Sep. 09, 2024
Machinery
What&#;s next? These two words carry immense impact in the brewing space, an industry that is constantly innovating and experimenting to produce the next great tasting drink for customers to enjoy. And while the flavors and trends may come and go, one thing remains constant, the commitment to creating something extraordinary.
That is why when it comes to equipment and operational procedures, breweries need customization, not something that is essentially &#;off the rack&#;.
New markets lead to additional opportunities
New flavors and trends can potentially leave gaps for breweries trying to expand their offerings. A brewery will most likely always have a flagship IPA, lager, stout, etc. but what about the part of your client demographic that does not like these flavors? If an alcohol consuming customer walks through your doors, is there a possibility they look at your menu and not want anything? What about the individuals who love the taste of beer but are not looking to feel the effects of alcohol?
Raised Grain Brewing in Waukesha, WI asked themselves the same questions. They built their brand on great tasting traditional craft beers but saw the opportunity to expand their product line to make sure that everyone who walked through their door could enjoy one of their products. They turned to ProBrew&#;s Alchemator &#;. The Alchemator can pull the alcohol and water from the feed beverage creating a Hard Seltzer base. By adding carbonation and flavoring to the alcohol water base, you can easily create a crystal-clear hard seltzer or N/A beer without compromising your beverage&#;s unique characteristics.
&#;If you&#;d asked me five years ago, as we were writing the business plan, if we were going to be brewing a clear hard seltzer, I would have laughed and told you about some IPA we wanted to do,&#; Nick Reistad, COO at Raised Grain admits. &#;We want to be welcoming to everybody that chooses to come in [to our taproom], but not everybody drinks beer, and that&#;s just the reality,&#; Reistad explains. &#;Now, we&#;re embracing it and using it as an opportunity to reach more people with our brand.&#;
Capitalizing on New Flavors
Dragon fruit, elderberry, prickly pear. These are all ingredients that no one pictured coming to relevance even five years ago in the brewing industry. With the growing popularity of different fruit-flavored sours, desert craft beers, and RTD-cocktails, it is now time for breweries to expand and experiment.
ProBrew developed its latest line of HTST (High-Temperature, Short-Time) Flash Pasteurizers dubbed &#;FlashPAS&#; to meet craft brewer&#;s needs. These inline systems run 5 &#; 30 gallons per minute with options for up to 3 different hold times and can be easily paired with a ProCarb&#; carbonation system.
During the pasteurization process, the beer passes through a heat exchanger where it is heated to 158°F&#;162°F (70°C&#;72°C) for the desired time, then glycol swiftly cools it back down enough for packaging. The beer is never exposed to oxygen, meaning the beer maintains industry-low DO levels throughout the course of pasteurization. This process eliminates unwanted, harmful microorganisms in the beverage to safeguard product quality and shelf life, guaranteeing a great tasting final product.
Case closed: Unique Brewing Calls for Customized Equipment
ProBrew believes that each craft beer reflects the hard work and long hours that each individual brewer puts in. That is why we are equally committed to providing customized equipment and solutions for what a brewery needs at this precise moment. From brewing to fermenting to carbonating and can filling, ProBrew&#;s customizable equipment empowers breweries to expand operations at their own pace.
If you&#;d like to further the conversation, fill out our form and a representative will be in touch as soon as possible! Otherwise, feel free to us at or call 262-278-.
I wanted to discuss &#;buying a custom brewery from China&#;, after an from Eric, in The Philippines, He said he&#;d wish he found my website earlier.
He had searched &#;200L custom brewery system from China&#;, and Google hadn&#;t really delivered. He was a homebrewer looking to get his first commercial system and wanted guidance.
Many of my clients are like, Eric, new to commercial operations. In need of assistance with both equipment sourcing, as well as getting the new brewery operational.
Chaba Brewing in Kunming, China &#; Their First Foray into Commercial BrewingI help new breweries get started, evaluate cost per liter numbers, lock in standard-operating-procedures (SOP&#;s) and work out production schedules. However, today we&#;ll concentrate on buying a custom brewery from China.
Whatever brewery someone is planning, there&#;ll always be some customization.
Please note: What we cover in the post below, is relevant for any brewery project, not just for equipment sourced from China.
As I said many times, you need to do your research (or contact me &#;). As there are many Chinese manufactures to choose from.
With more popping up all the time. It can be overwhelming, when they&#;re emailing and messaging you all the time.
The issue is: not all manufactures have brewers on their staff or understand the latest developments in brewing.
