Innovation that protects every drop of beer

With more than 600 years of brewing tradition, the Augsburg-based Riegele Brewery is known for its highest product quality. As international demand for its specialty beers grew, the company faced a critical challenge: how to fill and export beer in single-use KEGs while ensuring uncompromising food safety?

To ensure product integrity and support global expansion, Riegele partnered with m+f KEG Technik and Endress+Hauser to implement a state-of-the-art, safety-oriented KEG filling solution.

Beer is a sensitive product that requires the highest precision at every stage - from the selection of raw materials to storage and filling. Even the slightest contamination from microorganisms, cleaning agents, filter problems or residues in the filling facility can lead to costly recalls, disrupt exports and damage consumer confidence. Faced with growing demand from distant markets, Riegele was challenged to find a flexible, secure and scalable filling solution for a variety of single-use KEG formats while maintaining the brewery's long-standing commitment to uncompromising quality.

A longstanding collaboration with m+f KEGTechnik enabled Riegele to adopt a futureready KEG filling solution through the MICROMAT M 1/1F Hybrid machine, which can process nearly all common singleuse KEGs as well as reusable barrels while delivering an output of 40 to 50 KEGs per hour, accommodating both PETbody and innerbag formats, and maintaining a hygienic design that minimises contamination risks. This combination of flexibility, performance, and safety provided Riegele with the versatility it needed without ever compromising product integrity.

To secure the filling process, m+f KEGTechnik integrated the Proline Promag H electromagnetic flowmeter from Endress+Hauser, a device that combines flow, temperature and conductivity measurement in a single unit and provides temperaturecompensated conductivity to detect even the smallest traces of cleaningagent residues. With factorycalibrated accuracy and an automatic shutdown feature that stops filling immediately when values exceed defined limits, the system ensures that any contamination is identified instantly, protecting both consumers and the integrity of the Riegele brand.

The system prevents foreign substances from ever entering the product stream, protecting consumers and eliminating recall risks. Adaptive cleaning and precise measurement reduce downtime and resource use.

"By working with m+f KEG Technik and Endress+Hauser as part of the KEG filling process, we can guarantee that every barrel contains the best Riegele beer and nothing else," says Frank Muller, master brewer at Riegele Brewery.

Riegele's speciality beers can now travel long distances safely, supporting international growth. The brewery continues its centurieslong tradition: ensuring only perfectly brewed, perfectly safe beer reaches customers.