The right brewing system will depend on your needs, and many factors must be considered. You need to assess the number of vessels, sizes, cooling the wort, heat source, engineering, and the country of origin of the vessels.
This is a great and labor-efficient solution if you want craft beer. You can check the different sizes from ABS in the link to see more info about the specs. You’ll also need other equipment and parts, so be sure to visit the right site. The home brewing systems often range from 5 gallons to 5 barrels, and so many choices exist.
About the Vessels
If you’re going into the commercial industry, you need the bigger sizes, generally made up of stainless steel. This will heat the water into the hot liquor tank or a dedicated vessel, and the liquid is then transferred into a lauter tun or mash. The mash will saturate the milled grains to extract various flavors and sugars.
Afterward, the boiling kettle will receive the carbohydrate-filled water and is brought to a boil. The heating element can be in the form of steam or gas-fired burners. After the boiling is completed, the hops are added, and the water goes through the vortex for screening. It will remove larger hop clusters and particles and make the beer smoother.
It’s worth noting that the mash tun and the boil kettle are generally next to each other for easier monitoring and adding of ingredients. Read more about the mash tun on this page. To increase the labor efficiency and churn rate, breweries are adding vessels so more can be produced daily.
You will also need a fermenting vessel where the hot liquid is transferred and cooled. This will also be the place where the yeast is added, and the sugar becomes alcohol in a span of weeks or months. The fermentation process is stopped, and there will be a tank that will further allow cooling and let the other particles fall at the bottom. After this step is finished, the beer can be bottled, kegged, or served.
Considerations with Sizes
The microbreweries may typically prefer about 10 to 30 barrels worth of brewhouse. This can equal to over 200 pints of beer. It’s essential to start with the average, especially if you’re not sure about the growth and sales of the business.
When you go with the enormous vessels, you’ll have to spend more, which can be a costly mistake. A smaller one will mean that you can’t increase the batches daily, or you’ll have a lower hop utilization. Measure the physical space in your brewery, and if there’s enough room to add more bright tanks in the future, then you’re good to go with the medium-sized ones.
The height of the ceiling is also essential because the fermenting vessels are the tallest ones you need to accommodate. Other larger companies will create an opening at the ceiling and a tall dock door to accommodate the tanks.
Most of the time, you can simply fill half of the tanks when sales are low, get into the double batches, and fill the vessels and create beer when there’s more demand. See more about the process of creating beer at this link: https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/how-to/g143/how-to-make-brew-beer/.
Heat Source
Direct Fire: This is when the flame is directly heating the vessel’s exterior, and it’s the least expensive option. The disadvantage is that the bottom part will scorch the wort, and it’s inefficient regarding energy efficiency.
Indirect: The indirect flame is a new method with a different burner circulated via a jacket around the vessel. There’s no scorching involved, but it’s not considered as efficient as the electric steam.
Electric Heating: This is a large heating element similar to a water heater found in many homes. It’s a cost-effective option than steam, but they are only used on systems that can cater to more than 10 barrels.
Steam: The brewing industries may prefer steam if they need more than 15 barrels. A gas flame and a separate boiler will circulate through insulated steel, and they heat up quickly. However, the steam requires a lot of maintenance and can be expensive. Get more info about steam when you click here.
Other Considerations
When shopping for a brewing system for your business or home, you should consider a few key factors. The brewing system you choose will affect the quality of your beer, how often you can brew, and how big of a batch you can make. Here are some tips to help you choose the right system for your needs.
Size
First and foremost, size is important when selecting your brewing system. You will want to choose a system that can fit your available space. Some systems are small enough to fit in a limited area, while others require a larger warehouse, such as in the case of a full-scale brewhouse.
Capacity
Another thing to consider is your brewing capacity. You will want to choose a system that can produce the amount of beer you desire. Some systems have multiple brewing vessels that can be used simultaneously, while others have one larger tank that can be used to brew multiple beers at once.
Brewing Speed
Finally, consider how fast the brewing system can brew beer. Many systems can speed up the process of brewing beer, while others may just days to complete a batch of beer instead of weeks. Choose the system that best suits your needs.
Choosing the Best Suppliers
Many suppliers don’t do the manufacturing themselves, but they import the manpower and materials from other countries. You need to get the ones that were made by US-based engineers, so the wait time is going to be less.
The industry generally places more value on manufactured vessels that were done domestically. They can translate into an initial higher expense, but they will be definitely worth the investment.
When it comes to home brewing, there are a lot of different brewing systems out there to choose from. The one that is right for you depends on your specific needs and preferences. Do some research before buying a brewery that’s suitable for your business.
