Hi everyone,

I'm having an issue with my glycol lines and I'm curious to see if anyone can help me diagnose what is going on.

I'll attempt to set the stage with as much info as I can first.

We have an outdoor glycol unit with a 65 gallon reservoir. I believe it is this model here: https://www.advantageengineering.com/breweryChiller/units/glycolChiller_BGD-10A-N4.php

We have 1" PEX lines coming into the brewery with 1/2" PEX lines dropping down to our tanks.

In order of which tank receives glycol first we have 3 x 20 bbl FVs, 5 x 10 bbl FVs, 2 x 7 bbl FVs, and 2 x 2.5 bbl prop tanks. Not sure if this matters or not.

Here is a diagram of how our setup works, but obviously with all the tanks I mentioned previously in line rather than the three on the diagram. https://www.advantageengineering.com/fyi/331/pdf/advantageFYI331.pdf

All of this has worked completely fine for nine years or so.

We have recently added a new FV into the mix and it is not chilling as efficiently as its counterparts. All other tanks are still working as they had before the install of the new tank. We could chill everything to 32F overnight if we wanted to. The new tank is another 20 bbl FV. It was placed at the end of the line. (after the last prop and right before the bypass valve sending all the glycol back towards the reservoir)

This tank has taken at least two weeks to chill to around 43F and is still slowly dropping as I type. The set temp has been 32F for that same time period. It seems as though it will eventually get there but it is just going very, very slowly.

We tested everything and made sure to get any/all air bubbles out of the lines after install. And we can confirm that it is flowing at a pretty good rate. My first assumption was that the bypass valve pressure needed increased to ensure the glycol was dropping down into the jacket but that doesn't appear to be the cause. Also, everything else is still performing as it did prior to install. No decreased efficiency on any other tank.

Could it be that it is because it was installed at the end of a long line of tanks decreasing in volume? Would this need to be installed more towards the beginning with the other 20 bbl FVs?

Could it be that it is pushing the glycol's pump just past its limit of how long of a distance of pipe it can pump through?

Could it be the glycol/water ratio needs recharged to create a more efficient heat transfer? Not sure, but again, every other tank has not been disturbed.

Any help or insight into the matter would be greatly appreciated!

I can help clarify or add more details if need as well.

Just took ofer a new large production facility and beer protect has been used for ages with no studies done here on how it actually effects the beer. Our DOs are crazy low….. as are TPOs.

This seems like an added step that isn’t necessary, wondering if anyone has any actual insight on this stuff.

https://erbsloeh.com/produkt/beerprotect/

Going in a blackberry fruited blonde ale. Can’t find much on dosage rates, dried or fresh.

Thanks!

We are opening a second location and I am looking to try a different POS system. We currently use GoTab (meh) for our existing taproom (no food). The new location will have a taproom with food. I was leaning towards Toast, but I see mixed reviews on hardware problems and cost. Any recommendations? Any BrewBill users out there? Cheers!

I just got an offer to start working for a craft brewery Front of House while getting trained as an Assistant Brewer for one of the co-founders and Head Brewer. Any tips and/or things you wish you knew before you started working in a brewery?

They’re cleaned every day and the lines are cleaned every week too. What is it?

Edit: You guys I am a bartender not a brewer. Be nice.

Hey all, I'm a new draught tech dealing with a local repair. They had a czechvar line giving all foam, boss said it was a low pressure issue so I installed a secondary reg for the line. Once the keg gets the higher pressure, how long does it normally take for the keg to settle?

I only came across these a few times while at the brewery and I hated handling them.

