5 Equipment “Options” We Consider “Standard”

FRANKSVILLE, WI (November 2013) - Do you remember when having power windows in a car was not “standard equipment” but a luxurious add-on?  Once innovative competitors started to offer many of the creature comfort options as part of their Standard package, we all started to wonder how we ever could have lived without them.  Granted it might be a bit of a stretch, but you could make some similar observations in how the tanks and processing equipment in modern Brewhouses are offered to today’s Craft Brewers.  Based on W.M. Sprinkman’s experience, here are five options to consider that provide benefits above and beyond the initial investment:

1. Spindle station: In this picture you will see a gravity checking / sample station.  This piece of equipment allows you to check your product clarity with a light, grab a sample and have it cooled. Some equipment manufacturers provide this as an option or not at all, but WM Sprinkman believes EVERY brewery can benefit from having this quality control equipment.
2. Seal drip system and gauges: Look closely at the picture and you will see a  solenoid valve plumbed into the brewhouse.  WM Sprinkman hard pipes a seal drip system on all wort pumps because it allows your seals to last that much longer saving you money in the long run.   Also included are digital temp gauges and pressure indicators on all water lines, which provide critical, easy-to-read pressure and temp information when you are troubleshooting.
3. Hot and Cold water / Liquor distribution: In our designs, all of the lines from the HLT and CLT are hard piped through the brewhouse including all the recirculation lines so that we have a single connection for the plumber which not only saves a brewer plumbing dollars.  You don’t have some plumber tying into the brewing process and putting pipes in places they should not.  This might seem like a pretty significant upfront expense, but its well worth it.  WM Sprinkman provides a hot liquor drop that is hard-piped with valves at every single tank and available to the cellar.  In this picture, notice the detail of how we ran the lines down this platform for ease of distribution to the cellar.
4. Cleaning circuits: The way WM Sprinkman designs our systems calls for more process piping than other providers, because we don’t “share” lines or use a flow plate.  We believe in circuits that allow for someone to be running a caustic in one tank and wort in another without the ability to cross contaminate.  That’s huge for not only labor savings, but from a safety standpoint it reduces the worry of contaminating a batch.
5. Drains: Safety first.  Every pump and every CIP line in a WM Sprinkman brewhouse includes valves and piping for draining.  This allows a brewer, no matter what the process, to drain every single charged line.

Make sure that when you are designing your next brewhouse or making changes to your processing system that you are taking advantage of the latest technology that is available to make the best beer possible.  “We take every opportunity possible to understand where our customers are planning to take their business so that we can provide a system that will not hold them back once the time to grow is here,” stated Brian Sprinkman, EVP at W.M. Sprinkman.  “If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be doing our job right.”