STATE COLLEGE, PA – Doesn’t a cold, frosty beer sound good? Turns out, it actually does!
Founded by three Penn State University engineering graduates, TZero Labs www.tzerolabs.com is a sensor technology and data-company that lets brew masters “hear the beer” as it ferments.
The team at TZero, two brothers, Stephen and Nick Wells, along with co-founder, Eli Hughes, met while working at Penn State’s Applied Research Lab. With funding from Ben Franklin Technology Partners www.cnp.benfranklin.org , they’ve developed a cloud-based platform that accumulates data from acoustic sensors mounted on the brewing equipment that provide real-time fermentation condition data.
“Our platform sends notification alerts when the fermentation has started and stopped which increases the overall process efficiency and enables 24/7 remote access to the brewing process. In short, using acoustics allows a Micro-Brewery to optimize the fermentation process. The result is not only more beer, but better tasting beer. Recently, we’ve begun working with Penn College to expose the students in the Master Brewer Program to this technology”. – Stephen Wells, Co-Founder/TZero
Robin Hood Brewing Company, a distributing brewpub located in Bellefonte, PA, that boasts a continuously-rotating selection of award-winning IPAs, wheat beers, and experimental brews, is participating in a beta of the TZero technology. This real-world installation allows the company to test their hardware and assist in the development of their proprietary algorithm while providing Robin Hood’s brew master with data regarding temperature, density, and fermentation activity.
Scott Johnson, Ben Franklin’s business and technical mentor to TZero, jokingly commented, “Who would have guessed we’ll soon be asking does it sound like beer yet? I’d like to applaud Robin Hood Brewing Company for their willingness to test TZero’s product and also the two other local companies that have been instrumental in helping to get the product made. Homeland Manufacturing Services in State College is an electronics manufacturer that provides TZero with the final assembly of the circuit boards and Metal Integrity manufactures the stainless steel sensor housing. TZero’s innovation is not only good news for beer drinkers and brew masters but for the manufacturers who make the parts as well. Cheers to all!”