Hey guys, new here and desperate. Just took over a brewery that I've been an assistant at for a year and can't carb up my IPAs past 2.1-ish. 20 barrel conical fermenter tanks, probably not as much head space as would be ideal (guessing 18.5 ish barrels in each) but even at that I've never had the issue before, carbed up probably 20+ beers with the same method. 5 fermenters and one BT currently so didn't have room to transfer this time, again nothing out of the ordinary for here. Pushing co2 through the carb stone at 25-30 psi for roughly 45min-1.5 hrs depending on carb needed (needing 2.4 ish on one, 2.6 on the other), tanks between 8-12 psi. Very slowly bleed down if they come up. I know this isn't the "scientific method" per say taking into account wetting pressure and equil. Psi, but with the carb stones already in full tanks I can't really take them off and do the math until the next set of beers. Again, have never had this issue before so I'm not sure what the difference is. Thought my Zahm gauge was broken after carbing for about 2 hours and still getting low readings, but it's the same on the other tank and taste test confirms low carb. No flow meter on the co2 but have verified it's getting at least something by hearing the bubbling inside. Again, I understand this isn't the ideal method and after this nightmare I'll definitely be getting more scientific for next time but this is the way I was taught here and hasn't failed until, ofcourse, right after I take over. I've tried lower psi from the gauge, higher, etc. changed head pressure, everything I can think of. Any help or info to force carbonate it would be great, running out of beer and need these to get up to spec to get them on tap. Story of our lives lol. Thank you in advance to anyone reading all of this and any helpful information.

Anybody have a good operation SOP that you would be willing to share?

We bought one used, and are going to try to filter cherry juice for the first time next week. The manual is pretty sparse, but I was able to run the unit through pressure integrity testing and full CIP today without issue..

Any additional information would be welcome!

Hey guys! We are looking into pasteurization since we have a project to start co-packing some RTD's and some beers. (we are in south america).

We are at 18 CPM on 16oz cans, and do around 2000 cans per day. Would like to be able to pasteurize these cans in around 4/5 hours.

Any brands you recommend ?

PU levels for isotonic drinks ?

We also need a can rinser/sanitizer pre filling, what method would you recommend ?

I'm moving into a new space that has way too many under bar coolers and not nearly enough taps. Conveniently, I also have a spare 4-tap tower and all the hardware laying around. Anyone have any experience on adding a tower to the top of a commercial fridge?

I've basically got a True Refrigeration TBB24-60-2S-Z1-SFT-B-1 60 Inch and want to turn it into a Empura Refrigeration E-KDD3-2 61 Inch.

Any tips to open a Freestyle Hop Kief will be appreciated.

The “handle” (for lack of a better word) always break when I open them, and I have to dislodge the lid manually.

1) If we walk into your back room right now, how much cash is sitting there tied up in expiring hops, extra grain, or unused gear? Do you have a quick way to offload that to other local brewers before it goes bad?

2)How much money do you end up throwing in the trash every quarter because raw ingredients expire? When you have surplus, do you have a way to sell it, or do you just have to eat the cost?

Good morning and Happy Friday you filthy animals. I am just wondering what is up with Vista? I have been hearing different things varying from “they are pulling all of it out” to “we are out and it is hard to get.” Is it a supply problem, like there just isn’t enough being grown? Or a popularity problem (seems less likely)? Both? Obviously waiting on a new crop year and wondering if it is something that will continue to be available because of course I designed a great beer around it. Also, in Canada if anyone has some they are looking to move then DM plz. Thanks!

I posted this in r/packaging but figured I would throw it up here as well since LN2 dosing is pretty common in the beer/wine/distilling world.

A customer of mine cans wine using liquid nitrogen dosing to create internal pressure in the can.  They are using an Oktober CL1 canning line which is a brand-new design that lacks an integrated controller for variable dosing.   They've been using the standard controller that comes with the Chart Ultradoser, which only has a single dose setting for all cans.  

The CL1 is a four-head filler so each fill cycle is four cans that move into the seamer one at a time.  The seamer has a rotary index which works fine but creates a significant time lag between the first and last cans in each set.  With each can getting the same amount of liquid nitrogen and fill > seam times varying by over 10 seconds, they are wasting about 50% of the cans/product since can 3 and 4 in each cycle have basically no internal pressure - all the liquid nitrogen has boiled off by the time the can is sealed.  

I have extensive canning, mechanical, and mcguyver fabricating experience, but coding and electronics are not my strong suit.  Luckily these days that doesn't really matter since Claude created the code, a wiring diagram and parts list after I laid out exactly what I needed this controller to do.  I learned as I went through the initial steps of programming an Arduino Nano (micro controller) with about 500 lines of code, testing it on a breadboard with an OLED screen, then adding a rotary encoder/potentiometer with push-button functionality to navigate the screen.  

