Category: Equipment

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.

How Start-Up Distilleries Can Get It Right the First Time

By: Cheryl Gray

Starting a new distillery can be a daunting task. Failing to do it properly will inevitably cost the owner time and money.  

  The industry is flush with experts to guide start-up distilleries in the right direction when it comes to equipment, building, layout, local health regulations and environmental requirements – virtually everything to consider when launching a well-tooled distillery.

  Few companies know better what a start-up distillery requires than VITOK Engineers, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. The global consulting engineering firm, launched in 1967, offers a singular source for multiple engineering disciplines and targets a wide range of chemical plants and manufacturing facilities, including distilleries.

  In its early days, VITOK Engineers was local. Still, its engineering expertise was far-reaching, with a client list that the company says included the United States Navy, for which VITOK designed and built CO2 scrubbers for the Navy’s nuclear submarines. By the mid-1980s, new leadership at the company introduced the distilling industry to VITOK, which already had a solid foundation for the design of a complete chemical processing facility. In the 40 years since, VITOK touts a solid reputation for designing and optimizing every aspect of distillery production, with more than 500 distillery projects sprawled across the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Africa. The projects range in size from small craft distilleries to more established facilities and some of the world’s largest and most recognized distilleries that manufacture up to 50 million proof gallons per year.

  CJ Archer is Vice President of Marketing for VITOK Engineers and has been with the company for nearly two decades. As an electrical and controls engineer licensed in more than 20 states and the Caribbean, Archer points out what sets VITOK apart from its competitors.

  “What sets VITOK Engineers apart from other companies is our ability to serve all engineering disciplines within our organization,” he said. “Continuity and flow of information between engineering disciplines is important for the successful completion of a large project.”

  Archer says that with distillery start-ups, it is important to gather critical information up front, beginning with what kind of spirits the distillery will produce and the proof gallon output the client desires.

  “Our engineers will then produce a Process Flow Diagram (PFD),” he said. “This helps to determine the vessel sizing, pump sizing, still size, boiler size and chillers.”

  The next steps, Archer says, are evaluating current infrastructure, such as available sewage, water and power, to help determine any additional power distribution equipment, water treatment or RO requirements that may be needed.

  “This PFD and supplemental infrastructure equipment will reveal the size, scale and types of equipment. From there, our staff can calculate and perform a Total Installed Capital Cost Estimate for the facility.

  VITOK Engineers can design and optimize every element of the beverage distillation process, from the receipt of raw materials to the proofing and bottling. Our staff can design the process, specify the equipment, design the building, define classified areas, specify and design instrumentation and controls and program the controllers, even tablets. We can also help you with the intricacies of environmental permitting.

  Our depth of experience enables us to provide clients with an expansive overview of projects, as well as a unique, cross-disciplined perspective on the design process. As an employee-owned company, the staff members of VITOK take a vital interest in building loyal client relationships. We are constantly striving to improve our services and technology while providing cost-effective solutions for project challenges,” he said.

  Archer points out other equipment and protocols distilleries can deploy to optimize production. Examples include automated control instrumentation, which serves the dual purpose of standardizing the process and freeing up labor. Another factor to consider is achieving maximum energy efficiency, which saves money. Archer explains that this means distillers will want to know if they can achieve an energy benefit from chillers, versus a cooling tower or aquifers. Examining the mash cooling systems and techniques are also on the checklist. Distillers may want to look at introducing solar to enhance so-called “green” branding, which Archer says is not a significant increase or decrease to the overall cost of implementation.

  Another point Archer mentions is installing power efficiency equipment to help save on energy costs. The power efficiency equipment helps distilleries coordinate with utility and correct for any apparent power overages. Also, comparing continuous operation, versus batch operation, as potential energy savings is another area to consider. Finally, Archer says that examining the number of shifts, timing and staging process of operations can help improve energy efficiency.

Another expert company that assists distilleries with installing equipment for both short- and long-term use is Trench Drain Systems, which manufactures and distributes drainage systems for distilleries, wineries and breweries. Engineer Michael Schroer started Trench Drain Systems in the basement of his home in 2004, selling only about three products. By 2017, the company had purchased a 10-acre property with office and warehouse space large enough to service a clientele that now spreads throughout all 50 states, Canada and the Caribbean. Schroer explains why his firm is different from others in the industry. 

