Yeast prop tank with steam and glycol?

[johnny17]

I used to work as a shift brewer at a brewery that had a propagation tank that was hooked up for steam and glycol. It was great because you could easily pull wort off a batch at the end of the lauter, dilute down if needed, and then pressure cook inside the tank to sterilise before chilling to pitch temp. Now Im a head brewer at another brewery and I'm having a hell of a time finding something similar on the market new or used, most prop tanks I've looked at are only built for glycol. Obviously you can boil in your kettle and transfer to the prop before hops are added, but I really like being able to dilute in the tank and pressure cook for peace of mind on wort sterility. Does anyone know of a prop tank like this on the market?

[graymoment]

I used to work as a shift brewer at a brewery that had a propagation tank that was hooked up for steam and glycol. It was great because you could easily pull wort off a batch at the end of the lauter, dilute down if needed, and then pressure cook inside the tank to sterilise before chilling to pitch temp. Now Im a head brewer at another brewery and I'm having a hell of a time finding something similar on the market new or used, most prop tanks I've looked at are only built for glycol. Obviously you can boil in your kettle and transfer to the prop before hops are added, but I really like being able to dilute in the tank and pressure cook for peace of mind on wort sterility. Does anyone know of a prop tank like this on the market?

Have you tried calling the brewery you worked at to find out who made it? Alternatively, you could call some brewing system manufacturers and ask them to give you a quote to fabricate what you want.

[dick murton]

A couple of breweries I worked at changed from steam sterilisation of the YCV and mains, AND wort boiling post collection in the YCV, to steam sterilisation of the YCV and collection mains, and simply transferring hot wort at circa 98 C, and cooling under sterile air pressure. No problems following the change. The key obviously is to ensure that the wort mains from the kettle / whirlpool to the YCV are absolutely sterile, and the YCV itself is sterile, and of coarse, the to pressure / oxygenation gas. I must admit, we were all a bit wary of the change, but it works. However, we used to collect wort and sometimes hold it for a few days before pitching, for the less frequent yeasts, wher we only used to brew once or twice a week (in a 50 brew week), and having the ability to reboil was really appreciated. Whether it was strictly necessary I don't know,

Try Esau & Hueber - expensive but good kit.

Cheers