FAQ of beer brewery equipment

1. Which heating method is easy to use, steam or electricity?

Steam heating is recommended if budget is enough, as steam heating can meet a variety of mashing methods and can add functions such as filter tank warming. If you want to reduce the investment cost as much as possible, electric heating tube is better, also requires more careful operation. 

2. Which is better for steam generators? 

At present, there are 3 types of steam generators: electric steam generator, natural gas steam generator, and diesel steam generator. These 3 steam generators are selected according to your site and power configuration. If electricity power is enough, recommend the electric steam generator, the failure rate is low. If electric power is not enough then use natural gas, the cost of natural gas is low and there is no smoke emission after combustion. If there is no natural neither, the diesel steam generator can be used. It is recommended to be used in suburbs, there is slight smoke after burning. For beer pub & bar, electric steam generator is recommended, because the installation of industrial natural gas pipeline requires additional costs; For industrial brewery, natural gas steam generator is better. 

3. Which agitation type is better, top agitator or bottom agitator stirring?

Top agitator is recommended for equipment capacity below 2000L, the failure rate is low, and there is no leakage. For equipment capacity up to 2000L, bottom agitator stirring is better.

4. Should the grain spending port be set at the side or the bottom of lauter tun? 

Side spent grain port is better for equipment below 2000L, simple and easy operation. It is better to use bottom spent port for equipment larger than 2000L, which could save labor cost. 

5. Is heating system necessary for lauter tun?  

At present, the American brewhouse process is almost directly feeding in the lauter tun, and the temperature is rising directly to mash, which is simple and practical, shortens the mashing operation time, and avoids the oxidation caused by wort transfer. This is recommended for system below 2000L. The US mashing process is not recommended for equipment above 2000L. The lauter diameter is large and the temperature is not rising uniform.

6. Should the boiler exhaust steam system choose outdoor exhaust or indoor exhaust?

The outdoor exhaust system is the most common way and the effect is better. If the equipment is placed close to the middle of the room and the outdoor exhaust pipe is too long, the indoor exhaust system can be used, but the amount of evaporation should be considered to make a forced ventilation and cooling system.

7. For fermenter, choose side or top manhole?

The side manhole costs more than top manhole. It is also convenient to open the manhole for observation, which is available for top grade beer pub, bar and hotel. From technically and practically side, top manhole is recommended, The insulation performance is better. Considering safety, it is convenient to use side manhole for fermenter larger than 2000L. 

8. Which kind of brewing control system is better?

At present, the most common method is manual brewhouse and automatic fermentation control. In the brewhouse control, wort pump is controlled by VFD to control of the pump flow and prolong the service life. Fermentation automatic control include PLC human-machine interface control and digital display for single tank control. If consider cost-effective, use digital display control, stability, less susceptible to interference. If consider top class and easy operation, we can use PLC control, the cost will be higher, the operation is more convenient, the disadvantage is that once the fault occurs, the whole system will stop. Our Siemens S7-200 series PLC is mature and stable, with good effect. 

9. How to know the daily beer output? How many fermenters should use?

Usually the equipment model such as 300L is only 300L for malt mashing capacity. Beer production relates to fermentation process requirements and fermenter quantity, for example, the fermentation process is 12 days, use 12 fermenters, then get one tank of beer per day, if equipped with 6 fermenters, the average daily yield is half a tank. Generally, 6-8 basic fermenter configuration is recommended, and 4-6 additional spaces are reserved.

10. CIP system use cleaning trolley or movable pump?

Movable pump can be selected for equipment smaller than 500L, and cleaning trolley is recommended for larger than 500L equipment, cleaning used with alkaline water could be recycled. 

11. For fermenter pressure control, choose electric pressure gauge + bleed valve or the water-sealed mechanical pressure release valve?

The combination of electric pressure gauge and bleed valve is outdated. At present, water-sealed mechanical pressure release valve is common used. Once the electricity power is off, the water-sealed mechanical pressure valve can still work, while the electricity pressure valve stop work.

12. What is the difference between the 1:1 and 1:2 of brewhouse to fermenter configuration? And the impact for beer quality? 

From the investment point of view, 1:2 equipment is more cost-effective, but the brewmaster who use equipment for long period, may love the 1:1 configuration, simple and convenient operation, the same tank of beer need 2 batches of wort may cause a bit tired.