Brewhouses

The brewhouse is the most important component in the brewery so investing in a good quality one really pays off.  The brewhouse should be sized to meet your maximum envisaged yearly volume and the maximum number of brews you wish to brew per day.

Typical brewhouses for microbreweries have brewlengths of 6 hL, 12 hL, 25 hL and 50 hL (where 1 hL = 100 L).  Up to 10 M litres per year can be produced with a 50 hL brewhouse at high gravity!

Consideration should be given to the number of vessels in the brewhouse (two, three, four or five) and the combination of vessels.  For example, a small brewery might toss up between a mash/lauter tun and kettle/whirlpool, or a mash/kettle/whirlpool and separate lauter tun for a two-vessel brewhouse.

Brewhouse suppliers will offer you a steam, gas-fired or electric brewhouse.  All systems have their pros and cons.  In general, steam is the best option if you want good temperature control; electricity is expensive and slow and direct gas-firing tends to require regular burner replacement and can even cause vessel damage.

If your brewery is producing more than 1 M litres per year, automation is a good investment, especially for the brewhouse operations where better consistency and efficiency can be achieved.

If you are importing a brewhouse, make sure the supplier does a risk assessment for you, so that it complies with the relevant Australian standards.  Simple issues such as the angle of stairs, kick-plates and other small details can easily be overlooked, and can be expensive to retrofit.

Brewtique can specify, design, procure, install and commission your brewhouse or we can provide any of these services independently. This applies to new or used brewhouses.

We can also advise you on the best choice for your individual needs if you are purchasing your own.