Centrifuge for pretty low volumes

[dmartin]

I've noticed that there are more and more centrifuges being designed for low volumes. Has anyone committed to one (or looked into) anything for volumes as low as 10-30bbl? I'm curious if the quality of some of these newer centrifuges are worth the price tag, and if anyone is able to justify the expense - are you spinning enough beer at that volume to notice the volume gains and time saved as well as stability and overall product improvement?


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[Bainbridge]

I had breakfast with a GEA Westphalia rep at the last MBAA district meeting. The conversation went something like:

Me: "So when will somebody make a small centrifuge for places doing like 20bbl runs?"

"Oh we do! X-nearby brewery installed one recently! They are loving it."

"Really, huh... What's the pricetag going right now?"

"$80,000..."

*chokes on bacon* "Right, well, I'll give you a call..."

Brewery nearby has an old used one for sale for about $25k. But even then...My lenticular was about $10k to set up and works fine on stuff I need to be pretty. Sucks on hoppy beers though. :/

[BroadWay411]

We've just purchased a centrifuge and waiting for delivery we are running a 20bbl system with 40bbl fermentors. Based off my experience with them on 100bbl+ systems they are far superior when speaking on quality compared to DE or plate and frame. You can see increased yields; with yields up to 99% on certain beer styles. With anybody doing less than 25,000bbl/yr I can't see it being financially responsible to purchase one unless you have other reasons to justify it. For applications of side-streaming trub and other high BOD material its perfect because you can collect all your solids on both hot and cold side and dispose of them accordingly without worrying about city or perc pond issues.

[Ted Briggs]

Ive seen the math from a manufacture that supports a 3 year payback with their smallest model for a brewery producing as little as 5000 bbls a year. the more dry hopping you do, the bigger the payback because they can really squeeze alot of beer out of those tank bottoms.

But yes, expect 80-100k, although there are alot of brewers upgrading so finding one used is possible.