How do you bring modern industrial automation into a brewery housed in buildings that are hundreds of years old?
That was the challenge facing Orm’s Brewhouse, a microbrewery founded in 2025 in a 14th-century farmstead. Their original brewing equipment was mechanically sound, but relied heavily on manual dosing, temperature readings and estimated volumes, making every brew day "a high-wire act".
Building the Brewery Around a WAGO PLC
WAGO programmable logic controllers provided the perfect solution, receiving information from sensors and controlling equipment such as pumps and heating according to the brewery’s programmed process. Rather than giving Orm’s a closed, off-the-shelf controller, WAGO worked with the brewers to build the automation around the way the brewery actually works.
If you're in the market for similar modular automation systems, WAGO PLCs are available from LED Controls. The brewers achieved accurate process measurement via WAGO integrated IO-modules, allowing the PLC to monitor the flow and automatically stop the pump when the programmed target has been reached.
More Consistent Brewing, With Less Guesswork
With the new WAGO system in place, Orm’s Brewhouse can automate Hot Liquor Tank temperature control, dose water to precise volumes, manage recipes, generate alarms and monitor key stages of the brewing process.
Fermentation temperature control can also be automated over several days, while process data can be logged to help the brewery improve consistency from one batch to the next. This means less manual intervention, reduced waste, shorter and less stressful brew days and, most importantly, greater confidence that each recipe can be reproduced consistently.
WAGO Automation Products from LED Controls
LED Controls supplies a comprehensive range of WAGO PLC and modular I/O components for machine building, process control, building automation and industrial applications. Whether you're starting from scratch or overhauling your old system, our team can help you pick all the perfect WAGO kit for your application. Check out the LED Controls WAGO range online or get in touch to talk it out!
