Page 25 - Beverage Master December January 2020

Craft Beverage

the year. Overall, breweries and distilleries typically mobility is convenient for your operations.
look for wraps made with lightweight and flexible
fabric that’s easy to apply and manipulate as need- Top Tank Supply Products
ed.
Dean Thompson, the brand manager for Flextank
Insulation is useful for craft beverage tanks USA, told Beverage Master Magazine that his
because both hot and cold temperatures are company’s most popular tank products among
required from these tanks. Common insulation breweries and distilleries are its line of SS sanitary
materials are fiberglass and stone wool. Insulation fittings, fermentation locks and oak adjuncts. This
helps to counteract high humidity in a brewery or company manufactures and assembles all of its ves-
distillery and also prevent burn and freezing so that sels in Vancouver, Washington and distributes them
ice does not form on the pipes. Since insulation worldwide.
helps resist corrosion, keep mold away and save
energy, it is also a way for breweries and distill- Among the most-used products throughout the
eries to become more efficient and sustainable. beverage industry is Flextank’s AK1T – Combo
For example, Synavax™ multipurpose coatings use 6-Bolt Flange Accessory Kit in the 1.5-inch size
a liquid wrap insulation to coat the equipment and that includes VF1, BV3 and SV1T. This kit includes
cover exposed valves to prevent energy loss. Just a complete drain valve installation and a Tassilini
keep in mind that staff members must to be trained sample valve, and it fits all Eco and Dexter
thoroughly on insulation safety, especially when Maturation and heavyweight tanks, plus the Apollo
working around hot pipes. Fermentor. Other popular products are Flextank’s
butterfly valves and FL1 Fermentation Lock.1 for
Meters are another crucial piece of equipment use on Eco Tanks and Dexter Lids purchased prior
used alongside tanks in the brewing and distilling May 31, 2014. Meanwhile, the company’s FC060-
processes. Liquid pressure and vacuum gauges 50-70-80 FlexChill is an exterior wrap chilling sys-
come in both analog and digital formats, with tem used with glycol chillers and designed for cylin-
digital versions typically being more expensive. drical tanks in two standard sizes.
Common sizes are ¼ inch to 1.5 inches, and stain-
less steel is the most common meter material used “Our oak staves are French and American oak and
in the food and beverage industry. Meters often available in different toast levels and sizes for dif-
use two pressure transmitters to measure the bev- ferent tank sizes,” Thompson said. “These are made
erage level – one for the head pressure and the with directions to add up the staves needed for
other for the total pressure. It is that differential use. An example is if you need 80 gallons, you can
that’s really important number to steadily monitor. add the staves from the 50-gallon tank and then
Magnetic flow meters often range from ½ inch to add the 30-gallon tank, and now you have what you
six inches and provide readings to minimize losses need for the 80-gallon tank.”
in the beverage-making process. Meanwhile, tem-
perature sensors monitor a beverage’s temperature Miyuki Clauer of ATAGO U.S.A., Inc. told Beverage
so that you can quickly adjust temperatures that Master Magazine that ATAGO’s most common
become too high or low. Regardless of the chosen product line used for craft beverage tank monitor-
product, it’s always important to have hygienic pro- ing is its In-Line Refractometer PRM Series. Based
cess fittings for meter sensors. in Bellevue, Washington, ATAGO U.S.A. is a leading
manufacturer of refractometers, polarimeters, salt
Tank Stands, a less technical but equally import- meters, acidity meters, pH meters and saccharime-
ant product that goes hand-in-hand with tanks. ters.
Stands are usually made from stainless steel and
can accommodate 100, 200, 300, 500, or more “The PRM series offers a digital display section
liters for the right fit with your tanks. Stainless steel with a seven-segmented LED that displays the tem-
pipe stands for brite tanks are available to fit 1.5- perature and measurements,” Clauer said. “Using
inch and two-inch sizes. Some stands accommodate output methods, such as RS-232 or 4-20mA, the
just one large tank, while others fit several tanks data can be transmitted to a PLC system for system
and are ideal for small batches. Some smaller tanks automation. It offers lab-grade accuracy across the
have wheels to make them transportable in case full range of refractive index, Brix or user-defined

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