Admittedly, the Brasserie Lupulus is not Pierre Gobron’s first brewery, but most definitely his best-equipped one. This is because for his investment he decided to place the order with Krones as the turnkey contractor supplying the brewhouse and the bottling kit. He had Krones dimension the equipment’s capacities so generously that they will guarantee the brewery sufficient “breathing space” for further growth in the future, when it will be managed by his two sons Julien and Tim.

The five little wolves

The name “Lupulus” is based on a double meaning: Firstly, “Humulus Lupulus” is the Latin botanic designation for genuine hops, but secondly “lupulus”, when translated literally, also means “little wolf”, something that hints at the hops’ predilection for strangling other plants. Centuries ago, you see, the Ardennes were home to quite a number of wolf packs. It was these interrelations that gave Pierre Gobron the idea of naming his beer and also the whole brewery “Lupulus”.

Time to take a decision

It seems as if it’s downright impossible for Pierre Gobron to keep his brewing volumes small, something due not least to his beers’ superlative quality. Because by 2014 the Lupulus beer family had already topped an annual output of 10,000 hectolitres. However, the brewery’s premises were bursting at the seams, and the kit installed required a large amount of manual labour. So the time had come to take a decision for the future.

This was made jointly by the father-and-two-sons threesome. They opted for a new building directly adjacent to the restaurant and the existing microbrewery.“Never before had my father invested in such top-notch technology. But we believed that we should start thinking ahead and give ourselves a “breather”, so to speak, with the state-of-the-art kit we were about to order. By doing so, we hope to have more time for developing new beers and flavours, and for sales and marketing,” says Julien Gobron.

The new technology also significantly enhances our flexibility.

Julien Gobron

Turnkey solution

Lupulus placed an order with Krones for supplying a turnkey solution – except the fermentation and storage cellar, because the brewery already had these tanks. In June 2016, the Gobron family was able to prepare the first brew in their new Steinecker brewhouse. They anticipate an output of 16,000 hectolitres for 2016, with the new brewery dimensioned for an annual capacity of 80,000 hectolitres.

“The best available on the market”

The fully automated four-kettle brewhouse has been dimensioned for 40 hectolitres per brew and eight brews a day.

• Pre-masher
• ShakesBeer mash kettle
• Pegasus C lauter tun
• Wort copper with Stromboli internal boiler
• Whirlpool
• Three hop-supply vessels
• Wort aeration system
• Trub vessel

“I like its design and the way the brew kettles’ surfaces have been finished,” says Julien Gobron. “The lauter tun’s technology turns lautering into a fast, simple and automated process. In my view, the wort copper from Steinecker is the best available on the market. The whirlpool produces excellent results, the beers are brighter, and trub removal is simpler,” is his verdict.

“The filler meets our needs to optimum effect”

The bottling kit has been supplied by Kosme in its entirety. It consists of:

• Bulk-glass sweep-off depalletiser
• Crate washer
• Kosme Barifill R-VC filler with rinser and crowner
• Closer for Champagne corks
• Krones Checkmat machine for inspecting the bottles for correct fill level and the presence of a closure
• Drier
• Kosme Flexa Combicol labeller with two stations each for pressure-sensitive and cold-glue labels
• Kosme carton erector
• Kosme packer for cartons and crates
• Kosme carton closer
• Palletiser

Lubricants and adhesives from KIC Krones ensure that the entire filling operation runs smoothly.