Rond-Point J.-B. Meura, 1 • B-7600 Péruwelz • Phone : +32 69 88 69 88 • Fax : +32 69 88 69 80 • www.meura.com

C o n t e n t sC o n t e n t s

Traditionally pioneers since 1845July 2006

7

Dear Readers,

We are very pleased to present Meur@News 7 to you.

Each issue provides us with an additional opportunity to share the achievements of our current projects with you. Our projects always give evidence of the strong partner-ship between Meura and its customers as well.Supported by its R&D department “Meura Technologies”, Meura not only puts its complete state-of-the-art brewhouse at your disposal, but in addition it offers you technological solutions to fi t all your requirements. In this seventh issue we are very proud to show you the latest design of our mash fi lter:the ������.Since the fi rst Meura fi lter press was introduced to the brewing world in 1901, Meura has continuously impro-ved its mash fi ltration technologies in order to provide you with leading edge solutions. The improvements af-fect not only the quality and productivity but also have an impact on the HGB performance.

You’ll always be one length ahead withMeura’s technologies!

Michel Genart Christian De Brackeleire Managing Director General Manager

P. 1 Welcome P. 2 Castel From a family name to a worldwide leader...From a family name to a worldwide leader...From a family name to a worldwide leader...From a family name to a worldwide leader...

P. 4 Affl igem … A name well known to beer lovers! … A name well known to beer lovers! … A name well known to beer lovers!

P. 7 Meura 2001 Carbo+ P. 8 Current News

• Drinktec 2005 – Münich (Germany) Drinktec 2005 – Münich (Germany) Drinktec 2005 – Münich (Germany) Drinktec 2005 – Münich (Germany)• MBAA 2005 – Miami (U.S.A)• Brewing and Malting Days 2005 Brewing and Malting Days 2005

(Czech Republic)• IBD 2006 – Hobart (Australia)• Pivo 2006 – Sochi (Russia)• Congreso Técnico de Ceveceros Congreso Técnico de Ceveceros

Latino americanos 2006 – Latino americanos 2006 – Managua (Nicaragua)

3

Beer sector & presence in AfricaEven in the beginning, Pierre Castel, President of the Group, showed an in-Even in the beginning, Pierre Castel, President of the Group, showed an in-terest in developing business in the French-speaking African countries. In terest in developing business in the French-speaking African countries. In 1990, thanks to a merger with BGI, the Group positioned itself as the leader 1990, thanks to a merger with BGI, the Group positioned itself as the leader in beer and soft drinks in Africa. BGI, created over 100 years ago, is today in beer and soft drinks in Africa. BGI, created over 100 years ago, is today represented in several African countries, running 45 industrial sites. represented in several African countries, running 45 industrial sites.

Since 1990, Castel has never stopped its efforts to increase its capacity to Since 1990, Castel has never stopped its efforts to increase its capacity to produce high-quality drinks. Finally, in 2001, the company strengthened its produce high-quality drinks. Finally, in 2001, the company strengthened its position thanks to a strategic alliance with SAB. Nowadays the Castel Group position thanks to a strategic alliance with SAB. Nowadays the Castel Group is represented in 18 African countries. is represented in 18 African countries.

Partner with MeuraFor more than ten years now Meura has had the honour of cooperating with For more than ten years now Meura has had the honour of cooperating with the Castel Group. Convinced by Meura’s state-of-the-art technologies, the the Castel Group. Convinced by Meura’s state-of-the-art technologies, the Group regularly relies on Meura for different projects. During their collabo-Group regularly relies on Meura for different projects. During their collabo-ration, Meura has not only supplied new mash fi lters but has also provided ration, Meura has not only supplied new mash fi lters but has also provided for the revamping of the existing ones. for the revamping of the existing ones.

The partnership between Meura and Castel has grown step by step. During The partnership between Meura and Castel has grown step by step. During the fi rst few years, the Castel Group turned only to the Meura After Sales the fi rst few years, the Castel Group turned only to the Meura After Sales Services department. Then they decided to call on Meura to carry out some Services department. Then they decided to call on Meura to carry out some revamping, and since 1999, they have chosen to invest in new Meura tech-revamping, and since 1999, they have chosen to invest in new Meura tech-nologies.nologies.

