Two batch sizes, two different builds

A 500L brewhouse and a 1000L brewhouse are seldom the same design scaled up. At 500L we usually build a single-wall mash tun with a separate electric HLT, because most customers at that size are fitting into an existing building with no steam header. At 1000L, steam heating and a dedicated whirlpool start paying for themselves in cycle time and trub separation. Settle that question first. Comparing a 1000L quote against a 500L spec sheet tells you nothing useful.

Vessel fabrication

Shells run 3 mm, dishes 4 mm, SUS304 as standard. We switch to 316L on the fermenter side when the customer is pitching into high-chloride water or running mixed-culture and sour programs that sit in the tank for months.

Interior welds are ground, pickled and passivated, then polished to Ra 0.8 µm or better on product contact surfaces. Exterior is #4 brushed, or mirror-polished when the tanks stand in a taproom behind glass.

Cooling jackets are dimple plate on the cone and lower cylinder only. Over-jacketing a small tank wastes glycol flow and makes the control loop sluggish — the valve hunts and you get temperature overshoot during crash cooling. Working pressure is 3 bar, relief valve set to match, with a separate 1.5 bar spunding arrangement if you plan to carbonate in-tank.

Specifications

Where these systems go

Brewpubs, contract packaging halls, hotel and resort breweries with a showpiece brewhouse, and small regional producers adding a second shift. Hospitality clients normally want the polished finish, low-noise pumps and a footprint that fits a service corridor. Contract producers care about CIP turnaround and how quickly the heat exchanger recovers.

Questions that come up before an order

Can I carbonate in the fermenter?

Yes, with a spunding valve and enough jacket area to hold the setpoint. Above roughly 2.6 volumes, plan on longer conditioning.

Do I actually need 316L?

For clean lager and ale production, no. For sour or high-chloride situations, yes.

What utilities do I need to confirm?

Steam or power capacity, glycol chiller load, floor drain location, and ceiling height for the manway swing.

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.