There&#;s never been more information available to brewers, when it comes to brewing process and technological innovation. No two brewing projects are the same; and every one of them requires customizations.
Please note: Depending on the hot water temperature, you might need to mix with cold water for correct mash tempThere are more projects I&#;m currently working on. However, these were the ones which were more troublesome.
As they had certain obstacles and restrictions to overcome. In none of above instances, would an off-the-shelf solution have worked.
Finding a Chinese brewing equipment manufacturer who understands the nuances of your project is the second thing you need to do. Do you know the first is?
When clients first approach me, I give them this questionnaire to fill-in. If people can&#;t answer all questions, it&#;s fine. Any information shared helps.
I&#;ll check the answers, and ask some questions off the back of the replies given. Then we&#;ll have a video call to chat further.
As the prep work done makes the initial discussion productive. This is all working towards having a detailed list, with notes as to why said equipment is needed.
Below are some of the key factors, you need to understand for any brewing project. Which should be relayed to an equipment manufacturer.
The beer styles planned for a brewery determines the vessel set-up needed. For example:
Making mostly lagers &#; May need a dedicated cold liquor tank (CLT) sized appropriately for a typical (double) brew day. Rather than a two-stage heat exchanger using mains water and glycol.
&#;> Also, horizontal conditioning tanks too!
Hazy IPA&#;s &#; A client I&#;m working with wants to use &#;hop baskets&#; in the brewhouse and FV&#;s. He believes using baskets gives him better results, means less hop burn and lower beer losses.
Mostly Strong Ales &#; If making stronger beers, with an all-malt grain bill. Then the mash and lauter tun will have to bigger to accommodate more volume. Furthermore, grain bed depth is important to brewing efficiency and good lautering.
If the brewery is mainly doing one brew a day, a project is easier plan. As a 2-vessel system will usually be enough. The brewery will have a combined mash/lauter and kettle/whirlpool.
Typically works for a 500-liter (or less) brewpub. Even with a 2-vessel system, if it&#;s designed right, a brewer can brew two batches in 10 to 12 hours to a 1,000-liter unitank.
There&#;s more planning needed when a brewery has multiple beers to be brewed and with several different sized unitanks.
For example a 1,000-liter brewery with 1, 2, 4 and 6,000-liter tanks. In this instance a brewery will need multiple brewhouse vessels.
When brewing several times on one system in a day, they are called &#;turns&#;. The simplest way to increase output, and have a quicker brew day is to add a whirlpool.
So, it becomes as combined mash/lauter with separate brew kettle and whirlpool. Furthermore, in a brewery looking to do several turns per day; the set-up can look more like this:
Mash mixer -> Lauter tun -> Wort holding tank -> Brew kettle -> Whirlpool -> HX -> FV
Related links:Link to YME
Larger breweries may have even more brewhouse vessels, when doing 10+ turns per day. When looking to fill large unitanks, and/or brew several different beers in one day.
When planning a brewery and customizing to the needs of a project. Proper planning of the volumes predicted and confirmation on the beer styles to be brewed, are key. As this will determine what vessels and layout is required.
A brewery needs to factor in volume requirements now, and for the future. As, when planning to add more fermenting capacity later. It often makes sense to oversize your initial glycol/cooling system capacity.
Granted, it means you&#;ll have larger upfront costs. However, it&#;ll save money, time and work down-the-line. Furthermore, if planned correctly, a brewery can quickly plug in new FV&#;s to the current glycol system, at the first expansion phase.
Even if someone doesn&#;t precisely know the needs for their brewhouse. The more information you can share with knowledgeable Chinese equipment manufacturer or brewing consultant, the better chance of getting a brewery fit for purpose.
Any decent brewery consultant will ask some of the following questions, at the start of a project:
1. What electricity is available at the location; what hertz and voltage is the three-phase?
2. Is there a gas main connected to your building?
3. What is the water pressure of your building?
4. Have you gotten an analysis of mains water at your location? If so, can you share the results?
Determining, the best heating option for your brewery can save money down the line. Some places have higher electrical costs. So, opting for a gas boiler, instead of an electric steam generator, could be the right choice.
If water pressure to your building is low and can&#;t be easily increased, it might be best to look for another location.
If you want to persist, having at CLT for wort cooling may make sense. Plus, mains water buffer tanks, running with an on-demand pump will make a brew crew&#;s life much easier as well.
If a water analysis is bad, with lot of TDS (total dissolved solids) in the water. Then adding an RO machine, treated water buffer tank and an on-demand pump makes sense.
