still brew with wood in our brew kettle, practise open fermentation, and give our beer an especially long time to mature," he says. These are not concessions to nostalgia; they are deliberate choices that shape the character of 15 distinct Franconian beers.

That pride in tradition is precisely why the wort cooling upgrade matters. It would have been easy to dismiss modernisation as incompatible with craft. Instead, Daniel saw it as complementary. The consultation with Euroflow confirmed what he suspected: the process could be made significantly more efficient in both energy and time without touching the elements that make the beer what it is. The wood-fired kettle stays. The open fermentation stays. The long maturation stays. What changed was a single downstream step — and the numbers speak for themselves.

We have been brewing Franconian beer here for over six generations — 15 varieties in our small artisanal operation. That is why we chose Euroflow: to make our process more efficient while keeping the quality that defines us.

For Daniel, the consistent wort quality delivered by the new setup is as important as the efficiency gains. A pump that handles wort gently and a heat exchanger that cools rapidly and evenly — together, they ensure that every batch arrives at the fermenter in optimal condition. The craft is preserved. The process is simply better.

Your brewery, your consultation

Sonnen-Bräu Mürsbach demonstrates what a focused equipment upgrade can achieve: a six-generation Franconian craft brewery, without altering its wood-fired brewing or open fermentation, cut cooling time in half, reduced ice water consumption to one-third, and now recovers hotter water for reuse — all through two well-chosen Alfa Laval components supplied and configured by Euroflow.

Whether you run a heritage craft brewery or a modern beverage plant, our team can evaluate your process on-site and identify efficiency gains — just as we did for Sonnen-Bräu. We cover southern Germany across postal codes 66–99 and 07–08, and our expertise spans pumps, heat exchangers, valves, and tank equipment for the dairy, brewing, beverage, food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. Explore our centrifugal pump range, take a closer look at the Alfa Laval LKH centrifugal pump, or read more about pumps in brewery applications. Then reach out — we will come to you.