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Brewery & Distillery

Options and Improvements for

Brewery & Distillery Tanks

By: Alyssa L. Ochs

V arious kinds of tanks and tank systems mentation vessels are the most commonly used
tanks in commercial brewing.
are used in both breweries and distill-
eries to create the amazing craft bev-
erages we know and love. Brewing and “The cylindroconical shape maximizes volume
distilling tanks also require specialized systems to while minimizing footprint, allows for faster fer-
work properly, ensure quality control and serve mentation and facilitates the hygienic collection of
other purposes. Therefore, it’s important to under- yeast from the cone,” Lewis said. “The size of these
stand the tank and tank system options available to tanks range from three bbls (93 gallons) for nano-
brewers and distillers, including what’s been updat- breweries up to 1,000 bbls (31,000 gallons) for very
ed and what can still be improved. large production breweries. Most breweries are
using 10 to 30-bbl tanks. BrewBilt Manufacturing
Types of Brewery & Distillery Tanks builds cylindroconical tanks from 10 to 120 bbls,
all of which are crafted from American 304 stain-
In a brewery setting, there are often many differ- less steel that has stricter quality standards than
ent tanks in use simultaneously. Mash tun tanks imported stainless.”
mix grain and water for sugar conversion, lauter
tun tanks separate grain and wort, and wort ket- Brandon Mayes, the brewing and quality manag-
tle/whirlpool tanks boil wort and add hops. Liquor er for Pittsburgh Brewing Company in Pittsburgh,
tanks hold cold and hot brewing water, while fer- Pennsylvania, told Beverage Master Magazine
mentation tanks ensure proper removal of yeast that they use cylindroconical tanks and bright beer
once fermentation is complete. Brite beer tanks tanks.
enable carbonation, yeast brink tanks aid in grow-
ing yeast, utility hot water tanks assist with equip- “CCTs are used to ferment wort into beer,” Mayes
ment sterilization, and CIP tanks help clean the said. “BBTs are used to store finished beer ready
vessels, hoses and pumps. for package. We have 15 500-bbl CCTs and four
250-bbl CCTs. There are six BBT’s.”
Jef Lewis, CEO and Chairman of Grass Valley,
California-based BrewBilt, told Beverage Master Chase Legler, the chief operating officer of Sonder
Magazine that stainless steel cylindroconical fer- Brewing in Mason, Ohio, said that all of the tank

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