EnglishViews: 15 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2025-09-19 Origin: Site
Calculating brewery equipment yield is a critical step in ensuring production efficiency and optimizing resource allocation during the brewing process. Brewery equipment yield depends on the type and size of the brewing equipment, the batches brewed daily, the size and number of fermenters, and the fermentation cycle. Different facilities have different requirements for site size, height, utilities, and other factors, which vary from site to site. Understanding how brewery equipment calculates beer yield is crucial for any brewer who wants to optimize production and maintain consistency.
One thing to consider when calculating your brewery's annual production is canning time. How long does the beer sit in the cans before it's ready for packaging? If you brew your own beer, it might take 4-6 weeks to brew. The longer the beer sits in the cans, the less beer you can produce.
A mash tun is a device that mixes malt with water and heats it to extract sugars. The efficiency of the wort process directly affects the sugar content and yield of the final wort.
Calculation Method: Mashing efficiency can be calculated by measuring the volume and sugar content of the wort before and after mashing. This typically involves the difference in specific gravity and volume change before and after mashing.
A boiling kettle is used to boil wort and add hops. During this process, wort loses volume due to evaporation, affecting the final yield.
Calculation Method: Boiling losses can be estimated by monitoring boiling time, temperature, and changes in wort volume within the kettle. The evaporation rate is typically used to calculate the final wort volume.
Fermentation tanks are used for primary and secondary fermentation of beer. During fermentation, the volume of beer changes due to the production of gas and sediment.
Calculation Method: By measuring the volume at the beginning and end of fermentation and recording fermentation losses, the final beer yield can be calculated. Fermentation tank volume monitoring systems typically provide real-time data.
Filters are used to remove solids from fermented beer to ensure beer clarity and stability.
Calculation Method: During the filtration process, the volume of beer decreases due to the removal of solids. Recording the volume change before and after filtration helps calculate filtration loss.
Packaging equipment fills and seals beer into bottles, cans, and kegs, and this process also results in some loss.
Calculation Method: By recording the volume before packaging and the actual volume filled, packaging loss can be calculated. Typically, the packaging equipment's metering system provides accurate data.
Wort Yield: The first step in calculating beer yield is to measure the amount of wort produced during the brewing process. This is typically done using a volumetric sensor or flow meter integrated into the brewing equipment.
Specific Gravity: Specific gravity measures the density of wort relative to water and helps estimate the amount of fermentable sugars. Brewers use tools such as hydrometers or refractometers to measure specific gravity before and after fermentation.
Alcohol Content: The alcohol content of beer is calculated based on the difference in specific gravity before and after fermentation. This difference indicates how much sugar was converted to alcohol during the brewing process.
Brew Efficiency: The efficiency of the brewing process affects sugar extraction and utilization.
Yeast Strain and Fermentation Conditions: Different yeast strains and fermentation temperatures can affect flavor development and the characteristics of the final beer.
For simplicity, we assume 20 fermentation and conditioning production cycles per year. Fermentation and maturation/storage occur in CCT unit tanks.
Let's calculate: The average fermentation + conditioning cycle takes 17-18 days. 350 days per year divided by 17 days = 20 production cycles per year.
The design of the brewery also affects the amount of beer brewed on-site. The types of home brewing and craft beer equipment used in hotels, bars, breweries, and restaurants typically utilize 500L or 1000L two-tank, two-tank, three-tank, or two-tank systems with a hot water boiler. One to two mashing batches are performed daily, but considering labor requirements and labor intensity, one batch per day is ideal.
The most common setups are:
3-vessel system: combined mash/lauter tank and kettle/whirlpool tank
3-vessel system: combined mash/lauter tank with separate kettle and whirlpool tank, or separate mash tank and lauter tank with combined kettle/whirlpool tank
4-vessel system: separate mash, lauter, kettle, and whirlpool tanks
The more beer vessels a brewery has, the more beer it can brew in a day. A two-tank system might allow for two brews, but this would result in a longer brewing time. Some breweries have five or six-tank systems, allowing for six or more brews per day. During the brewing process, it is not the number of cellar tanks that limits a brewery's output, but the brewery's design.
Raw Material Data: Records the input quantities of each raw material, including malt, hops, and water.
Process Data: Records yield and quality data during mashing, boiling, fermentation, filtration, and packaging. Modern equipment is often equipped with sensors and automated recording systems to collect this data in real time.
Saccharification Efficiency Calculation: Calculate the saccharification efficiency based on the volume and sugar content of the wort before and after saccharification.
The formula is: Malt Efficiency = Soluble Sugar Extracted ÷ Sugar Added to the Malt.
Boiling Loss Calculation: Estimate boiling loss by measuring the volume difference between the wort before and after boiling and combining it with the evaporation rate.
Fermentation Loss Calculation: Record the change in beer volume before and after fermentation and calculate fermentation loss based on the gas and sediment produced during fermentation.
Filtration Loss Calculation: Calculate filtration loss based on the volume difference before and after filtration.
Packaging Loss Calculation: Calculate packaging loss by measuring the volume before packaging and the actual volume filled.
Production Forecasting: Combining historical production data with current production conditions to predict future production output.
Quality Control: Analyzing production data to ensure efficiency at every stage and maintain product consistency.
Cost Control: Optimizing production processes and cost management based on loss data at each stage.