In 1997, the Castel Group asked Meura to perform the revamping of an exis-In 1997, the Castel Group asked Meura to perform the revamping of an exis-ting Meura fi lter in “Les Brasseries du Cameroun” in Douala. The revamping ting Meura fi lter in “Les Brasseries du Cameroun” in Douala. The revamping consisted of replacing the cast iron chambers with polypropylene chambers. consisted of replacing the cast iron chambers with polypropylene chambers. A similar revamping of an existing classical fi lter occurred in 1998 in Yaoun-A similar revamping of an existing classical fi lter occurred in 1998 in Yaoun-A similar revamping of an existing classical fi lter occurred in 1998 in Yaoun-A similar revamping of an existing classical fi lter occurred in 1998 in Yaoun-dé as well as in 2003 in Douala, both for “Les Brasseries du Cameroun”.dé as well as in 2003 in Douala, both for “Les Brasseries du Cameroun”.

In 1999, they bought a Meura 2000 EVO mash fi lter in order to guarantee In 1999, they bought a Meura 2000 EVO mash fi lter in order to guarantee the productivity of the Solibra Brewery in Ivory Coast.the productivity of the Solibra Brewery in Ivory Coast.

Three years later, in 2002, the Castel Group invested in the Cuca site in Three years later, in 2002, the Castel Group invested in the Cuca site in Angola. Meura was chosen to modernize the milling and the mash fi ltra-Angola. Meura was chosen to modernize the milling and the mash fi ltra-tion steps. The Group opted for the tion steps. The Group opted for the associated with the

mash fi lter fi tted for a 8750 kg malt equivalent throw.

Persuaded by Meura’s technologies, they selected Meura for different in-vestments. From 1999 until today, three other mash fi lters have been ordered.

The fi rst mash fi lter was supplied in 2003 to “Les Brasseries du Cameroun” in Yaoundé. It was equipped with 38 chambers for a 6650 kg malt equivalent throw. At the same time, this brewery also installed a CARBO ® for its milling. The two other mash fi lters were ordered recently, one for the St George Brewery in Ethiopia (with 7350 kg malt equivalent throw) and the other one for the Nocal Brewery in An-gola (with 9275 kg malt equivalent throw). These two orders were completed by a to fulfi l the milling requirements.

CastelFrom a family nameto a worldwide leader...

The origin of the Castel Group goes back to 1949 when the four Castelbrothers set up Castel Frères in Bordeaux (France). The company develo-ped signifi cantly in the 50’s. The Castel Group originally worked in the wine sector, expanding by creating bottling centres and taking over dif-ferent companies. At the same time, the Group was building its market share in the beer and soft drinks sector.

Fifty years after its foundation, the Group had become a leading com-pany in three sectors worldwide: wine, beer and mineral water. The

Group can be proud of its performance: it is the European leader and number three in the world for its wine activities and is one

of the top producers in the beer and soft drinks sector in Africa. Its bottled water activity is a great success as well, putting the

company in third place in France.

Due to its satisfaction with this colla-boration, the Castel Group also decided to put its faith in Meura to provide for other steps of the brewing process. For example, for “Les Brasseries du Came-roun” in Douala, in 1998 they opted for a Meura mash vessel, and some years later the Brewery of Yaoundé ordered a cereal cooker, a buffer tank and a wort

preheater.

Less than two years ago the Group once again selected Meura as the supplier for Nocal

Brewery’s brand-new yeast propagation plant. And this year, as a proof of their continued trust in Meura’s technologies, the Castel Group called on Meura for their investments in Cuca, in Angola. Meura installed a new boiling vessel equip-ped with an internal cooker and a heat recovery system, a ped with an internal cooker and a heat recovery system, a new whirlpool and a new automation system.

ConclusionWe want to take this opportunity to congratulate the Castel Group for its growing success and to thank them for their continued trust in Meura.

The Cuca Brewery (Angola)

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“Affl igem”… A name well knownto beer lovers!

Heineken and Affl igem:In 2000, as Heineken was already in charge of the marketing and the distribution of this special beer in the Netherlands and France, it fi rst acquired a 50 per cent stake in Affl igem Brewery. Later, Heineken increased its share of the company to 100 per cent so that it could expand the «Affl igem» name to the rest of the world. This move has been highly successful, and Affl igem’s reputation has grown signi-fi cantly. For the last few years, the Affl igem Brewery has been meeting an ever in-creasing demand.

