Lesson 3 - Warm and Cold Maturation SAQ
This lesson allows you to test yourself on the material covered in the Warm and Cold Maturation lesson, and determine the level to which you have met the learning outcomes.
Suggested Response - Q4
**You have been asked to design a new maturation cellar, to increase current throughput but also to increase the capability to mature different styles of beer. List four key factors you would consider for tank design and layout?
Response:
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Tank sizing – a brewer is likely to require a mix of larger vessels for their mainstream brands and smaller vessels for seasonal, speciality and limited-edition brands. Understanding the brand mix now and how this may evolve in the future is important to understand, to ensure production capability to enable a brewer to produce small batches alongside larger batches.
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Space constraints – depending on available space, both inside and outside the brewery, a brewer will need to consider both vertical and horizontal tank installation. Vertical tanks are typically located outside and are externally clad with cooling jackets. Horizontal tanks are normally located inside warm or cold conditioning rooms, within the existing building, which cannot accommodate vertical tanks.
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Vessel flexibility – a brewer may consider the installation of a dual tank system (separate tanks for fermentation and maturation) but in particular, installing dual-purpose vessels where a tank can be used for either fermentation or maturation. This can provide flexibility during peak production periods when vessel space is limited. The other consideration is uni-tanks where both fermentation and maturation occur in the same tank. This can give the brewer flexibility, reduce number of transfers and is particularly beneficial for small breweries.
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Vessel Cooling – typically, a uni-tank takes longer to cool than a dual tank system as it relies on the cooling jackets to bring it down to temperature for cold maturation. With a dual tank system, a chiller is used in between the vessels which will offer a faster cooling effect. A dynamic mixing device can be used in a uni-tank to overcome slow cooling, amongst other benefits, where the contents of the vessel are continuously mixed to create a homogenous beer temperature throughout the tank.