With the mass-market beer market becoming increasingly saturated, the craft beer market is gaining traction. The craft beer market is showing a trend towards premiumization, with significant growth. A new decade-long cycle for the craft beer industry, from 2016 to 2025. is underway. The craft beer industry is entering a "golden decade," gaining wider recognition, and attracting more people interested in starting a craft beer business. Understanding craft beer brewing equipment is essential for anyone wanting to succeed in this field. Good craft beer brewing equipment, besides being high-quality, fully functional, safe, and easy to operate, must also be kept clean and hygienic. Incomplete cleaning and sterilization will leave scale and microorganisms on the inner walls of the equipment, affecting the quality of the beer produced. So, how should craft beer brewing equipment be cleaned?
I. Cleaning the Piping
The piping in craft beer brewing equipment is particularly prone to accumulating impurities. If these areas are not cleaned thoroughly, even the cleanest tanks may result in spoiled beer. Therefore, the piping must be thoroughly cleaned, repeatedly rinsing it with hot water or alkaline water. In addition, plate heat exchangers also require cleaning; in principle, cleaning the heat exchanger is the same as cleaning the piping.
II. Cleaning the Fermentation Tank
The cleaning process for the fermentation tank involves: 1. Rinse the fermentation tank thoroughly with clean water to remove any residue; 2. Use a sodium hydroxide solution (commonly known as alkaline water) to completely remove any remaining impurities; 3. Rinse off the sodium hydroxide solution with clean water; the final step is crucial—timely disinfection and sterilization. Several methods exist: for small equipment (500L/ton), rinsing with boiling water for a while is sufficient for sterilization. For larger fermentation tanks, disinfectants such as hydrogen peroxide, peracetic acid, or no-rinse disinfectants are necessary for thorough disinfection and sterilization.
III. Cleaning the Saccharification Tank
The saccharification system should be cleaned to remove as much contaminant as possible from the tank body, pipes, and equipment surfaces. However, key areas such as the piping from the boiling tank or vortex tank, and the piping leading to the fermentation tank, require special attention. Rinse repeatedly with hot water or alkaline water.
