The Brewing Equipment You Need to Open a Brewery

Opening a factory requires a substantial capital investment, and opening a brewery is no exception. But not all equipment should be in place at the first brewing stage. Many of our customers only need to buy equipment to meet their own brewing needs at the initial stage. In the later stage, they can expand or add more brewing equipment through the profits from beer sales. Efficient and smarter equipment. Today, Vdobrew will show you the brewing equipment necessary to start a brewery.

Malt Grinder

Malt grinders are used to grind malt and other grains such as wheat. With your own grinder, you can control the degree of crushing, which is used to grind different grains to brew different beer styles. Most breweries need to have their own malt mills due to the variety of beer styles they offer.

Of course, if your craft brewery only expects to brew a few types of beer at the beginning, you can buy the finished malt directly from the malting company. It should be noted that the price of finished malt is usually higher than that of whole malt, and the shelf life is shorter (about 6 months).

Another reason for abandoning the malt grinder may be limited space, such as beer halls, where crushed malt products can be purchased directly.

Glycation system

A mash system is where the wort is made and then sent to the fermenters. Although there is an integrated saccharification equipment on the market, we will not recommend it to our customers after we understand the disadvantages. Customers with sufficient budget and a large-scale planned brewery will choose our six-vessel mash system, that is, on the basis of the original mash tank, filter tank, boiling tank and whirl tank, a gelatinization pot and a temporary storage tank are added. Can. We recommend that most customers with limited budgets choose a two-vessel mashing system, that is, a combined mashing lauter and a combined boiling and swirling tank. Two pots are sufficient to start the mashing process of the second brew while the first brew is boiling.

Hot Water Tank

Whether it is a two-stage brewing system or a five-stage brewing system, our brewing equipment usually has a matching hot water tank. Hot water tanks are large stainless steel tanks usually with a dedicated heating unit. The reason for having a hot water tank is to store hot water. The temperature of the water is critical to the temperature of the mash. If the temperature is not right, the quality of the final beer will be skewed. The capacity of the hot water tank is usually twice that of the saccharification tank. For example, a 500L saccharification equipment should be equipped with a hot water tank of more than 1000L. The brewing water in the hot water tank is warmed up before brewing and can be used immediately when mashing begins.

Some very small craft breweries or craft brew houses opt for on-demand water, which heats the water to the desired temperature almost instantly when needed. However, we recommend that breweries have hot water tanks unless space is severely constrained. Because having a hot water tank means that the hot water generated when cooling the wort through cold and heat exchange can be used for the next brewing or cleaning, saving brewing costs.

Heating system

If the budget is limited and the capacity of the brewing system is only 1000L or less, electric heating is the best choice. However, if the saccharification system over 1000L is supported by electricity, in addition to the higher cost of electricity for daily operation, additional funds may be required to install the electrical requirements for running the saccharification room.

heat exchanger

The heat exchanger is a device used to quickly cool the wort before it is sent into the fermenter, usually using a one-stage plate heat exchanger and a two-stage plate heat exchanger. The one-stage plate heat exchanger cools the wort with the help of cold water in the ice water tank. The two-stage plate heat exchanger uses municipal water and glycol. Municipal water does most of the cooling, and glycol helps achieve the target temperature. If the budget is limited, it is recommended to choose a two-stage plate heat exchanger, because one less ice water tank can be ordered.
However, the two-stage plate heat exchanger transfers the pressure to the glycol cooler. Because this means that the cooling of the fermenter needs to be turned off when cooling the wort, and the cooling system of the fermenter needs to be turned on after the ethylene glycol has returned to the applicable temperature. The advantage of a one-stage plate heat exchanger for a multi-batch brewing brewery is that more hot water can be produced for its use.

Wort aeration device

After the wort is cooled, it usually needs to be aerated to help the yeast cells reproduce healthier when it enters the fermenter. Wort aeration is not a huge cost and is worth the extra investment.

Fermenter

Fermenters provide the process by which yeast converts the sugar in the wort into alcohol and oxygen into carbon dioxide. Fermenters are usually jacketed, with a coil containing glycol between the inner and outer layers to help regulate the temperature of the fermenter. The fermenters configured for a set of saccharification equipment are not all of uniform specifications, and fermenters with different capacities and sizes can be used according to different brewing batches. If the budget is limited and the production volume is not large, it is recommended to purchase a one-pot fermentation tank. The pre-fermentation and post-fermentation can be carried out in the same tank, which saves the cost of the sake tank.

Cooling And Glycol

Liquid for cooling wort and beer in breweries. They are never in direct contact with beer, but are used in heat exchangers and tank jackets. Glycol systems have their own storage tanks, pumps, piping, and dedicated cooling to keep them cool.

Control System

Brewing beer requires minimal control over the brewhouse and other systems such as fermentation. Saccharification and fermentation in breweries are usually controlled separately. If you want to save money, you can also have only one control panel for all the tanks. But the disadvantage is that you need to walk more every day, which is very inconvenient. But it’s a good choice for a beer house.

CIP device

In my opinion, the CIP cleaning system is one of the necessary equipment for modern breweries to ensure all aspects of the brewing process and prevent pollution.

Other beer brewing equipment such as sake tanks, beer keg washing machines, and automation are not necessary for a small brewery. It is of course the icing on the cake that it is as complete as possible according to the budget. Complete equipment can improve the production efficiency and quality of beer. We will also comprehensively consider the design plan of the brewery according to the actual situation of each customer. If you have other questions about beer equipment, you can leave a message or call us for consultation.