How can you turn your brewery’s data into your greatest asset? here Magnus Valmot, CEO of Plaato, argues that breweries that know their numbers make better beer.

Are you getting the most out of your data? The answer is that you’re probably not, as most of it is collected manually and notes taken on brew sheets, maybe to be logged into an ERP. But today, data is arguably one of the most important ingredients for breweries from the UK to the US, and beyond. 

Why? Because if you’re not using data to guide your brewery, you’re likely losing valuable time in production, travelling into the brewery on weekends to take samples, struggling to see batch-to-batch consistency during production and spend time looking through paper logs if something is off (only to find that the sheet in question is missing).

To improve over time you need to track

We are founded on the idea that to improve over time, you need to track both process and performance. You need to know where you’re at right now, and where you need to get to. And that’s how we’re helping over 300 breweries all over the world. 

Our Plaato Pro sensors provide real-time fermentation data and insights that allow brewers to identify ideal times for key parts of their brewing process. 

Whether that’s an alert to notify when to dry hop or to say that you’ve reached the best time to put your beer into diacetyl rest. Simply put: the Plaato Pro enables you to take the right action at the right time. More than once, our customers have saved the entire technology investment in a matter of months, by alerting the brewing team of a glycol system failure, saving batches that would have otherwise been lost.

And while sensor and communication technology is the first step, it needs to be backed up by cloud technology built for breweries. Want to see how your tanks are doing?

With us, you can simply pull out your phone at home, and have a full overview of your brewing process at a glance. These solutions are not a vision for the future, they’re already here – and the brewing industry leaders have been using them for years, but in a way that’s not as tailored to their needs.

Now, with Plaato, our more brewery-focussed solutions help remove the stress of running a brewery, by allowing you to always stay on top of what’s happening in your brewery, even when you’re not there.

Users of our technology and platform have used it both for production optimisation (more for less), but also to change the way they work. In the UK for instance, we’ve seen Fell Brewery significantly reduce their carbon footprint by eliminating sampling waste. And, in the US, breweries like Beer Tree Brew have been able to increase their production by over 20% using the same equipment, but using the data to fine-tune their operation.

“There’s a big carbon saving to be had from reduced sampling, but the biggest saving, in our opinion, is in the form of reduced ingredients,”  explains Tim Bloomer, the founder of Fell Brewery, an independent brewery from Cumbria.

Two day savings

By using the fermentation data in a smarter way, breweries are seeing consistent savings of 12 to 24 hours per batch, simply by pinpointing the end-of-fermentation with greater accuracy. What’s more, our customers are winning awards for outstanding beers, thanks to their investments in production quality and consistency.

And while better data is just one of the factors, we’re proud to partner with outstanding craft brewers and to see them successfully brew their best beer, every single time.

“Plaato alerted me fermentation started to drop off, I was way low on alcohol. So right then, I added more Belgian candy sugar…. I kicked another fermentation off of it to drive the alcohol up a little bit and it really worked. I mean, we won a gold medal for it,” says Jeff Claxton, the owner and brewmaster at Apogee Brewing.

So we don’t just see ourselves as tech makers, we’re partners, beer-lovers and engineers who want to help breweries (of all sizes) succeed and thrive.

The brewing industry is changing, along with every other industry out there, and continues to be a competitive climate where you have to make great beer: consistently, but also operate a successful and profitable business. 

However, we truly believe that when you measure, you can succeed. And we’re the ones who love to measure most! (We even named our company after a measurement unit: degrees Plato or °P.)

Like breweries, we don’t believe in standing still. We’re constantly innovating and listening. Which is why we’ve now launched our industry-changing product called Plaato Edge. This solves even more data collection problems for breweries; it plugs simply into your brewery’s PLC (programmable logic controller) and cloud-connects the equipment across your entire production floor, from your mash tun to packaging – and brings it all together in one platform, adding a level of visibility and control not seen anywhere else.

This means that now, finally, breweries can have all their production data in one place. In short, it means you get the full story of your beer, every batch, from start to finish.

Interest in the Plaato Edge has been exceptional, where we’ve had breweries all over the world exploring the potential even in the early stage of development (including a few of the top UK breweries, such as Queer Brewing).

The beginning of data unification

What does all this mean? Well, to us, it’s the beginning of the ‘unification’ of a brewery’s data. No longer will it be siloed, or left in paper binders in a dusty cabinet. Now it will be honoured and interpreted. Data has no value until it is analysed, understood – and turned into information.

And this information can lead to improvements, actions and automation. That is when it transforms your brewing and your beer. Quality, consistency, throughput, profitability – whatever your goal is, let’s start with the data: make a plan and track your improvements. Step by step. Continuous improvement is what gets us excited.

We are proud to be helping breweries of all sizes operate like the best in the industry; enabling them to reach maturity in their manufacturing processes, akin to what we see happening in every other industry: from cars to pharmaceuticals to computers.

For inspiration: all we have to do is to look around us. “For a brewery that always strives to be more efficient with both time and ingredients, this is a huge improvement. The Plaato devices are the one gadget that I would wholeheartedly say is worth every penny, and they really do stand up to the claims that they make,” explains Jason Williams, head brewer at Burning Barrel Brewing.

So how should a brewery start on its measuring journey? From our experience, managing a complex production system without data is extremely hard and leaves too much up to chance. Instead, a brewery needs to pick one (or a few) objectives to improve upon.

Based on what you consider the most valuable and important improvements. (In fact, why not have a think now yourself, and see what they are for you – even writing them down can help.) Then we suggest a system called Plan-Do-Check-Act or PDCA. It’s an iterative design and management method used in business for the control and continual improvement of processes and productions.

Step one is to define the baseline: How good are you today? Find a measurable way to define this (find the data!). 

Step two is set a target: How much better do you aim to be? How will you measure these improvements? Step three is plan. Map out the initiatives you believe will have the biggest impact on these targets/objectives.

For example, if increased production is your objective, then how do you most easily achieve this? Faster tank turnaround is one example that we’ve seen that has allowed customers to increase productions by over 20% whilst using the same equipment.

The next step is to do. Implement the improvements and then measure the changes in productivity over the course of some weeks. Step five is check. Assess the effectiveness of the change and finally act. Consider what further changes should be made to get the desired results.

Then the cycle of continuous improvement can begin, over and over again. And that’s the fun part: each week, each month you can see yourself, your team, and your brewery improve. And so will your customers.