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  • Cooling down canner before canning

    I have searched high and low across the internet for an answer to this question I have...

    We calculated losses during packaging and found that we are uncomfortable with the amount of loss and want to hone things in tighter. One thing I want to implement is cooling down our canner and transfer hose without wasting more beer than I have to. We currently flush our canner with beer before we begin.

    I have read of people flushing the system with cold water from a cold liquor tank, however we donÂ’t have one of those.

    My thought is to cycle sani and then dump a sh*t load of ice in the bucket I am using for the sani recirc and then continue to recirculate until temp is closer to 1*C.

    Any ideas would be helpful. I also wouldnÂ’t mind hearing about how your brewery prevents loss during packaging.

    -Scotland

  • #2
    Fill Kegs First

    Put a tee with a butterfly valve where your transfer hose meets the canning line and fill a few kegs before running cans.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by GulfSide View Post
      Put a tee with a butterfly valve where your transfer hose meets the canning line and fill a few kegs before running cans.
      I don’t have a problem cooling the transfer hose down as much as I do cooling the canner down itself. Any more suggestions?

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      • #4
        Don't use Ice

        Originally posted by igb_scotland View Post
        I don’t have a problem cooling the transfer hose down as much as I do cooling the canner down itself. Any more suggestions?
        Do not use Ice, it loaded with contaminants.
        Modern style tube fill canners do waste a lot of beer. This is their nature.
        The best threads to deal with this are on the forum.
        Also different styles are harder to can, such as over the top dry hopped IPA etc.
        You need beer coming in at 35F with the right carbonation and the right head pressure over it.
        The Watchdog system as described by Timm T. is noteworthy.
        If the beer is cold you are not going to gain anything by attempting to pre-chill, thats not where your problem is.
        You likely need to raise your C02 pressure on the Brite, and experiment with this when you have cold enough beer to can. Depending on your line there are settings on the filler which may be counter intuitive such as FOAM, etc. What works for you may be different.
        Warren Turner
        Industrial Engineering Technician
        HVACR-Electrical Systems Specialist
        Moab Brewery
        The Thought Police are Attempting to Suppress Free Speech and Sugar coat everything. This is both Cowardice and Treason given to their own kind.

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        • #5
          Our in-line style ABE canner has very little thermal mass in contact with the product. It doesn't take any time at all to cool to the beer temp.

          We try to package at or around 0C to minimize foaming. However, you need some foam to cap on as it displaces any air in the top of the can.

          The Watchdog from ABE is a very good investment. It monitors the pressure at the bottom of the bright tank to keep it constant. We're also using it to monitor headspace pressure when carbonating in a vessel. Set it and forget it! The price seems high (IIRC, ~$1,200), but after pricing the individual parts, I can't really make one much cheaper.

          Our GAI bottling line, OTOH, has about a ton of SS in contact with the product. We often dump a bucket or two of ice on top of the bowl to cool it down.
          Timm Turrentine

          Brewerywright,
          Terminal Gravity Brewing,
          Enterprise. Oregon.

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          • #6
            Why not keep a keg (or several) of sterile water or sanitizer in the walk-in to flush/chill the lines? Insulating your lines might be beneficial too. If it's a long run through a hot brewery you might be picking up heat along the way!

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            • #7
              We have an Heat exchanger just before our canner. The HE is on our glycol loop, it's a small one. After sanitation, we flush with CO2 and run the beer in a loop from the bright to the canner (in line with HE) and back in bright. after a couple of minutes, all CO2 is flush back in the bright and everything is cold. Just have to close the return to the bright to start canning. We have reduce can reject to nearly 0 losses doing so.

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              • dmtowne
                dmtowne commented
                Editing a comment
                Piertous? No problems with outgassing through the heat exchanger?

            • #8
              No problems with outgassing because everything is under the same pressure (the added pressure from the pump is minimal).

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