Affl igem and Meura:a long term collaborationThe collaboration between the Affl igem Brewery and Meura started back in 1945 with the order of the brewery’s fi rst Meura mash fi lter; this earlier generation fi lter was equipped with manual valves on frames and plates. Meura’s commissioning mana-ger mentioned in his report in 1948 that the fi lter had an occupation time under 2 hours 30 minutes, with an excellent yield. More than 50 years ago Meura was then already making 10 brews /day. In 2003, convinced and very satisfi ed with the Meura technologies, Affl igem decided once again to give Meura the task of upgrading the brewhouse capacity in order to fulfi l the increasing demand.

From the old brewhouse... Previously, in order to ensure productivity, the Affl igem brewhouse had three copper dome vessels and one Meura mash fi lter. The three vessels were the mash conversion vessel, the mash cooker vessel and the wort copper.

Affl igem, the name of a Belgian village and a Belgian brewery, is also a famous Abbey beer, brewed with superior respect for authenticity and traditional crafts-manship.

The story of Affl igem Abbey beer be-gins in the eleventh century with the founding of the Abbey. Since then the Abbey has survived many torments. It is only since World War II that it has found some stability. After this troubling history, the name of Affl i-gem has been retained in the beer, which was brewed in the De Hertog Brewery and then, from 1972, in the De Smedt Brewery in Opwijk. The De Smedt Brewery ordered a Meura mash fi lter in 1945. In the beginning of the 90’s, Mr. Theo Vervloet took some shares in the brewery and started a cooperation with Heine-ken to export its beers.

Robert Braekeleirs, Member of the Meura Managing Committee with Theo Vervloet, Affl igem Managing Director and President of the Belgian Brewers.

English translation : Mr. Kusserner’s report dated the 20th of October 1948.Brew of 1450kg : Transfert to mash fi lter and complete fi ltration of 2h30.High extract yield – Density of last sparging water was 0.15.

The Affl igem Abbey

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...to the new one:The modernization of Affl igem Brewery was spread over several years: The fi rst supply occurred in 2003 with a mash conversion ves-

sel allowing higher volumes of brew length in the future. This vessel is equipped with Meura’s specifi c agitator design for fi ne grist mashes.

One year later, Meura modifi ed the milling room and the brewhouse.

:

The is a ventilated hammer millwith a horizontal shaft. This system, in associa-tion with the mash fi lter, leads to the production of clear wort with low fatty acid content and an extract yield at least equal to the laboratory yield.

• For the milling room, the modifi cation included the installation of a hammermill and a grist bin. For the hammermill, the was chosen.

• For the brewhouse, Meura replaced the former Meu-ra mash fi lter with a new mash fi lter equipped with a sparging water tank. For more than 50 years, Affl igem has brewed with the Meura mash fi lter. Meura also supplied a wort kettle with hop do-sing. This wort kettle is equipped with an internal boiler in order mainly to eliminate unwanted vola-tile compounds and provide hop isomerization, wort stabilization, adjustment of the fi nal density and hot trub formation.

Five months after this order, the fi rst brew was made. After three months, the old brewhouse was completely taken out of service.

Conclusion:At this time we want to thank Affl igem for their conti-nued faith in Meura’s technologies. We take advantage of this opportunity to wish Affl igem great success.

The new brewhouse of Affl igem Brewery

������

At the end of the 19th century Philippe Meura, the son of the company’s founder, devoted ten years to the development of a fi lter-press for breweries.In 1901 he succeeded and this revolutionary technology was exhibited at the Universal Exhibition in Brussels in 1910. With a productivity of 10 brews/day (a lauter tun at that time made about 6 brews/day) this classical fi lter became soon a success in the brewing industry. Meura sold more than 800 classical mash fi lters worldwide! In 1989 a new revolution in mash fi l-ter technology was introduced with the ������mash fi lter. This membrane equipped thin bed fi lter had exceptio-nal performances as well as an important infl uence on mo-dern brewing techniques. After only 15 years, more than 15% of all the beer produced in the world came from breweries equipped with the ������mash fi lter! Although the

������was continuously improved during the last decade, the time had come to develop a new mash fi lter ge-neration, the ������, in order to fulfi l the requirements of modern brewers. Two new trends in brewing convinced Meura to carry out this new development. On the one hand, mash fi ltration at 12 brews/day becomes the bottleneck in most breweries on the basis of the current infusion methods and the shortened boiling process. On the other hand, new high gravity brewing practices require cold wort density between 16 and 20°P. The change in both these requirements resulted in the develop-ment of the ������, which ensures simul-taneously:

≥ 14 brews/day (often 16 brews/day depending on the conditions)

ANDextract yield ≥ E.B.C. laboratory yield for fi ne milling

ANDvery bright wort (≤ 5ml/l Imhoff)

ANDcold wort gravity ≥ 17,5° Plato

In addition to these unique performances, wort quality is im-proved further with the ������.

