Unloading and positioning your brewery equipment

If you’ve ever been present when truck loads of equipment arrive at a brewery – you’ll know there is a real buzz about the place.

Everyone stands waiting with anticipation – hugely excited, a bit impatient – and nervous, all at the same time.

It’s a big day – kind of like Christmas morning. If Santa reversed his giant sleigh in your garage and made you unpack all your giant presents.

Then of course, everything has to be taken to its rightful place in your brewhouse.

And this is a whole other story.

We know our customers are often anxious about this day. It’s the culmination of months of hard work. And if it’s not done properly – at best, time is wasted. At worst, people are hurt.

So it’s really important to take your time and get it right.

We are not able to be present at all the installs – especially now with travel restrictions. So we have put together a comprehensive checklist and process outline, to give to our clients.

We do everything in our power to make sure they are prepared on the day.

So we thought we would share it with the world – so that everybody can experience the Bespoke difference!

Unloading And Installing Brewery Equipment Checklist

One of my favourite moments in the process of building a brewery is seeing the expression on our clients face, when they see their equipment for the first time.

They know what the pieces look like, they’ve been designing them for months – but they’ve never seen them in the flesh.

The general expression says ‘Oh wow. This just got real.’

Unloading day is obviously really exciting, but it can also be really tricky. There’s a lot of logistics involved, especially if you’ve taken on the challenge to do it all yourself.

You can hire a rigging team, who will come in and unload for you. They know what they are doing – and they will also generally be liable should any equipment get damaged in the process.

But it’s important you’re fully across what needs to happen, once the equipment is off the truck.

The first step in this process begins with one of our favourite things – a checklist! We put together a list of everything you need to unpack, relocate and install equipment.

• 2 x fork trucks with fork extensions

• 2 x pallet jacks

• 2 x D-shackles

• 2 x lifting straps rated at at least 3000kg or more

• 10 x 2 foot wood blocks for blocking up the tanks if needed

• 1 or 2 x electric drills with HEX and screw set

• 1 x crowbar

• 1 x hammer

• 2 x foam pieces

(Note: For standing the tanks you can use a crane truck or switch out one of the fork trucks with a telescopic fork truck.)

Unloading Brewery Equipment From The Truck

One of the biggest challenges of the day is getting the huge pieces of brewery equipment from the truck (which is ~1.7 meters up) onto the ground.

You’ve got a couple of options here. One is to use two fork trucks to slowly pull the equipment out – and lower down.

Here you will need drivers who have a game plan and understand each person’s role. As the first person is pulling the item out, the other will need to support the back half of it, so that it doesn’t slip.

Another option is to use a side loader. you will lift up the entire container off the truck and lower the whole thing onto the ground. This way you can pull equipment out and mitigate the risk of dropping it, as it’s already at ground level.

Once the tanks are stood up into their proper position, you can use a standard pallet jack to move them around via the horizontal leg supports which are.

Installing According Your Brewery Layout

Once your equipment is off the truck and standing to attention, you want to unload the equipment in a specific order, to avoid getting stuck.

Make sure you assess the size of everything and work out the best way to move it around. Fork trucks are great – but you may need fork extensions for the wider tanks.

You’ll need to think about your brewhouse design and which pieces of equipment will be at the furthest end of the brewery. This way you can move it towards the back with a clear path – and backfill from there.

In a perfect world, your utilities have been installed beforehand – but this isn’t always the case. Either way, it’s important to make sure everything matches the layout. There is a reason we have a high level of detail in our drawings.

The cellar is easier but the brewhouse is obviously all piped together. There are a lot of connections between these vessels so they need to be placed correctly.

Find The Balance

We cannot stress it enough – take your time with your unloading.

You’ve paid a lot of money for this equipment, you don’t want to damage it – and you don’t want anyone to get hurt.

So find that balance.

If you’d like more advice about brewery equipment, please get in touch.

We would be happy to help!