  “When buying a drain system for your distillery, winery or brewery, you will most likely have to go through a distributor who interfaces with a manufacturer,” he said. “Your distributor usually won’t have the knowledge base to cover all the particularities of the drain and its installation. Trench Drain Systems is both a distributor and manufacturer of drainage systems. We have a full understanding of all brands of drainage systems. We can make custom drains when needed. We have a full engineering department and provide drawings for your installation, something that a distributor doesn’t do. In short, we are specialists in drainage systems. We have the flexibility to handle many product lines while being able to customize your drain when needed.”

  Schroer describes what key steps his company takes in helping new distilleries make the right choices when it comes to installing a drainage system that meets specific needs. 

  “I like to start this discussion by asking who owns the property where the project is being done. The reason being, if that facility is rented, the process is going to be a five-year project, and if the owners see themselves going to another location that they will own, the trench drain can be downgraded a bit. There will be differences in the drain channel chemistry, in general, when we are speaking about the drains of beer vs. wine vs. distillate manufacturing.  

  However, if you have a five-year lease on a building and have to foot the bill for the trench drain, consider a drain that will last as long as you need it. When you get into phase two of your project, where you own the building, it makes sense to have a longer vision for the drain design. That includes having a system that will handle the rough and tumble start-up period when construction equipment may be involved. It also is good to look at your future development when you may want to showcase your process and change your look from something industrial but practical to something more commercial or customer-friendly and aesthetically pleasing.

  After that detail is revealed, we need to consider the temperature and chemical demands of the process on the trench drain system. Breweries are the most demanding on drains, as they have high-temperature solutions and a wide range of chemicals that are put into the drain. And breweries will have differing drainage needs in different parts of the facility, depending on how the consumer will interface with the operation. Wineries and distillates don’t see the high volume of daily cleaning and temperatures as does a brewery. They generally don’t need drain systems that have high-service demands. Generally, these facilities have a lower drain budget unless the owner is going for an aesthetic, which costs more,” he said.

  Yet another company that helps new and existing distilleries make critical equipment choices for the long and short term is Della Toffola Group. Headquartered in Italy but supported in the United States by Della Toffola USA in Santa Rosa, California, the company positions itself as a global frontrunner in designing and manufacturing state-of-the-art technology solutions for a wide range of beverage products. Della Toffola recently entered the distillery market by acquiring Frilli Srl, another worldwide company founded in 1912 that specializes in designing, building and refitting distilleries and distillation systems.

  Experts agree that careful equipment planning is the key to a successful operation, no matter the size of a distillery or whether it is a start-up or a more established production house. Those experts also agree that success begins with a thorough consultation with a company that respects a distillery’s immediate needs and what it will take for the operation to expand.

Selecting the Right Size Still for Your Distillery

By: Kris Bohm of Distillery Now Consulting

The craft distilling movement is growing larger every day in North america. In 2003 there were approximately 60 operating distilleries in the USA. Fast forward to today and there are over 2200 active distilleries. When it comes to starting a distillery one daunting challenge every business owner faces is equipment selection. Selecting equipment is often done by forecasting demand. Without any sales history this forecast is tricky to create. Most folks go about deciding what equipment to buy based on budget and what kind of quantities of spirits are expected to be sold. If you ask almost any distillery owner if they are using the same size equipment they started on they would tell you no. Nearly every established distillery has needed to add on additional equipment or sell their existing equipment to bring in larger equipment to meet demand. Selecting the right size equipment is a critical decision, which I would like to help you make. To better inform you let’s explore common equipment sizes and examples of distilleries expanding.

  The first question often asked by a new business in planning is how large of a still do I need?

The answer to this question will not be the same for any two people. Instead of trying to provide a definitive answer let’s talk about the potential output of different size stills. To first define the potential output it is essential to decide on product line up. The still used to distill rum is very different from that for vodka production. If you are planning to distill gin, you certainly do not want to use the same still for distilling whiskey. What I can tell you with certainty is that you will outgrow a homemade 50 gallon still before you even open the doors of your distillery to the public. Let’s also explore the potential output of stills to compare and contrast their potential capacity.

