With the intent of contributing to the research of alternative fermentation process of beer, a PLC-driven system was designed, programmed and simulated. The resultant system includes a user friendly HMI and a modular structure. The proposed configuration of modules includes two fermentor stages, four buffers and a clean-in-place module. The configuration proposed is intended to be capable of starting-up and controlling both primary and secondary fermentation in a continuous stationary state, as well as perform automated cleaning.

The HMI allows the user to operate the system in seven different run modes. Initialization, Steady state, Batch mode, Change of beer style, Manual mode, Auto clean and, Settings control. Each run mode has different intended functions and enable or disable different elements in the system. The designed HMI also allows the user to continuously visualise and monitor all of the system variables, as well as customizing each of the programed PID temperature controls contained in each module.

The proposed modular structure was embedded into the PLC programs, the HMI and the simulation. This structure was carefully designed to allow both the programmer and the user the flexibility to increase or decrease the amount of modules as well as their relative positions in the system with a few minor changes in code and a drag-and-drop action in the visualisations of the HMI.

There is still much to learn about the continuous fermentation process before the technology is ready to become commercially available. However, the present work intends to provide an approach to address the practical complexity of controlling the process and allow researchers to iterate faster between experiments.