NORD drives Little Creatures Geelong Brewery

Little Creatures Brewing’s new Geelong site is nearing completion, with brewing expected to begin in mid-2013. Housed in a heritage-listed former carpet factory, the site will be more than just a brewery: the company plans to host brewery tours including beer tasting and functions.

Within the 20,000-litre brewhouse, the large lauter tun (mash separator) is central to the beer-making process. The machine separates the liquids from the solids in the mash to produce the wort.

A new model from NORD Drivesystems’ Industrial Gear Unit (IGU) series was selected as the main gearbox drive for the lauter tun. The model SK9307EA WK120 drive is rated to 65,500 Nm torque. The whole assembly, comprising the NORD IGU and two smaller NORD geared motors, weighs 1600 kg in total.

The upper section of the stainless steel tank for the lauter tun mash separator.

The lauter tun machine consists of a large stainless steel tank with internal rotating rakes that separate the malt solids from the water solution and also move vertically inside the tank. This process involves a sophisticated arrangement involving a NORD SK9032.1EAFH-132MP/4TF F IG Helical bevel geared motor with an encoder and the mechanical adjuster mechanism which passes vertically through the hollow bore of the NORD IGU gearbox. The nominal output speed of the IGU is 4.7 rpm.

The main drive NORD gearbox assembly mounted underneath the lauter tun.

“This new brewery represents a major investment for Little Creatures Brewing, and will become the hub of our beer manufacturing and distribution for Eastern states of Australia and for export,” said Tom Champion, Little Creatures Geelong Brewery Manager.

“We are on schedule for the commencement of brewing and bottling of Little Creatures beer from mid-2013. This new brewery will ensure that our product reaches our customers in the fastest time frame possible.”