Looking for words of wisdom on separators

[Soren]

We are close to getting rid of our old DE filter and want to replace it with a separator. Our current batch size is only 50HL (40bbl), and I don't envision us going much bigger than 100-150HL in the future, so we don't need anything big.

Our plan is to separate from primary ferment to the BBT. Then run the beer through a cartridge for packaging if needed. I understand a separator is not "absolute" but the beer has to be quite bright coming out of it to achieve our goal. Most of our beers are dry hopped relatively heavy.

The lead contender at the moment is Alfa Laval's Brew 80. A nifty little machine by the looks, my only concern is that they are only promising a DO pickup of less than 20 ppb. This may not sound like much, but it's more than the zero pick up they promise on their larger and more brewery focussed machines. And I suspect it doesn't include any pick up we'd have from the feed pump and other connections to and from the machine.

Another contender is from Italian manufacturer REDA (RE30BR) which comes with good specs and price, but is made by an unknown company (to us).

Does anyone have either of the above machines? If so any words of advise would be much appreciated. We are mainly concerned about:

- DO pick up
- Sanitary issues
- Ease of operation
- Any problems with dry hops (pellets) getting stuck
- Expected yields (or expected waste)
- Necessity of extra bling such as turbidity metres and automation linked to these

Another question about separators in general is how much sludge people send through them? I was hoping to be able to spin down the whole fermenter. We'd drop yeast, trub and dry hops throughout the ferments as usual of course but after that I was hoping to be able to send the whole tank, cone and all, through the separator. I know there is no black and white answer to this question but in general, are people able to achieve this?

Of course, if anyone has suggestions to other machines than the above, I am all ears. We have already looked at GEA and they are very nice. But in reality they are probably too big, too fancy and too expensive for us.

Cheers

Soren Eriksen
8 Wired Brewing
New Zealand

[MSBCAKbrewer]

Brew 80

Soren,

We have been operating a Brew 80 for almost three years and we are very pleased with it. It is so much better than a DE filter, but it does have limitations.

-DO pick-up averages about 10ppb post filter. However, when we measure the fermented, non clarified beer it usually measures about 30ppb. So it seems that the D.O. is usually lower once it reaches the tank. It is damn near impossible to reach zero and I think it is totally unnecessary. Even the Budweiser's of the world are still in the teens for TPO's. The packaging line is where the real DO battle is fought.
-We test our centrifuge frequently and we have not had any issues with sanitation. A centrifuge is a difficult place for any microorganism to live.
-No problems with clog up unless you try to extract from the yeast bed without assistance from a pump.
-Our yields improved on dry-hopped beers by 3-5% and on our belgians/poor flocculation beers by up to 10%.
-You will need quite a few hoses (the machine needs to run in a loop with a CIP brink), 480V 3ph power, and a centrifugal pump. A turbidity meter can be helpful but I find it unnecessary as once you get the hang of it you can certainly make your own judgments on clarity. The centrifuge does not remove chill haze, so be aware of that. So if you want super bright beer at cold temps then it may make sense to purchase a Lenticular filter as well.
-The machine is very easy to run, but the maintenance is the real challenge for the less than mechanically skilled brewers out there. Maintenance has to be performed at specific intervals and you can do it yourself, or bring in a tech for a pretty large fee (depending on the locale of the nearest technician).

I hope this helps!

Lee Ellis
Head Brewer
Midnight Sun Brewing Co.
Anchorage, Alaska