For microbreweries and larger breweries, finding the best equipment for the job is always important. In most cases, finding equipment that can do more than one operation is essential, and this becomes even more critical as production increases and space becomes a premium in the brewhouse.
Most, but not all breweries sell bottled and cans beers as well as offer bulk sales of beer in kegs. Typically, kegs are sold to end-users such as bars, restaurants, and similar facilities, and there is a very lucrative market to access with this beer supply. With small breweries, getting draft beer on tap at a few top restaurants, sports bars, and entertainment venues can drive consumer demand for bottled or canned beers from the brewery.
The Equipment Requirements
One of the most important additional pieces of equipment needed to get into draft beer supply is a keg cleaner. To make it even more effective and efficient, look for a keg filler and cleaner combination with a small footprint and a top reputation for reliability.
This is a stand-alone piece of equipment that offers everything needed to clean the keg using industry standard and approved methods and chemical cleaners. This should include a caustic CIP tank to be able to recover the caustic cleaner, a recovery tank for the acid required as well as the ability to do the job with low energy and low water use requirements.
These components lead to a lower overall cost of operation of the keg cleaner, which allows it to pay for itself in a shorter period of time. Additionally, utilizing a keg cleaner that doubles as a filler saves space and the need to purchase more equipment. Look for systems that have automatic filling sensors to ensure the keg is correctly filled each and every time, providing high levels of consistency for end-users.
