The brewing process encompasses four key steps: saccharification, filtration, boiling, and whirlpool. While an ideal setup involves dedicated equipment for each function, many craft breweries, limited by capital and space, resort to combining functions. That is, we often say "two vessels brewhouse" or "three vessels brewhouse," where a single tank serves dual functions.
But what happens when compromise is inevitable? Let's explore some common combinations and the features they entail.
Mash + Lauter Combination:
Retaining the lauter tun function while sacrificing part of the mash tun, this setup employs a lauter rake device and sieve plate. A flat bottom maintains filtration efficiency, while a cone bottom ensures effective heating. However, flat-bottom drawbacks include lower heating efficiency or cone bottom resulting in slower filtration due to the outer jacket.
Boil + Whirlpool Combination:
Preserving the boil kettle function and sacrificing part of the whirlpool, this configuration features a jacket or external heater for boiling. Features a cone bottom with a tangent inlet. Disadvantages include reduced whirlpooling effectiveness and increased wort loss during whirlpooling.
Mash + Boil Combination:
Both tanks feature heating functions, a conical bottom, and a mash agitator, this combination presents challenges to brewing efficiency. Cross-occupancy situations may occur, leading to extended working hours, and the agitation can create a small boiling static zone, obstructing wort flow during boiling.
In brewing, each combination has its drawbacks, and the choice depends on individual brewery priorities. While mash boiling combinations tend to have a lesser impact on the process, specific brewery needs must be considered. Our sales engineers are available to assist in planning the most suitable brewery equipment supporting plan for you. Feel free to contact us anytime!
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