In the world of brewing, precision and consistency are paramount. A chiller is indispensable, as brewing, fermentation and storage temperature can profoundly influence a beer’s aroma, flavor and overall quality.
A well-chosen chiller contributes to preserving a beer’s integrity, and the right size of a brewery chiller can significantly impact production efficiency by accelerating the cooling process and enabling brewers to maintain a consistent production scale. Learn about the intricacies of selecting a suitable chiller for your business, the various types of chillers, and how efficiency factors and maintenance requirements can impact your choice.
Chillers for Breweries
Chillers are the heart of your brewery’s temperature control system. A brewery glycol system removes heat, particularly during fermentation, keeping beer taste consistent across batches. Several points set chillers for breweries apart from the rest, complementing and optimizing the production process.
Energy Efficiency
An energy-efficient chiller can reduce operational overheads while aligning with sustainable brewing practices — a business quality becoming increasingly important in today’s market. In this category, features to look out for include:
- EC condenser fan motors
- Electronic expansion valves
- Heat reclaim options
- A variable frequency drive
- Floating head pressure
- A glycol economizer
Consistent Temperature
Breweries require accurate temperature controls and lower temperatures than what standard chillers have to offer. During wort cooling, the temperature reduces quickly to aid fermentation. Climate consistency is vital for flavor development and yeast activity throughout this process. Look for features like a stainless steel recirculation tank to help maintain glycol temperatures under various conditions.
Dependable Operation
Brewery chillers operate year-round rather than seasonally. This consistent operation helps extend the life of fermenters, tanks and other critical brewing components. Since chillers help expedite the cooling process, the right brew tank cooler will reduce downtime between batches. Brewery chillers offer a scalable opportunity to increase brewing capacity to meet your customers’ demands effectively.
Sizing a Brewery Chiller
An inadequately sized chiller will not achieve the right glycol temperatures or refrigerant requirements. To determine the size of the chiller you need, work out these calculations:
Beer Volume
Start by calculating the beer volume you aim to produce in one brew cycle. The number ensures the chiller you purchase can keep up with your production volume. For example, say you can produce 20 beer barrels at a time. Each barrel holds 31 gallons, so multiply your 20-barrel system by the holding capacity of one barrel to find the total volume:
- 20 barrels x 31 gallons/barrel = 620 gallons total
Crashing Loads
Next, evaluate the British thermal units (Btu) per hour for the brewery’s pull-down or crashing loads process. This calculation has a few steps. First, you need to know your pull-down hours and temperature differential. For this example, let’s say your pull-down time is 18 hours and your temperature differential is 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Follow these steps to calculate Btu/hour:
- Total pounds: One gallon of beer weighs 8.33 pounds. Multiply this by the total volume in gallons for the total pounds. So, 620 total gallons x 8.33 pounds/gallon = 5,164.6 total pounds.
- Total Btu: Now multiply the total pounds by the temperature differential. So, 5,164.6 pounds x 41°F = 211,748.6 total Btu.
- Btu per hour required: Divide the total Btu by the hours of the pull-down. So, 211,748.6 Btu / 18 hours = 11,763.81 Btu/hour.
Active Fermentation Heat Load
You must also calculate the total Btu/hour you need for fermentation by multiplying the barrel total by a factor of 15 bricks. Bricks or Brix measures solids dissolved in a solution — in this context, the sugars dissolved in the fermenting beer — and 15 is an industry standard approximating how much sugar converts to alcohol per barrel. This method also assumes 280 Btu per brick and 70 hours of heat gain from yeast, whatever the length of the fermentation period.
Continuing with our 20-barrel example:
- 20 barrels x 15 bricks/barrel = 300 bricks
- 300 bricks x 280 Btu/brick = 84,000 Btu
- 84,000 Btu / 70 hours = 1,200 Btu/hour
Wort Heat Exchanger Secondary Heat Load
Next, calculate the Btu/hour the wort heat exchanger requires. Take the total Btu you calculated earlier, and divide that by the recovery time in hours between batches. If the recovery time for your brews is 45 minutes, this is what your calculations will look like:
- 211,748.6 total Btu / 0.75 hour = 282,331.46 Btu/hour
Brite Holding Tank Heat Load
The Btu/hour for the Brite holding tank heat load is similar to the pull-down process formula, except it uses a different temperature differential and time. For example, if your temperature differential is 35°F over 48 hours, follow these steps:
- 5,164.6 total pounds x 35°F = 180,761 total Btu
- 180,761 total Btu / 48 hours = 3,765.85 Btu/hour
Heat Loss Compensation
Finally, it is important to compensate for heat loss by adding a 10%-15% safety factor. This factor helps accommodate unexplained heat loss, various inefficiencies and equipment heat loss.
Additional Factors to Consider
Before selecting a chiller based on your sizing requirements, consider these other factors that can affect your brewery’s needs, overheads and scalability:
- Maintenance and operating costs: Quarterly inspections help to ensure your chiller’s longevity and keep your equipment performing at its best.
- Expansion plans: Be aware of potential expansion plans and ensure your system has additional circuits to accommodate this growth.
- Temperature sensitivity: Consider how sensitive you want fluctuations for the ultimate temperature control. Look into dual-loop recirculation or on-demand cooling tanks to maintain consistent temperatures.
- Building requirements: Your chiller must comply with unit size or power constraints within the building where you will install it.
Brewery Chiller Capacities Help
Choosing the right chiller for your brewery can elevate your brews and should align with your company’s needs and capabilities. Considering batch sizes, budget constraints, cooling requirements and environmental factors can help you make a smart choice.
Smart Family of Cooling Products can provide high-quality chillers according to your brewery’s glycol chiller sizing and business needs. We can guide you through the process of finding a chiller system you can count on. With custom solutions based on your calculations, our team of expert engineers can help you choose the brewery glycol system design to complement your operations best. Contact us today to learn more and find your ideal brewery chiller system.
