Sanitary Fittings in Nano

[twilsonbrewpc]

I'll start this thread off like probably thousands of others on here lately. We're opening a nano-brewery. Working on a location right now then soon filing our Brewer's Notice. We'll be brewing back-to-back multiple batches on a 10 gallon homebrew setup to fill fermentors for the time being. My question is regarding sanitary fittings. Everything we have now is 1/2" threaded SS NPT fittings. We use reinforced hose with SS quick disconnects on everything. We go from kettle to pump to plate chiller through an inline thermometer and O2 injection setup. I've never had any infection with this setup. That being said, I don't know if the inspector will require triclamp fittings. I haven't seen anything in the regs that prevents me from operating the way I am, but others of you may be able to provide some insight.

Thanks in advance!

[ChesterBrew]

Not to sound trite, but ask your local health inspector directly...

Your message doesn't tell us where you're located, and without that information, it's virtually impossible to provide an opinion. Many jurisdictions vary, even from municipality to municipality (even within the same state.)

Opening a nano doesn't relieve you from the burden that's enforced against any larger-sized brewery...

[twilsonbrewpc]

Absolutely understand. I'm in Florida. State malt manufacturer license requires health department approval so I suppose that's where I'll get my information. Wasn't sure if there was something else in Federal regulations I was missing.

[ChesterBrew]

The Federal level seems most concerned with:

* who owns the company;
* what are your sources of funding;
* what guarantees are there that their tax-determined product is secure and can be quantified easily.

Here in Maryland, the Health Dept. stuff is either at the County or Municipality level. But, for some places, the Health Dept. has no jurisdiction, particularly if you're just a production facility without a tasting room. It's all over the place...

Are there any existing breweries/microbreweries/brewpubs in your area? May want to give them a call and see what they have to say. By and large, most places are more than willing to share info. about what to expect.

Good luck!

[Junkyard]

we dont use many sanitary fittings, health inspector didnt take notice in my region. all depends on your area. i would suggest calling up a local brewery also, or get ahold of your inspector directly.

[roc-craven]

Absolutely understand. I'm in Florida. State malt manufacturer license requires health department approval so I suppose that's where I'll get my information. Wasn't sure if there was something else in Federal regulations I was missing.

I'm in Florida. Florida Department of Health does not inspect your brewery. They can go through and make note of sanitation problems like grain on the floor or such, but there is no regulation from them on what kind of fittings you have to use. The county that I'm in uses the state department of health. Not sure if this is the same of all counties.