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Brewing System |
Packaging Page |
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Click on Links for Photographs or more information (details are for general guidance only, not a specification) |
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| Cask | Cask beer is the simplest form of packaging, requiring the simplest technology. The term "Racking" is used to describe the process of filling casks. Typically the beer is chilled in FV for several days to reduce the yeast count, then run by gravity into casks. These are brim filled and sealed. The full casks are stored warm for several days eg above 13C to allow secondary fermentation to occur, before being distributed to customers. This is the major market for UK microbrewery beer. See section on Technical page for more definitions. picture |
| Keg | Keg packaging requires slightly more technology than cask beer. Typically the raw beer leaves the FV and is stored for several weeks in a maturation vessel (also called a conditioning tank). The maturation tank is in effect an extremely large cask. During storage a secondary fermentation takes place, and the yeast (and other material) is allowed to sediment out. The beer is then passed through a filter to make bright beer. The bright beer is short shelf life. Usually the bright beer is pasteurised (heat treatment) before filling into Kegs. Extra carbonation may be added to the beer after filtration. If a long shelf life is not required the pasteurisation is sometimes omitted. This is not a major market for UK microbrewers, but is of relevance in other countries. Beer can be put directly into kegs by unscrewing the extractor valve, or more usually by using a modified dispense coupling. |
| Bag in Box | A system exists in which the beer is packaged into a flexible bag, which is then placed inside a rigid outer container made of plastic or cardboard. This system is very common for soft drinks and wines. It has the advantage of keeping the beer fresher for longer periods in low throughput bars. The disadvantage is that the containers have to be carried, they cannot be rolled like barrels. |
| Bottle Conditioned Ale | A traditional method of filling bottles involves putting uncarbonated raw beer into bottles (from FV or cask), sealing them and allowing a secondary fermentation to occur, to increase the Fizz in the beer. This technique is called BCA, for bottle conditioned ale (or lager or stout etc). Packaging is very simple using either a primitive flexible tube from a cask, or more usually a low cost gravity filler. A compromise between time and cost has to be reached. It is possible to fill bottles by simple methods, but it is very time consuming and gives a low through put. Expenditure on simple hand fillers will give a greater throughput in a shorter time. picture1 picture2 |
| Carbonated beverages | Beer can be processed to increase its shelf life and clarity. Artificial carbonation can be added to increase the gas content, and the beer put into bottles. This can be achieved on a small scale, though the equipment used could cost as much as the rest of the brewery put together, so it's not a common option for microbrewers. If investment is made in a counter pressure filling machine, then other products will also need to be packaged in order to make the equipment earn its keep. So as well as beer, you might also package sparkling water and soft drinks. Processing of carbonated beers is the same as for keg beers. |
| Canning | See carbonated beverages |
| Soft Drinks | Soft drinks are made in a syrup room. Raw materials are weighed out and blended together in a mixing tank, and then diluted for packaging with carbonated water, or sometimes unhopped wort. A syrup room operates in a similar fashion to a microbrewery. It is often an add on process to make use of surplus capacity in a bottling plant. |