Typical RO Water Set-Up for Many of My ClientsAs labor costs and laws change, many breweries are considering automation. For example, as I write this article; I&#;m speaking to a brewery in France about a project.
Next year (), the client believes France will go to a 4-day work week. If they do, then having less employees and paying them higher salaries makes sense.
This mean investing in automation becomes attractive. If seeking Chinese equipment, the list of manufactures, I&#;d trust to automate a brewery, could be counted on one hand!
One Chinese manufacturer I heard about was commissioned to make a 5,000-liter (50HL) automated brewery. They fabricated the 50HL lauter tun so, it could still fit in a regular 40ft shipping container.
Rather than to the correct dimensions, needed for ideal grain bed size. This was on top of adding a rake which couldn&#;t be raised and lowered, and all set-up like their typical manual brewhouses. Not allowing for the needs of automation.
The brewery with this system now has 4 to 5-hours lauters, as the tun is not fit for purpose. In fact this isn&#;t just an issue with Chinese manufacturers, many fabricators the world over don&#;t understand how brewhouse automation should be implemented.
The importance of process flow is often overlooked on a brewery project. When brewing, cellaring and packaging, production staff may walk a lot during a typical work day.
An intelligent brewery layout can save a brew crew time and vastly reduce a brewery&#;s labor costs. It&#;s a win-win, but where many breweries leave money on the table.
I like to think about triangles in a brewery. There are often three spots in the brewery where a brewer needs to be during a typical day.
For example, on the brew-deck, the keg washer and taking fermentation samples.
Can the brewery be designed, so a brewery employee can cut the distance travelled between these 3 areas? Yes, by understanding day-to-day needs and factoring this into brewery layout.
Again, communicating to Chinese brewing equipment manufacturer (or any fabricator) beliefs about process flow are important.
Hot Side: Milling -> Mashing-in -> Lautering -> Boiling -> Whirlpool -> Wort cooling -> FV
Cold Side: Fermentation -> Free Rise -> Crashing -> Separating -> Carbonation -> Packaging
I&#;ve simplified the processes, but I feel it gets the point across. There are many elements to consider when putting a custom brewery together.
Installing Unitanks for a Project in Kunming, China (2,000-liters)The first thing I tell all my clients thinking of buying packaging equipment from China, is consider sourcing elsewhere.
When it comes to packaging at smaller-scale, China doesn&#;t have a track record of manufacturing solutions.
To get a license to package and distribute in China until recently, meant a brewery needed to be able package 12,000 units per hours.
Well beyond the means or needs of smaller breweries. Times have changed in China plus, Chinese packaging line manufacturers now catering to the worldwide market.
However, DO (dissolved oxygen) pick-up on small craft lines, is often not within acceptable parameters, with machines from China.
I&#;ve had a few brewers comment numbers over 100ppb. In fact, I even had one brewer tell me they had a Chinese bottling line which read over 3,000ppb at times. This was an older machine.
I do know of one canning line, which I wrote about here. Which when tested with an Anton Parr CboxQ during trials, gave numbers below 30ppb. I&#;ve a few friends who have this machine, and they like it. It runs at about 400-cans per hour. It holds-up and offers decent shelf stability when canning.
A Small-Scale Canning Line from China Which Works with Good DO NumbersI&#;m helping clients all the time, to buy a custom breweries from China.
Process flow is important for labor saving and helping your brew crew
There&#;s a lot more involved to putting a brewery together. However, after numerous projects with feedback from clients and manufacturers. The above points are the ones I&#;ve learnt are most important.
This will allow a brewing equipment manufacturer in China (and honesty any company) to better build a custom brewery to the needs of the project.
If you would like help with the process, please get in contact. I can assist you, like many of my previous clients. From an inception of an idea to getting a turnkey brewery ordered.
My name is Neil and I&#;m a British brewer based in China. I first came to The Middle Kingdom in and know the brewing equipment market here, better than most.
It all begins with you filling out this questionnaire and sending your answers to me via at:
Additionally, you can message me directly on WeChat or by scanning the relevant QR code. Scan the code, add me and then send me a message.
I look forward to discussing your new brewing project or expansion with you. Thanks for reading and have a great day.
For more customized brewing equipmentinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.
Previous: 6 Steps of Flour Milling Process: Uncovering the Techniques
Next: 4 Tips to Select the Perfect Fine-Grinding Hammer Mill Machine
If you are interested in sending in a Guest Blogger Submission,welcome to write for us!
All Comments ( 0 )