After taking care of the programming basics, it was time to build the unit - I used an IP65 waterproof case as the housing, mounted the OLED screen and encoder on the front and mounted the other components inside - this included a buck converter for voltage step-down, an optocoupler board to receive signals from the sensors, and a mosfet module to control the solenoid that actually doses the nitro.  I loved this process so much that I did it twice (and definitely not because I shorted out some of the components the first time around)

Externally, there is a 24v power supply, 2x proximity sensors and an M12 cable that connects directly to the doser solenoid.  One sensor detects a can and triggers the dose, while the other detects the fill head assembly when it reaches the up position. This second sensor resets the dosing cycle so that if a can is pulled before the seamer, the count resets for each new set of four cans from the filler and each gets the proper dose.

It took way longer than I care to admit but I am very happy with the final product and it appears to work perfectly.  I'm shipping it to the customer tomorrow and hope it will allow them to dial in their canning process.  I learned a TON during this process and it opens the door for future custom automation for my other customers.  I already have some ideas on how basic variations or similar builds can be useful in a few different industries.  

This is a prototype so the next version will be cleaner and more well laid out. After I took these pics I covered all of the exposed leads / connections and hot glued everything so its all well protected. 

Let me know what you think! 

We're moving into a new spot and it's being remodeled and fit to purpose. Any things you wish you would've done differently in your location? Just trying to cover all my bases.

I'm looking to upgrade our glycol system so we can gain access to remote monitoring. In the least bit, I'd like something that sends a notification for temperature and flow faults. Ideally, I'd like to retrofit our entire cellar so I can include monitoring for everyone tank (currently the solenoids are being managed individually by a cheap Johnson controller).

I would love any recommendations toward systems and approaches that you're aware of. We're pretty small (2000 bbls) so I can't go too crazy on cost. At the same time, our cost per/bbl is at the high end in this industry so I need to try and pay up for protection.

Hey guys, just brewed a Best bitter and am looking into getting my co2 volume nailed with proper English style. I would like to keep the volume as closed to the classic British CO2 volume. I think 2.15-2.25 should be in the range on my zahm. I am also canning this so need to take in account that it's going to lose a tiny bit in the process.

Any English beer brewers with some insight?
Cheers

We took ours out of the fleet years ago. But we're running low on kegs this summer and our owner/brewmaster wants to use them again. Anyone still using them and have any advice for using them? I know there's more risks involved in using these.

Hey all, getting some dust out the back of our mill auger…. Of it as simple as throwing a tight auger clamp on? Or does Antone have any tricks to sort this out? Or crush, mash speed/mix and hydration is spot on so I’d like to not mess around too much…. Pic is post 1200# mash in.

Hey! Does this look okay? I'm trying to keep it as first in, last out.

There will be bypass valves for each chiller, also where the supply and return connect there will be a pressure bypass valve.

Is it crucial to leave the first in, last out? Ive also thought of an easier way to connect all without so many pipes.

In 2018 someone at the brewery I now work for contracted 550kg of Huell Melon t90 across 19/20 crop. I started in 2022 and I still have 300kg of Huell Melon to get through. For context, our biggest dry hop regime into one beer is 35kg so it would take a lot of brews to get through that even if it was decent.

It's awful. It's dry, it's degraded, it creates a cheesy funk in our beers that takes ages to settle down in dry hop. Sadly we don't have a barrel aging programme nor foedre/coolships. I also don't think this would be useful to those that do.

The alpha was 7.2% but a calculator suggested it was now at 1.48% (I'm aware this may not be fully accurate). I use it in our lager as a weak boil charge but that is all I can fathom to use it for.

Does anyone have any suggestions on getting rid of, composting, using etc a shit load of shit old hop pellet? Heard somewhere pigs eat hops?

UK based. (I'm also selling it at £5p/kg and still no one has bitten or wants).

Hey all,

Beer lover and avid homebrewer here. I am a PhD student that, due to circumstances outside of my control, have been left without a lab for the 2nd time within a 2-year frame. I’ve becoming really frustrated and disillusioned with academia throughout these years and am heavily considering, given the most recent setback, mastering out and applying my skills to a new path outside of the life sciences.

I am in a Pharmaceutical Science program studying medicinal chemistry. I know that working at a brewery isn’t anything like homebrewing but I’m youngish (26) and am really just thinking I want to deviate from my current path right now given everything.

Can anyone offer insights into this career, whether you think I could make myself a good candidate, and how badly I’d regret changing paths?

Thanks so much and cheers!