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Corry Brennan: Satellites help US beer lovers to enjoy the perfect pint

Logistics plays a pivotal role in nearly every kind of business – managed well, it can truly revolutionise commercial performance. If not, the business impact can be devastating.

For over 20 years Connecticut-based B. United International Inc. has been importing high-quality craft beers from all around the globe. Its founder, Matthias Neidhart, originally from Germany, one of the world’s great brewing nations, is on a mission to broaden the drinking horizons for American beer lovers. He aims to highlight the complexity and depth that only true craft and microbrewery produced ales can deliver.

  1. United represents world-class breweries that are all committed to producing high-quality artisanal brews, including ciders and meads. Nearly three quarters of the hundreds of beers which B. United imports originate in Europe, all with exclusive agreements, giving B. United a unique position in the US marketplace. B. United also sources its hoppy nectars from South Africa and Asia.

It’s a complex task brewing beers and ales of the highest quality that truly represent the craftsmanship of the brewer. While the basic list of ingredients in beer seems simple – namely yeast, barley, hops and water – ensuring that they are combined in the conditions that yield the best possible taste and aroma requires a tightly controlled environment. Moreover, transporting the beer, especially if the trip involves crossing thousands of miles of land or sea, comes with many risks that can have seriously detrimental effects on the product by the time it reaches its destination. Shipments in tanks that are at the wrong temperature or pressure, or which have suffered impacts, almost inevitably result in beer of insufficient quality and taste and this usually ends up as expensive wastage.

“It’s all about the bubbles,” explains Neidhart. “Traditionally, brewers often had to use forced carbonation after transporting beers, rather than the natural refermentation that can take place in the tanks while in transit. The result was always sub-optimal at best, and thoroughly disappointing or undrinkable at worst.”

“From a flavour and aroma perspective natural refermentation and forced carbonation are like day and night,” Neidhart explains. “Natural refermentation produces the tiniest possible CO2 bubbles and these integrate very well with the complex flavour and aroma compounds of highest quality brews.”

“Forced carbonation, on the other hand, results in giant CO2 bubbles that greatly distort the true flavour and aroma profile of any brew. What is the measuring stick for the highest quality champagne? The size of the CO2 bubbles….the tinier the bubbles, the higher the quality,” he adds.

Fortunately Neidhart became aware of a high-tech solution for tracking and monitoring his temperature- and pressure-controlled tanks that had the potential to eliminate this costly waste. The technology could ensure that the beers he imports from all over the world reach customers in the US in the best possible condition, tasting as good Stateside as in their country of origin.

Ovinto Sat is a satellite tracking platform that enables close monitoring of the location and conditions of any tank on its journey. Fundamental to the solution is that at its backbone is Globalstar’s STX3 satellite chipset, enabled via Globalstar’s satellite fleet.

Ovinto Sat’s small sensors, installed in each of B. United’s seven large stainless steel tank containers, ensure optimum beer quality by monitoring the environment and verifying that the correct temperature range and pressure is maintained. Critically, since there is no power source in a closed container, these sensors consume a very low amount of energy, and can continuously monitor the contents of the tank even on long journeys.

For B. United, the Ovinto Sat deployment ensures the beers’ exposure to pressure and temperature fluctuations are minimised, resulting in complex brews all naturally refermenting.

“After a journey of ten days from Europe or four weeks from Japan, the taste of craft beers can change. On arrival in the US, we review the data and analyse samples in our lab to determine the best way for us to put the beer in kegs for onward delivery to our customers,” said Neidhart.

Additionally, Ovinto Sat sensors enable B. United to know precisely where the containers are on their often lengthy journeys – even when they travel well beyond the reach of cellular networks. This helps supply chain operations run smoothly and enables B. United to give accurate delivery times to customers.

What’s more, B. United decided that it would share data in real-time with both its hospitality industry business customers and consumers – this is a policy which Neidhart believes demonstrates B. United’s commitment to customer satisfaction.

Clearly, one extra key ingredient in the beers which Neidhart distributes is passion: “We are determined to provide the American market with unique world beers that are truly alive, with live yeast, not over-manufactured, pasteurised or bland ‘ industry beer’,” Neidhart attests.

By bringing technology innovation into the craft beer sector, B. United is introducing unprecedented transparency on the quality of beer.

No one likes a flat flavourless pint and this use of technology demonstrates how logistics innovation, and passion, can lead to a more successful business.

http://www.bunitedint.com/

http://www.ovinto.com/

 

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