AHOP: Mean & Lean
Dry Hopping

AHOP is the solution for the dosing of solids and liquids in beer. The dosing installation guarantees the addition of unlimited quantities of hop pellets, without O2 pick-up.

The ever-evolving brewing market demands new processes and flexible solutions to produce high quality and interesting beers in a controlled way. Current developments in dry hopping techniques make it easier to handle the dosing of hard-to-handle ingredients like hop pellets.

 

AHOP: THE FULLY-AUTOMATED HOP DOSING SOLUTION

The current dry hopping processing techniques are often time consuming, beer spoiling and complex. Issues like blockages due to swollen hop pellets, oxygen pick-up, limited batches, cleanability and flexibility are well-known brewers’ challenges.

Agidens developed the fully-automated hop dosing solution AHOP. This economical dosing solution tackles most challenges of existing dry-hopping techniques. The moveable unit guarantees easy dosing of unlimited amounts of hop pellets into beer without O2 pick-up and ensures greater efficiency and quality in the dry-hopping process.

BENEFITS OF THE AHOP DRY HOPPING SOLUTION

Issues like blockages due to swollen hop pellets, oxygen pick-up, limited batches, cleanability
and flexibility are now things of the past.
Fully automated solution based on Siemens TIA portal or Open controller
Continuous dosing process and unlimited dosing of hop volumes
Guaranteed zero oxygen pick-up
Total dry-hopping solutions with raiser pipe or AJET tank jet mixer solution and beer transfer pump functionality
Efficient hop usage and better aroma intake
Fully in line CIP compatible

READ MORE ABOUT
DRY HOPPING PROCESS CHALLENGES

The current dry-hopping process techniques face challenges coping with bigger hop volumes.
Dyr Hopping Process Challenges - Download Whitepaper

AHOP MANUAL

With AHOP Manual, the manual and compact version of the fully-automated hop dosing unit AHOP, Agidens also makes the life of brewers at smaller breweries easier as the dosing unit takes care of the complete dosing of the additives, for example hop pellets, while keeping in mind their budget.

The same functionality is guaranteed, but with manual actions instead of automatic or recipe driven sequences. It’s also possible to use already existing moveable centrifugal pumps.

 

  • Manual mobile unit: simple, lean and easy to use
  • Low investment cost
  • Use of existing pump possible
  • Efficient hop usage and better aroma intake
  • Ideal for small batch fermenters (craft breweries)
  • Unique AHOP dosing module features

HOW DOES AHOP MANUAL WORK?

Dosing Process

The additives can be put in the buffer chamber before a part of the additives is transferred to the dosing chamber. The dosing chamber is deaerated by means of CO2.

Additive Integration

Once the additives are sufficiently deaerated, the additives are dosed in the beer line by opening the dosing valve.

Recirculation Phase

After the dosing, the beer and additives are recirculated over the buffer tank for a specific recirculation or contact time.

Cleaning Process

After the beer transfer or dosing, the brewer can connect water or CIP to the unit with a flexible hose to fully clean the AHOP Manual hop dosing unit, together with the beer line or buffer vessel.

CIP INTEGRATION

CLEANIBILITY

Cleanliness is a crucial factor in brewing, and breweries require equipment that is easy to clean and maintain. Therefore, we have taken great care to ensure that our AHOP solution meets high standards for cleanliness. We have designed the dosing module and dosing chamber to be user-friendly and easy to clean, and they can be cleaned along with the fermenter tank using standard brewery CIP recipes.

 

PROVEN BREWERY EXPERTISE

Projects

De Brabandere

Agidens’ fully automatic AHOP 200 is a very compact unit that enables our operators to process large volumes of hop pellets efficiently, quickly, and ergonomically, without additional oxygen pick-up in the finished beer.

Yves Benoit Automation Maintenance & Facility Manager

Integration of AHOP at De Brabandere Brewery

Read more

TAKE YOUR DRY HOPPING TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Do you like our approach? We would love to hear from you!

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