Haacht Brewery, ������ mash fi lter Mont-Saint-Guibert Brewery, classical mash fi lter

Alken Brewery, Meura 2000 EVO mash fi lter Mons-en-Baroeul Brewery, ������ mash fi lter

What are the mostimportant improvements which the ������ represents?

1. Modifi cations resulting in improvedproductivity and yield:

Optimised fi lter bed formation with the combina-tion of a second mash inlet, membrane technology as well as fi ltration against counter-pressure (0.7 bar).

Increased opening speed reduces the removal time for spent grains. For a 65 chamber fi lter the removal time is only 12 minutes (7-8 minutes time gain per cycle).

2. Modifi cations resulting in improved quality: The (optional) pre-fi lling of the fi lter under CO2 avoids

mash and wort oxidation. Thanks to the guaranteed optimal fi ltration bed, a

short sparging cycle (35 min) with less than 2.3 l/kg is possible and results in a reduced leaching effectof unwanted compounds (polyphenols, aldehydes,nonenal potential, ...).nonenal potential, ...).

3. Modifi cations with effects on the H.G.B. performance: Sparging with less than 2.3 l/kg while maintaining

100 % extract recovery guaranty.

In combination with Meura’s mashing-in as low as 2 l/kg is possible and allows fi rst wort gravities of 26-28°P.

Rond-Point J.-B. Meura, 1 • B-7600 PéruwelzPhone : +32 69 88 69 88 • Fax : +32 69 88 69 80www.meura.com • E-mail : Sales@meura.comPublisher : MEURA

Editorial Department :• Editors-in-Chief :

- Michel GENART, Managing Director- Christian DE BRACKELEIRE, General Manager

• Managing Editor : - Françoise Lombaerde,

Marketing Communication Assistant• Design, layout & printing : - Losfeld • Belgium

Drinktec 2005 – Münich (Germany)

In September 2005, Meura exhibited at Drinktec in Munich,Germany. This was a great opportunity to welcome manyof our customers. In addition to the introduction of the new

������ we exhibited the as well as the . We would like to take this opportu-nity to thank all our visitors.

Many promising discussions occurred at the Meura stand

MBAA 2005 – Miami (U.S.A)

From the 14th to the 16th of October 2005, Meura exhibited at the MBAA Convention that took place in Miami in the U.S.A. Every year, this event brings together many of the leading brewing companies from all over the world. Bruno Bonacchelli, Meura R&D Engineer, took the opportunity to give a lecture: “The Wort Stripping Techno-logy to Save Energy, Targets & News Industrial Results”.

Robert Braekeleirs, Member of the Meura Managing Committee,Bruno Bonacchelli, Meura R&D Engineer and Christine Celis, Meura North America representative at the Meura Booth

Brewing and Malting Days 2005(Czech Republic)

From the 5th to the 7th of October 2005, Meura took part in the 21st Brewing and Malting Days in the Czech Republic.

IBD 2006 – Hobart (Australia)

Meura attended the IBD Convention that took place at Hobart in Tasmania from the 19th until the 24th until the 24th until the 24 of March. Frédérique Harme-gnies, R&D Engineer at Meura Technologies in Louvain-La-Neuve, presented a technical poster: “Mash Filtration: Study of Spent Grains Sparging in Brewing and Distilling Industry”.

From left to right: Jeroen Vandenbussche, Meura Sales and Marketing Manager with Frédérique Harmegnies, R&D engineer from Meura Technologies.

Pivo 2006 – Sochi (Russia) The manager of the Moscow Meura Offi ce has been very pleased to welcome our customers from the 19th until the 24th until the 24th until the 24 of May 2006 at the Sochi fair.

Mr. A.V. Lysenko, Director of Bryanskpivo Brewery, with AlexanderTronnikov, Manager of the Meura offi ce in Moscow”

Congreso Técnico de Ceveceros Latino-americanos 2006 – Managua (Nicaragua)

From the 3rd until the 5th of May, Raul Martinez, Area SalesManager, participated at the “5to Congreso Técnico de Ceveceros Latinoamericanos” at Managua in Nicaragua.

Raùl Martinez,Meura Area Sales Manager