Managing a Growing Brewery: Four Benefits to Hard-Piping a Cellar

You started with a couple of cellar tanks, but as your business grew you added more tanks, knocked out a wall, brought in a couple more vessels, added onto the building, etc... before you know it tanks are everywhere and with it is a growing network of hoses throughout the cellar to navigate around. If your operation has 12 or more tanks, generally it’s time to consider adding process piping or "hard-piping" your system.

Designing and installing an efficient, stainless steel piping network to move product from one area of the brewery to another will eliminate most long-transit hoses, leaving just short hose runs to hook up when needed. Product exchanges to most often benefit from hard-piping include the Brewhouse to the Fermenter, Fermenter to the Brite and Brite to the Packaging area.

"When the time is right, there are multiple advantages of a well-designed piping system that you will realize instantly, says Brian Sprinkman, President of Sprinkman Brewing Systems. “Growing brewers have operations that are on par with major food and beverage manufacturers that have always benefitted from hard-piped operations. This is a logical step in the evolution of a quality, high volume brewer.” Here are Four Benefits to Hard-Piping a Cellar:

1. Improved Efficiency -- Brewery workers will spend less time running and hooking up flexible hoses, eliminating downtime between stages in the brewing process. Product moves faster and you are brewing the next batch sooner.
2. Improved Safety -- Flexible hoses throughout a brewing operation provide a prime setting for the slips, trips and falls that every brewer can attest to (but might not care to admit)!
3. More Sanitary -- Imperfections and wear in flexible hoses can lead to sending beer through a compromised sanitary environment. Not the case with stainless steel piping!
4. Eliminates the Clutter -- Appearance isn’t everything, BUT…eliminating hoses will be a welcomed sight, not just by employees, but by your visiting customers. It not just looks cleaner, it is cleaner!

Whether it is designing and installing process piping, adding an advanced CIP system or automating a variety of functions in the brewing process, Sprinkman can help you stay ahead of your brewery’s growth. Just contact your Sprinkman Brewing Systems representative or click here and let us know how we can help you today!