Most 1500L bright beer tanks we build end up in taprooms and small packaging breweries where ceiling height, not floor area, is the real limit. A horizontal shell sits under a 2.2 m beam; a vertical tank of the same volume usually does not. That single constraint decides the layout more often than anything else.

Shell, ends and surface

Shell and dished ends are 3 mm SUS304 as standard. We switch to 316L when the brewery runs high-chloride water, sours, or acidic RTDs through the same vessel. Longitudinal and circumferential welds are full penetration, ground flush on the product side, then pickled and passivated. Internal finish is 0.4–0.6 μm Ra mechanical polish; a 0.8 μm finish is enough for tanks that only ever hold finished beer, and it costs less.

Insulation is 50–80 mm injected polyurethane under a stainless or galvanized cladding. On horizontal tanks the legs are welded to reinforced saddles rather than directly to the shell — a detail that matters once the tank is full at 1.5 t.

Cooling and pressure

A dimple-plate jacket covers the lower shell, with an optional second zone on the ends when crash cooling is needed. Carbonating to 2.5 volumes at 4 °C requires roughly 1.5 bar head pressure, so we build the shell for 2 bar working pressure, hydro-test at 3 bar, and set the relief valve at 2.5 bar. Never blank off that valve or raise the setting to chase faster carbonation; the jacket and shell are not the limiting item — the PRV is your last mechanical protection.

CIP and drainage

A 1500L horizontal tank is long. One spray ball at the top center often leaves the far end under-washed, so we normally fit two 360° spray balls or a rotating head, sized against the pump curve. The outlet is set at the low end with a 1–2% fall across the shell so cleaning solution and beer both drain completely.

Where this tank fits

Taproom conditioning and carbonation, cold storage ahead of a canning or bottling line, and pub cellars with restricted headroom. It is not a unitank: there is no cone and no yeast dump, so it belongs downstream of fermentation.

Typical specification

Common questions

Can it be used as a fermenter? No. Without a cone there is no way to drop yeast or crop it cleanly.

Do I need a glycol chiller? Yes, unless the room itself holds 2–4 °C year round. Size the chiller against total jacket volume, not tank count.

Can it sit on a mobile frame? Possible up to this size, but the frame, hoses and glycol quick-couplings add cost and every move stresses the fittings.

Tell us your batch size, beer type, number of fermentation tanks and available space. We can recommend the tank volume, cooling area and configuration for your brewery.