Process technology
Loopulator
automatic pellet dosing unit for the cold side
The banke Loopulator is specially designed for quickly and reliably transferring large quantities of hops – up to 1000 kg per batch – to a tank under oxygen-free conditions.
Along with hop pellets, the Loopulator is highly flexible and can be used to dose and disperse whole hops, citrus peel and spices.
We can customize the Loopulator to meet your individual requirements, from manual additions to fully automatic dosing.
It is also the first module for the external dry hopping system LoopulEX, which can easily be retrofitted as production volumes increase.
Key facts
- hop savings of 25–40 % possible
- oxygen-free dry hopping process
- reproducible aroma profile
- rapid dispersal within 30–60 minutes
- flexible integration into existing cellars
- easy to retrofit in existing systems
- hygienic design
- capable of dosing quantities of up to 1000 kg per batch
- fully automatic operation possible
Operating principle
The special agitator in the Loopulator allows up to 1,000 kg of hop pellets to be dispersed in a single batch of beer. Dispersal of the hop material under a CO2 atmosphere results in the highest level of stability for hop aroma.
The dosage of the hop suspension can be flexibly adapted to your existing cellar. For example, dosing can take place in a transfer line for traditional fermentation and lager cellar layouts or in a recirculation loop for tanks with two outlets.
Thanks to the thorough dispersal of the hop material, the aroma transfer rate is also significantly accelerated, thus reducing the contact time required.
Rapid, yet gentle dispersal
Dispersal of hop pellets typically requires around 4 – 6 hours, depending upon the temperature of the beer. Thanks to the agitator, which is specially adapted for use with hop pellets and the sensitive medium of beer, the hop material is dispersed in a mere 30 to 60 minutes.
At the same time, our proprietary agitator design ensures that the yeast contained in the beer does not lose any of its viability nor its vitality as a result of the dispersion process.
