INFO
BRAINS Brewery Calculator
1999
plastic, metal, electricity, battery
h 2.5 x w 16 x d 8 cm
The brewing process according to BRAINS
To control the brewing process and achieve quality goals, brewers traditionally had to apply various calculations. An example of this is the fermentation process of beer, where yeast cells convert sugars into alcohol. Numerous measurements and conversions are required to follow the progress of fermentation.
In the 1970s, Heineken's brewmasters created tables and mathematical equations describing the changes in the specific gravity of the brewing mixture, depending on the alcohol content. It was a handy tool, although determining sugar-alcohol levels remained a laborious task.
BRAINS
That is, until 1999 when the Research & Development department of Heineken Technical Services in Zoeterwoude developed BRAINS. Thanks to this brown brewery calculator, not only could the sugar-alcohol tables be discarded, but nearly all technical calculations in both the brewery and laboratory became faster and simpler. The device also enabled new process controls, such as determining the carbon dioxide content of beer in bottles and tanks, measuring the calcium carbonate content (hardness) of water, and calculating pasteurisation units or the volume of wort to be transferred at a specific temperature.
Redundant
Coincidentally or not, the rise of the worldwide web began almost simultaneously with the successful introduction of BRAINS. The availability of digital resources gradually rendered the calculator redundant. By 2010, all calculations related to the brewing process were conducted through the Heineken intranet.