If you’ve ever visited a brewery, you might have noticed those shiny, silver-gray metallic tanks connected to each other by large, similar-looking pipes. In most cases, much of the brewery setup is made using stainless steel.
Here are some reasons why stainless steel equipment is preferred over other options when it comes to brewing beer.
1. Durability & Longevity
Investing in stainless steel equipment is an excellent decision for any craft brewer looking to build out their dream brewery. The metallic material is incredibly robust, able to handle extreme temperatures and intense daily use without corrosion or wear and tear over time. And with the right maintenance plan in place, some stainless steel tools can provide decades of uninterrupted brewing without needing replacement.
2. Temperature Control Benefits: Keep Your Beer at an Ideal Brewing Temperature
Another way stainless steel sets craft brewers up for success is that it allows them to keep the brewing environment under control, monitoring temperature levels accurately. Basically, metal conducts heat more efficiently compared to other materials such as plastic or wood.
However, stainless steel is superior to other materials like copper and other types of steel as far as keeping the temperatures across the brewery consistent is concerned. This means that you do not have to worry about sudden spikes or drops in temperature that could throw your final product off-balance in terms of taste, flavor, and aroma.
It’s by far the best and most widely-used material for fermentation tanks and chillers, which are among the most crucial elements of any efficient beer-making setup! Sometimes copper is used as an alternative in chillers, but very rarely since it can react with acids in the beer over time, affecting the flavor.
3. Stainless Steel Ensures Hygienic Day-to-Day Brewing
Another huge perk of stainless steel vessels is that they help ensure the brewing process can be kept as hygienic as possible. The metal is easy to clean and doesn’t pick up dirt residue fairly quickly like alloys tend to do. This makes regular scrubbing sessions a breeze!
What’s more, due to its nonporous nature, stainless steel is highly resistant to bacteria, no wonder it’s widely used in surgical and hospital settings. This is an effective defense against spoilage and contamination risks over the long term, which is incredibly essential in the brewing process!
4. It’s Corrosion-Free and Easy to Clean
Another great benefit of stainless steel equipment is that it won’t corrode easily. This helps eliminate costly and time-consuming maintenance on your brewing tools due to rusting or other damage caused by aggressive substances like cleaning chemicals and repeated impacts.
The corrosion resistance of stainless steel comes from the chromium-rich oxide film that’s naturally formed on the surface of steel and repairs even under intense heat once exposed to oxygen. At times, the corrosion resistance of steel may be enhanced through a process called passivation.
Tips for Streamlining Your Brewery’s Production
The entire brewing process can become more efficient with the right stainless steel equipment in place, helping you to save money and time even better! And if you want to streamline your brewery’s production even more, there are a few things you can do.
After investing in superior quality equipment, it’s essential to build automated processes for heating, cooling, and stirring, so different tasks can be done much more efficiently and with accuracy. For ideas on how automation can help your brewery production, you can check out getollie.com to learn more. Some of these tools also help you better manage raw materials, customers, inventory, order processing, payments, and more.
Also, it’s better to choose custom-made equipment that suits your needs best where possible. Lastly, selecting large tanks to store batches can help prevent the unnecessary consumption of space and resources during production.
