By: Cheryl Gray
Whether it’s craft brew, spirits or hard cider, the right tank can make all the difference in taste. Cutting corners when choosing tank products can inevitably result in quality control issues that can spell disaster for any craft beverage maker. The resulting losses can be time, materials, labor and perhaps worst of all, an entire product batch.
For nearly 20 years, SmaK Plastics has made it its business to provide craft beverage makers with best-in-class tank products, including those from its Flextank product line. Flextank serves clients throughout the United States and in Canada, Mexico, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, Serbia, Slovakia, Romania, Greece, Cyprus, Australia, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, France and Austria.
Headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, SmaK Plastics touts the Flextank roster of tanks as affordable and nearly identical to more costly stainless-steel tanks and oak barrels. Flextank vessels began selling in the United States in 2006. The brand considers itself a market leader in what it describes as new-age wine and beverage making. Flextank products have been used, the company says, to produce award-winning wines, ciders and meads. All its tanks are manufactured and assembled in Vancouver for global distribution in outlets that include Sydney, Australia; Cape Town, South Africa; Santiago, Chile and Bordeaux, France. Flextank products are manufactured with high-quality resins that the company says are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Food Safety Authority.
Kristi Cummings, the marketing director for SmaKPlastics, describes some of Flextank’s most popular products and the reasons behind the brand’s success, including an oxygen transfer rate roughly the size of a grain of table salt.
“With a 9 mg/liter/year oxygen transfer rate, our Heavyweight Flextanks are used by craft beverage makers throughout the world to create award-winning ciders, spirits, meads, kombuchas, wines and other craft beverages.”
“Our Flextank Stacker Tanks are among our most popular with craft beverage makers for their capacity, easy access and maneuverability. Unlike heavy stainless-steel tanks, Flextank Stacker Tanks are comparably quite affordable and can be easily moved around your workspace with a pallet jack. Our Stackers, like many of our other tanks, also come standard with our Dexter lid, which provides an airtight seal and easy access to your beverage when you need it. Add-ons like pouring and sampling valves are also available, as well as FlexStaves from a world-leading French stave manufacturer for adding notes of oak to your beverage.”
As to customer service, Cummings explains what makes Flextank stand out from its competition.
“Flextanks are designed and rotomolded in the USA to be extremely durable. You can craft your beverages with some peace of mind knowing that all Flextanks purchased directly through us or an authorized Flextank dealer come with a lifetime tank guarantee. For busy business owners we make our tank and accessory prices transparent and ordering simple.”
One Flextank customer is Salt Creek Cider House, an orchard and cidery in the Willamette Valley region of Oregon. This second-generation hard cider company, founded by Carter and Lindy Rickett, was recently voted “Best Cidery” in the Willamette Valley. The cidery relies upon the Flextank Apollo line of products, so named because it resembles the history-making Apollo Space Capsule. Cidery co-founder Lindy Rickert points to the efficiency of the Apollo as one reason that her company, which began with a single Flextank Apollo, has added additional Apollo products to its operations.
Another popular Flextank option is the versatile Dexter product line. All Dexter Tanks are cylindrical and are equipped with a 19-inch diameter clamp lid for easy cleaning and access. Customers can choose from the standard maturation weight or more heavyweight options.
The 80-gallon Dexter by Flextank Tank is the product choice for Runcible Cider, another award-winning cidery based in Mosier, Oregon, along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. According to cidery co-founder Kelly McCune, the Dexter Tank is versatile enough to accommodate the production of hard cider without fear of picking up so-called off flavors. The Dexter has an optional racking pallet with a contoured center “lug” option. This allows for convenient transport and storage of the tank with easy access.
For those who prefer stainless steel options, Quality Tank Solutions has, as its name implies, a number of choices when it comes to tank products. The Wisconsin-based company was founded in 2012. It specializes in multiple liquid applications for various industries, including breweries, food and beverage and pharmaceuticals. Quality Tank Solutions works with companies throughout North America and prides itself on what it describes as exceptional customer service, pre- and post-sale.
Josh Sukys is a the multimedia design specialist for the company and describes what sets Quality Tank Solutions apart. “We specialize in agitation, whether keeping liquids in suspension or providing a scrape surface, we cover it all. All of our products are custom-designed, making the opportunity to get exactly what you are in need of our priority. QTS is also 3A & ASME (R & U Stamp) certified, which adds to the capabilities on what we can provide. But don’t stop there; our customer service is top-notch, covering everything from tank repair to service parts and installations, and if you need a platform to go with, we have that, too.”
“When working with Quality Tank Solutions, you will have access to the entire team. From conception, design, engineering, manufacturing and installation, Quality Tank Solutions will have you connected to the correct team member every step of the way. Every project is unique, and QTS understands that. Finding out what the equipment will be used for, your process and the required result is all part of the client interaction to be sure expectations are met and exceeded. Once your equipment is installed, QTS offers training and continued technical support, along with a full two-year warranty. Consider Quality Tank Solutions a long-term partner.”
When it comes to outfitting brewhouses with the right stainless steel tank equipment, Quality Tank Solutions offers custom-built options. The client-specific systems are manufactured with a focus on the height and space restrictions of the brewery. QTS offers full and complete two- and four-vessel brewhouses ranging in size from 3-1/2BBL to 100BBL. Standard construction options include manual to fully automated systems, as well as steam or direct fire systems. QTS also offers a complete line of brewhouse equipment, such as boilers, chillers, grain handlers, walk-in coolers, keg washers, bottling lines and other equipment.
The QTS fully stainless-steel mash tank offers standard construction features that include a flanged and dished top head, NORD gear drive, turbine agitation, glass top manway, tank light, removable CIP assembly, side wall baffles, steam jackets, shallow cone bottom and 3-A standards. Available options are a combination mash/lauter tun, a hydrator and a knife gate.
QTS offers stand-alone whirlpool tanks and a double-duty brew kettle/whirlpool tank. Either choice is sized specifically to the brewery’s system capacity. Standard construction features include most of the features of a mash tank plus a shallow cone bottom, vortex breaker and a trub guard.
Fermentation tanks manufactured by QTS are designed for maximum yields, which the company says results in a greater return on investment. The tanks use the precision and function of what the company describes as Omega laser-welded heat transfer surface jackets. These allow for increased flow and quicker crash times. In addition to some of the standard construction features of other QTS tank products, a QTS fermentation tank also includes a tori conical bottom cone, an insulated vessel, a heat transfer surface jacket, a top/bottom/side entry manway, a removable CIP assembly with a whirly spray device, a racking arm and other accessories.
QTS manufactures brite tanks with standard features that include visual sight gauge assembly, side entry manway, side entry manway and the Omega laser welded heat transfer surface jackets designed for ample flow and fast cooling. The company’s lager tanks are horizontal and marketed as highly efficient because they contain more surface area coverage. Standard construction features include flanged and dished heads, heat transfer surface jacket, quarter-inch thick formed saddle with adjustable feet, oval swing-in manway, removable CIP assembly with whirly spray device, stacked tank design and visual sight gauge assembly. Available options include a stacked tank design and visual sight gauge assembly.
QTS offers hot and cold liquor tanks that are designed to accommodate the size of virtually any brewhouse and are built to customer specifications. In addition to some of the other standard features of QTS products, these tanks include a round cross-arm manway, flanged and dished or flat pitched bottom, overflow and additional options such as 304 or 316L stainless steel, visual sight gauges and immersion heaters.
Clearly, there are a number of options that craft beverage makers need to consider when choosing tank products. Whether just starting out or expanding a growing operation, expert companies are within reach to help clients make the right choices.
