Crafting Perfection: Unveiling the Crucial Role of Cooling and Glycol Systems in Craft Breweries!

Temperature control is very important in the beer brewing process. High-quality beer depends on many factors, the most important of which is beer flavor. The flavor of the beer is greatly affected by the fermentation temperature, so it is necessary to maintain the ideal temperature inside the brewing equipment during the brewing process. The consistency of temperature means the consistency of beer flavor, which can make consumers satisfied and loyal to your brand.
Whether it is 5-gallon homebrew or a 500BBL automatic brewing system, cooling is an indispensable part of the brewing process. The most effective way to maintain a stable process temperature in the brewing equipment is to use a brewery cooler, usually a glycol chiller.

What is a glycol chiller?

Glycol chiller is a special refrigeration system, usually used to cool various liquids, including alcohol and other beverages. It uses propylene glycol (an organic antifreeze) or a mixture of propylene glycol and water to extract excess heat from the brewing process, and dissipate the heat to the heat exchanger or refrigeration system. The glycol cooler in the brewery provides the strict temperature control required for the brewing process.

Application of ethylene glycol chiller in the brewery

Glycol chillers are suitable for specific cooling applications in the beer industry. This includes during the brewing process:

Cooling of wort
Beer fermentation (carried out in fermentation tanks)
Beer conditioning or secondary fermentation (carried out in bright tank/brite tank)
Energy recycling (two-stage heat exchanger)

Wort cooling

Breweries and the beer industry have high requirements for coolers because they require coolers to lower the boiling wort to a temperature at which the fermentation process can take place in a short period of time. The cooling requirements for wort will vary greatly depending on the size of the brewing system (barrel, BBL, or L), cooling time (minutes), and target wort temperature. In many cases, the choice of cooler will vary greatly depending on the type of beer brewed. Choosing the right cooler size for the wort cooling during the brewing process can be tricky, but the engineers at Micet Craft will help you accomplish this.
The cooling of wort usually uses a plate heat exchanger and is divided into a single or two stages. In many cases, a sanitary double-wall exchanger is necessary to prevent the mixture of glycol and water from contacting beer or drinking water. Sometimes, you can complete the cooling with a jacketed glycol tank cooler, but the heat exchange efficiency of the sanitary plate heat exchanger is higher. Micet Craft is equipped with a plate heat exchanger with a heat exchange efficiency of ≥90% for the brewery turnkey solution and will provide an energy circulation system for your brewery equipment, allowing the brewer to maximize the brewing efficiency and control the wort cooling process.

Cold Water Tank

The most common in large or neutral craft breweries are cold water tanks and cold liquid tanks, which are another good choice for wort cooling during beer brewing. These tanks can store cold water in advance to cool down the wort faster after the boiling process. Industrial chillers can quickly add cold water to the cold water tank.

Bright tank and fermentation tank temperature maintenance

In many breweries, bright tanks and fermentation tanks will have a cooling device, which can keep the temperature constant throughout the fermentation and secondary fermentation (conditioning) process. Whether you use an insulated tank with a cooling coil immersed in water or a jacketed glycol tank cooler, the cooler is a viable option for maintaining the temperature of the beer. If you use industrial coolers to cool bright tanks and fermentation tanks, it is very important to use variable frequency drives. The use of variable frequency drives can prevent short on/off cycles and also extend the life of the cooling equipment. The inverter-driven cooler can be adjusted automatically according to the thermal load. For example, there is no variable frequency drive terminal cooler that will cycle on and off when trying to maintain the temperature of the fermenter, while the variable frequency drive cooler can be operated continuously with lower capacity as needed. This means you can use the same brewery cooler to provide cold water for different brewing processes and maintain the temperature.

How to use glycol system in the beer brewing process?

Let us examine the brewing process of beer together and see how the glycol system is used in the brewing process.

Chilled wort and glycol

1.Cold Liquor Tank (CLT) and a Single-Stage Wort Heat Exchanger

CLT is usually a stainless steel water tank with a cooling jacket or external heat exchanger. The CLT will be filled with water and cooled to a temperature of about 35°F between two brewing cycles. Then the cold water will be pumped in a ratio of 1:1, and the wort will be removed from the boiled wort through the wort exchanger, the temperature is cooled to the required fermentation temperature. The discharged water (currently at 140-160°F) is transferred to the hydrothermal tank and used to brew the next batch of beer. CLT is usually sized to hold enough cold water to service the brewing cycle. For example, if you have 1500L brewery equipment and need to brew 3 times a day, then the size of the CLT is 4500L.

2. Two-stage cooling using city water and frozen glycol

The two-stage wort cooler has a two-step cold zone wort:

Use city water in a 1:1 ratio and remove as much heat as possible. According to the efficiency of the heat exchanger, wort will exit the first stage within 7-10°F of your entering water temperature.
Transfer the remaining heat to the cooled ethylene glycol and discharge it at the required fermentation temperature.

Compared with the cooling load provided by the cooler, this heat load is huge. Usually, this requires the winemaker to isolate the fermentation tank from the cooling circuit, and all available cooling capacity of the cooling system is dedicated to this process.

3. Pre-cool the city water before entering the single-stage wort heat exchanger

This wort cooling method is a good low-cost option, but it cannot clean brazed plate stainless steel heat exchangers. If the heat exchanger is contaminated or blocked, it usually needs to be replaced with a new one.

4. Use of three-stage heat exchanger

The fourth situation is actually a combination of the second situation and the third situation. Use a three-stage heat exchanger or many individual heat exchangers, using a combination of cold liquid, frozen glycol, and city water to cool the wort. This situation usually occurs in breweries that brew a large amount of beer and have exceeded the design capacity of the brewery’s equipment.
The choice of heat dissipation method depends on the following factors: average water supply temperature, brewing schedule, brewing beer style, and future growth plans. I recommend talking to other brewers in your area to get the most reasonable heat dissipation methods. Of course, you can also consult the manufacturer who provides you with the brewery equipment, and they can also provide you with corresponding solutions.

Glycol cooling during fermentation

The next step in brewing beer is fermentation. The wort is introduced into the fermentation tank, and yeast is added, and the fermentation process will begin. A cooling jacket is used on the fermentation tank, and the frozen glycol keeps the beer at the ideal fermentation temperature during the whole process.

Glycol cooling during packaging

Packaging is usually the last step in the beer brewing process. Because the bottling and canning production line can be very picky, it is necessary to install a plate heat exchanger on the bottling/canning production line. The plate heat exchanger allows any heat absorbed during the transfer from the bright tank to be removed, ensuring that the beer flows steadily at a consistent temperature.

The cooling system is the most important piece of equipment in the brewery, thanks to its important role in the beer brewing process. Your cooling system never requires a day off, although it may spend a lot of time patiently dealing with cooling needs.

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Get a turnkey solution for the brewery

Micet Craft can provide a complete turnkey solution for your brewery. Of course, we can also customize the cooling system solution for your brewery. We will provide you with a complete list of brewery equipment and prices. Micet Craft is looking forward to cooperating with you!

The importance of cooling and glycol systems in craft breweries