Bitburger – eLearning course for a perfectly pulled beer

Seamless integration of existing content – a technical and educational challenge

Given the specified budget and its commitment to delivering premium quality, the Bitburger Brewery Group opted for a hybrid model. For example, it started by setting the course for the entire project, adopting an agile approach. The experience gained at this stage then served as the starting point for optimizing internal processes. This made it possible to kick-start and support subsequent series production as efficiently as possible from the outset.

Following the project kickoff, the tts experts prepared a design concept describing the eLearning course’s layout and interactive design. Existing material such as training presentations, explanatory videos, video tutorials and images served as a basis for this. In addition, all the objects required in the virtual space were defined and photos were provided for 3D modeling for the virtual cooling cellar.

To illustrate the concept, the tts learning architects prepared a prototype on which further content production was to be based. “We deliberately picked the demanding section with the virtual cooling cellar for the prototype, because the creative, educational and technical integration of the existing and new materials posed a particular challenge,” explains project manager Birgit Hisserich, Senior Quality Manager at the Bitburger Brewery Group. “Thanks to the committed teamwork of staff from both companies, however, everything ultimately worked together seamlessly,” she adds.

Merging content and adding sound with the tts performance suite

The tts learning experts then developed the storyboard for the eLearning course. This phase involved processing existing materials – editing videos, adapting image material and designing the 3D space, for instance. After that, all the content was merged in the tts performance suite’s authoring tool and sound was added on a temporary basis using the speech engine.

Implementing the three-dimensional, interactive beer cooling cellar proved technically challenging. After all, it had to simulate the original as realistically as possible while also ensuring high-performance operation, even without browser plugins. To achieve the ideal compromise between performance and level of detail, tts and Bitburger coordinated on a series of performance tests on the GastroPortal, with subsequent optimizations. Acceptance tests running in parallel with selected stakeholders helped optimize the new kind of immersive knowledge transfer and how everything was handled in the virtual space. 

The Bitburger Brewery Group is more than satisfied with the outcome. “tts and the Bitburger Brewery Group worked together with mutual respect, patience and a high level of trust to develop an eLearning course with which we can both ultimately be really pleased,” says Hisserich.

The “bartending technique” eLearning course is enjoying a high level of acceptance among catering businesses, because pandemic-related staffing shortages and the high employee turnover in the industry mean they repeatedly need to onboard new service personnel and temporary staff fast. This entirely straightforward course offers the perfect solution – for use at home, on the way to work or before starting a new job. The knowledge acquired can also be refreshed at any time.

For the Bitburger Brewery Group, too, the eLearning course is an important step toward service digitalization. This offers potential that the group is looking to increasingly leverage in the future with a data-based approach. In January 2023, the brewery group therefore carried out a survey to ascertain the level of acceptance and the success of the project. The result of this survey will determine how and to what extent the digital service offering for the catering industry is to be expanded.

The roots of the Bitburger Brewery Group date back to the 16th century. The family company, which has now been in business for seven generations, currently has a workforce of around 1,600 employees at its headquarters in Bitburg and four further sites. With its brands Bitburger, Craftwerk Brewing, Kandi Malz, König Pilsener, Königsbacher, Köstritzer, Licher and Nette, the brewery group is one of Germany’s top three breweries in terms of sales. Its premium beers are exported to around 90 countries.