Are there centrifuge's out there for smaller breweries?
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Small Scale Centrifuge
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From what I know of the larger European manuafacturers - no, but that doesn't mean that someone out there isn't making one. One of the problems is that the design of centrifuges for beer clarification is possibly more critical than for most other industries in that we require oxygen pickup free units. For products like milk, I get the impression from suppliers that this is not a big problem. So they cost an arm and a leg to engineer correctly, and probably haven't bothered making anything under say 50 hl / hr as they will not get the payback.
For really good, consistent control automation is required, which will often make it prohibitively expensive as well.
Key design features of a "green" beer centrifuge include low temperature pickup, less than 0.5 C at design flow rates, and often less, low oxygen pickup - a few parts / billion, and low shear so the yeast is not broken up. They generally have big 3 phase motors to achieve reasonable power consumption. Factor in that typical installations may in line chillers, flow control and back pressure control systems, haze and oxygen monitoring kit, discharged yeast handling, and the expense soon mounts. Plus regular hot caustic cleaning.
But good luck with finding something suitable. I supect you will simply do better to optimise your wort production and fermentation systems, and perhaps spend a little more on cold storage to achieve good clarification.
Ydick
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Hi Dick,
I recently found out that Thornbridge are centrifuging their beers at their new Bakewell plant - brewlength c50Hl, so I guess someone is making a suitable centrifuge of a size to cope with that brewlength at least.
Interestingly, their bottle-conditioned beers are unfiltered, but centrifuged - I must try a few, as I find so many UK bottle-conditioned beers are either sterile-filtered first (& therefore lacking something in body, flavour & artificial CO2) or are bottled by hand seemingly with & come with mad CO2 levels (gushing or non-existent!), off-flavours, etc.
cheers
MikeMcG
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Yep it looks quite the interesting plant - with money spent, but in all the right places (good staff, good kit, lab, bottling line, centrifuge, marketing, label/pumpclip design, good ingredients, etc).
I follow the brewery manager on Twitter, so when I spotted something about unfiltered bottled beers, I just asked him about it & he answered.
I had a Desert-Island pint of their Jaipur a few years ago - simply a stunning beer & I'd love a brewery tour at some point too (I was at their original site a year or so ago, at a Beer Writers' Guild seminar on lager) but we didn't get shown round their old brewery)
You may also have heard about the publicity-shy Scots micro, BrewDog, they've been talking about filtering at a less than sterile grade, in order to retain more flavour (& maintaining very high levels of hygiene to try to ensure quality)
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Small centrifuge
The idea of centrifuging beer is not new to the brewing industry. The size limitations has always been the drawback. However, now there are some companies who have brought the technology to the smaller breweries. Alfa laval has introduced a centrifuge as seen in Denver that can be operated with minimal automation. If automation is desired, it can be added. Although I won't be working with until August, the prospects look promising.
There are advantageous to the centrifuge. In no particular order, the DE in the drains .
Oxygen has been and will always be a concern with beer. However, more often than not oxygen pickup can be more substantial in pre-centrifuge or filtering and packaging than in the operation of the centrifuge. I would like to keep everyone informed as the commissioning of the centrifuge occurs.
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Gea
We just went through a lengthy process in selecting and purchasing our centrifuge.
In the end we went with the GEA HB01-SL which is their fully automated unit.
If anybody needs help or info feel free to contact me.
Cheers!Alex Postelnek, Lead Brewer
Funky Buddha Brewery
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33334
(561) 945 - 4584
alex@funkybuddhabrewery.com
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