The use of steam is an important part of your brewing process – and your brewhouse function.
The well managed use of high quality steam is a huge factor in producing a quality product – efficiently. It is useful in the heating, cleaning and pasteurisation processes.
Anyone who has used steam in their brewhouse knows – a crucial property of saturated steam is that its temperature is directly related to its pressure.
This means you need quality brewery equipment, to ensure everything goes smoothly.
Here are some things to consider, if you are looking at using a steam heated brewing system.
More bang for your buck?
We acknowledge a steam heated brewing system is not the cheapest option.
However, it is
- the most efficient and flexible method of heating
- used in the brewhouse for heating vessels
- used in keg washers for keg sterilization
- used in flash pasteurization systems
Typically, you will need a certified installer who then also commissions and approves the system before it can be legally used.
There is also a yearly inspection which needs to be done. In the picture of the 3D drawing below, you can see we also have started fabricating steam piping and installing components on the steam lines.
We encourage clients to review this with their steam system installer as ultimately they will have to give approval. We will also work with the local technicians to fabricate to their requirements.
As you can imagine these costs add up. So it is important to consider all these factors during your budgeting process.
Building a steam heated brewing system
The different pieces of equipment will have different steam pressure and requirements.
Therefore, it is best to try and factor the max load of everything running – or at least think through what will be running simultaneously, to calculate the max load.
For boilers, you generally have two main heating methods, which are gas and electric.
Gas is cheaper, but sometimes your location does not have gas available so electric is the answer.
Electric boilers are power hungry! So make sure you have enough power coming in and go through the exercise of how much it will cost to run based on your kW per hr costs.
As a side note – a number of our Oz clients are installing solar panels which makes an electric boiler a good option. We recommend this for systems up to 1200L/10BBL – unless you just have the power to run a bigger unit.
To date we have not sold a steam boiler to more developed countries as their regulation on steam boilers can be strict, since they are pressure vessels. If you are procuring your system in China, for instance, and a steam boiler is included in the quote - make sure it meets your local regulations.
Materials, Design & Maintenance – it’s all about the finer details
We recommend using steel (preferably stainless steel) for your steam piping.
While the pipe is usually around 1” it also needs insulation and cladding, which make it a much bigger diameter.
For connection types – the cheaper option is threaded connections. However – from our personal experience, we believe flanges are better if you have the budget. This applies to the commentary on the steam pipework e.g. steam traps, solenoid valves and flow control valves.
Make sure you check the pressure needed for the equipment. Our steam jackets are rated to 2 bar – but boilers usually run at a higher pressure.
You will need what’s called a reducing station – and for larger systems, you might need more than one. A reducing station can reduce flow as well, so you want to reduce right before use.
In terms of design for your steam heated brewing system – you want to keep all of your equipment which uses steam as close as possible.
This is because piping can get to be expensive, since you are not just running pipe, but also insulating and possibly cladding.
Be aware of water treatment that is needed for the internals of your boiler. Steam boilers require proper maintenance and monitoring to stay at peak performance, and we’ll help guide you through what needs to be done to help keep your boiler in good working condition.
The Bespoke difference
After installing steam heated brewing systems in a number of countries, we’d like to think that we have the experience to help prevent anything from being overlooked.
This helps you ensure a smooth installation – and means you get you brewing faster.
It also means your brewhouse is as efficient as possible – which we all know saves time and money.
If you’d like us to consult on installing your system – get in touch. We would love to work with you!
And if you’d like to read the previous blogs in this series, we have covered other utilities including liquor and electrical requirements – as well as design and layout.
