Modernizing the steam boiler plant with the Vitomax 300-HS – “Passionate brewing and the joy of beer,” as the company philosophy goes, “have always been our driving force and motivation.” This self-image leads to an unconditional commitment to the highest quality. The brewery is cofounder of the initiative “Die Freien Brauer” (The Independent Brewers), a community of leading independent, family-owned breweries in Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, and is committed to these seven basic values:
- Great freedom
- Personal responsibility
- Unique variety
- Highest quality
- Clean environment
- Genuine tradition
- Regional sourcing
Award-winning craft beers
The great commitment of the brewers is paying off: in 2016, the Riegele brew specialty “Augustus 8” won both the platinum prize and the coveted award “Germany’s Best Craft Beer” at the Meininger International Craft Beer Award.
Respect for nature
Just like its dedication to the art of brewing, responsibility towards customers and the environment is among the company’s values. For Riegele, environmental protection means being active. This is why the brewery works with an efficient heat recovery system and uses electricity from its own photovoltaic system. The vehicles run on eco-friendly BlueTEC technology. The brewery is an advocate of the environmentally friendly returnable packaging scheme and has launched its own manifesto against genetically manipulated grain. For this, it was the first brewery to receive the EmAS environmental certificate. The raw ingredients are sourced exclusively from the local region to eliminate long transport routes. A Riegele beer is therefore always enjoyed from a returnable bottle, brewed with regional raw ingredients.
New steam generation plant reduces energy costs
The brewery needs large amounts of steam for beer production, especially for mashing and wort boiling, as well as for cleaning kegs and returnable bottles. The old boiler plant, built in 1966 with heating oil combustion, no longer met the technical, economic, and legal requirements. In particular, it did not have, as is standard today, a flue gas/water heat exchanger (economizer), which uses the heat of the flue gas to preheat the boiler feedwater and thus contributes to considerable energy savings.
The company chose the Vitomax 300-HS high-pressure steam generator with integrated economizer EcO 200 for its excellent efficiency of up to 95.8 percent, the low flame tube load, and the perfectly coordinated burner system. With its three hot gas flues and generously dimensioned combustion chamber geometry, it also meets the most stringent emission requirements. At the Riegele brewery, the boiler generates up to 6 tons of steam per hour with a maximum operating pressure of 10 bar.