2000L Beer Fermentation Tank with Side Cooling Jacket

We build the 2000L fermenter for breweries that are past the trial stage but not yet ready for a full 20–30 BBL cellar. It fits well when you batch 12–15 BBL of ale or lager, and when floor space is tight enough that a side jacket is easier to route than a full glycol ring.

The side cooling jacket on this tank is welded directly to the shell. That gives you direct glycol contact along the wort column, and it keeps the tank diameter from growing like it would with a larger bottom cone jacket. We use 304 stainless for the product contact surfaces. For highly acidic or long-aging beers, 316L is available, but most ales and lagers do fine in 304.

Welds are ground and passivated so the interior won’t harbor beer stone. The cone is 60 degrees, which drains spent yeast cleanly without a long, shallow transition. If you brew heavily dry-hopped beers, tell us before the order—we can adjust the racking arm position and manway height so you don’t fight the tank during transfers.

Cooling performance depends on the jacket surface area, glycol temperature and flow rate, not just the tank volume. We size the jacket around the actual fermentation curve you expect. For most 2000L batches, a single side jacket with 2-inch fittings is enough. If you crash cool from 68°F to 34°F quickly, we may recommend a second zone or a larger chiller.

The centrifugal pump and motor are mounted on the tank frame for CIP and wort transfer. This is convenient, but it also means the pump sees hot caustic and cold glycol in the same day. We specify motors with a service factor that handles that cycle. The tank and pump share a common base, so vibration during knockout is reduced.

Working pressure is 1.5–2 bar for most fermenters. We supply an adjustable pressure relief valve set to your target, and we test each tank at 1.5 times the working pressure before it leaves the shop.

For small brewpubs, a 2000L tank often runs as a single-vessel fermenter with manual temperature control. Commercial breweries may want it tied into a PLC with glycol solenoids and a CIP skid. Both configurations use the same shell and jacket; only the controls and fittings change.

Before you send an inquiry, know your batch size, expected beer styles, glycol supply temperature, and the number of tanks you plan to run in parallel. That is what we need to size the cooling area and avoid oversizing the pump or undersizing the jacket.