  A 100 gallon still often much less expensive than larger stills and is the size selected by some start up distilleries that are starting lean. A still of this size can only produce small quantities of distilled spirits at a commercial scale. Further a 100 gallon still requires considerable time spent in labor operating it with not very good returns for the labor. Although a 100 gallon still is going to be less expensive than bigger stills, it is likely that demand for spirits will outstrip the capacity of a still of this size quickly.

  A 500 gallon still has the capacity to produce a solid amount of distilled spirits. In fact a 500 gallon pot still is one of the most common size stills you will find in new craft distilleries. A still this size has the capacity to produce 2 barrels of whiskey per day if well managed. This is plenty of whiskey for a startup distillery. Depending on your business model a 500 gallon still may provide plenty of capacity for several years. A strong successful distillery will likely outgrow the capacity of this still within 5 years.

  Continuous column stills are measured based on column size diameter For simplicity we will call them column stills in this paper. An 18 inch column still will process 9 gallons per minute of wash. This means on a given work day this still has the capacity to produce up to 25 full size barrels of whiskey in a single day. As you can gather, this is vastly more efficient than a pot still.

For a column still to operate it will take a sizable quantity of mash to produce this much whiskey and therein lies the largest challenge for a small distillery. To grow into running a continuous column still requires immense resources in capital and real estate compared to a column still.  A distillery running a column still will need much larger, cookers, fermentors, heating and cooling capacity then is commonly utilized when operating a pot still.

  For many established distilleries who are selling a decent volume of spirits the addition of another pot still may not be the best choice to increase the production of your distillery. For many whiskey producing distilleries the logical leap is to grow your production by adding a continuous column still. If the intent of your distillery is to be a regional or multistate distributed business a column still might be your best choice.

Lets Look at Two Examples of Growth in a Distillery

  At Grand Canyon Distillery they launched their business in 2017 with a single 250 gallon still. With goals to produce grain to glass bourbon, single malt whiskey, vodka, rum and gin. These ambitious plans and diverse portfolio quickly stretched the limits of their production capacity very early on. Within 9 months of launching their spirits the distillery worked out a large distribution deal that landed them in nearly every liquor store and grocery store in Arizona. If the distillery was going to meet their growing demand for white spirits there would be almost no room to distill whiskey to age. With whiskey being the primary long term goal, an expansion of equipment was needed. To increase capacity Grand Canyon added additional distilling equipment far sooner than anyone expected. With the addition of a 500 gallon still to support the demand for production, the folks at Grand Canyon got back on track to be able to distill enough product to meet demand. Only 3 years after the second still was added to their equipment Grand Canyon added a 3rd still to increase capacity even further.

  At Finger Lakes Distilling they launched their distillery in 2008 with a single Holstein pot still.

Only 3 year after launching the distillery had outgrown their capacity to produce enough whiskey to meet demand. Finger Lakes took a big step up in production and added a 12” column still new cooker and larger fermentors to their equipment lineup. With the addition of this still Finger Lakes Distilling had increased their capacity 10 times. In the 10 years since they added this column still the distillery has consistently been able to meet demand with a much lower labor cost per proof gallon produced. In this example the addition of a column still allowed Finger Lakes to gradually increase their production without the limitations that come with a pot still.

  As new distilleries move from establishing their foothold in local markets to growing state wide and beyond. A strong growth in demand will often follow this growth in territory. In many instances especially with whiskey the demand will outstrip supply and action must be taken to increase production. For anyone who has been to any of the bigger distilleries in Kentucky or Tennessee, you would have seen that every big distillery operates a continuous column still for whiskey production. A continuous column still is vastly more efficient on many levels. Continuous columns have much larger output per labor hour and use much less energy than a pot still per proof gallon produced. Stepping up from using a pot still to a continuous column still is a logical evolution and is a step that nearly every whiskey producer will make at some point when they reach a certain size.