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Scaling Up Production

Dick Murton

www.murtonbrewing.com

dickmurton@aol.com

Why upsize?

• Successful business – Insufficient brewhouse capacity

• Mash tun too small

• Insufficient or no chilled liquor

• Insufficient HLT capacity

– Insufficient tank capacity • FVs, CTs, BBTs

– Insufficient packaging capacity

– Paying for excessive hours for additional revenue

– No personal time outside work

http://www.murtonbrewing.com/http://www.murtonbrewing.com/

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Other example drivers • Need to replace equipment anyway

– Unsafe – Poor quality or damaged equipment – Not suitable for beer / yeast types used – Cannot produce consistent quality beer

• Lack of insulation • Cannot control liquor or beer temperatures accurately • Infection prone • Cannot pressurise tanks for carbonation

• Poor extracts • Need to move anyway

– lease expiring – limited space for existing capacity – limited access – permit problems

Possible alternatives

• Contract brew

• Cuckoo brew

• Double brew and rent larger FVs / CTs

• e.g. ninkasi tank rentals

• Use contract packager for bottles / cans

– separate company

– mobile packager

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Deciding what you need

For a given brewery size and style, the brewing recipes should be used to determine brewery design, e.g.

• Turnaround time

• Numbers and capacities of vessels

• Vessel dimensions and design features

• CIP facilities

• Extract performance

• Cask, keg, bottle, can storage

– empties, secondary packaging materials

– full packages

Level of spec

• Detail the required performance criteria • Will the kit you are considering achieve these? • Make sure you can safely and effectively clean &

sanitise it

• Automation, welded cladding will cost extra capital, but probably save revenue costs, physical effort, time

• Will probably improve consistency & quality and possibly extract performance

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Grist preparation

Pre-ground malt • Convenient, but some consider it inconsistent

Own mill • Optimised grist fractions can

– Improve extract efficiency – reduced malt costs – Increase runoff rates / reduce set beds – Reduce debris in wort

Grist case • Large enough for maximum grist weight • Pre-ground malt, or • Mill night before • Can also mash in directly from mill – no GC req’d

– But max 20 minutes to mash in

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Mash system

• To cope with largest grist weight, e.g. – Maximum volume & normal gravity, e.g. 5% – Reduced volume at higher gravity, e.g. 10%

• Mashing in – Manual mixing OK up to 10 brl / 400 kg – Mash mixer essential above this for most people – Mashing time – 20 mins max

• Mashing profile – Isothermal with simple MT – Rising temperature infusion with MT – not controllable – Decoction & rising temp mashes – additional kit

• How are you going to remove spent grains?

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Liquor tanks

• Incoming water supply flow and quality

• Break tank?

• Chlorine removal

• Acid treatment?

• CLT working capacity = > 1.3 x maximum wort volume

• HLT working capacity > 1.3 x maximum wort volume

• Temperature and time control of HLT

• Handling different mash and sparge temps

Wort copper / kettle

• Flexible heating to allow full / reduced volumes

• Ability to vigorously boil entire contents

• Ability to handle hop formats being used in copper – WP – pellets only

– Hopback – whole hops only

• Heating – Direct flame to bottom of kettle – rare

– Electric heating elements

– Direct gas fired – internal heating coil

– Steam heated jackets / calandria

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FVs / CTs

• Bottom / top cropping yeast ?

• “Flat” bottom should still be sloped

• CCVs - 60 deg internal angle

– require extra vertical height for cone

• Top access for top cropping

• Lower side access for bottom cropping

• Cooling / temperature probes for full and part brews

• Temperature control system

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Cooling

• Common glycol cooling system better if =>10 brl

• Sizing – supplier will need volumes, times, rates of

– Fermentation attemperation

– FV crash cooling

– CLT cooling

– CT / BBT cooling

– Cold store conditions – size, temperature

Pipework

• Generally 10 brl (1635 litre) kit can / should use 25 mm pipe

– Ideal flow = 2,900 –> 3,800 litres / hr

– Mashing in 350 kg @ 3:1 = 3,150 l / hr (20 min mash)

• Many suppliers use 1.5 inch (36 mm), but not cleanable with the pumps often supplied

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Cleaning

• Manual cleaning not practical for enclosed vessels – access, safety, confined working space

• Simple CIP system particularly beneficial at 10 brl +

• Typically single use

• Vessels must not be continuously ponded

• Pipe flows must be turbulent

Packaging

Cask / keg washing • For 10 brl kit, at least 2 head

– More heads reduces attention required

Bottling, canning, kegging ? • Filtered? Unfiltered? Package conditioned? • How much of each to determine size, and level of

manual input

Outsource • But need sensible minimum quantities - costs • Agree quality expectations

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Other considerations

• Filtration?

– KG, sheet, lenticular?

– How are you going to clean and sterilise?

• Carbonation

– “Natural” – krausening, primings – time required

– “Forced” - in tank sinter

– “Forced” - in-line

Brewery space requirements

• Individual pieces of kit

• Working space for each item

• Storage space for materials and packaged beer

• Admin

• Lab

• Mess room & toilets

• Bar / food ?

• Off sales area

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The building

• Do NOT compromise on structural safety

– Floor and wall strengths / loadings

• Access to get tanks in

• Sufficient height for tank installation

• Insulated

• Outside space for access, parking waste storage

10 brl FV – large brewery ratio

3.65 metres 3.3 metres

3.0 metres

10 brl FV – smaller brewery ratio

3.1 metres

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Hygiene – non negotiable

• You are producing food products

• Non porous walls / ceilings – tiles / plastic / polypropylene boarding

– impermeable paint

• Non porous surfaces (floors and vessels) essential

• Good falls / gullys not essential

• Ventilation – for moisture & CO2

• Pest control

• Toilet / washing / personal kitchen facilities

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