66 BREWING & BEVERAGE INDUSTRIES BUSINESS A quick flip through this magazine reveals some of the many equipment options available to the brewer searching to improve production. From a new pump to complete brew houses, simple bottle fillers to fully integrated kegging lines, and control units ranging from a basic temperature read-out to touch-screen panels; all are designed to increase productivity, automate the process, minimize production problems, improve quality - and, of course, increase profit. Many brewers are competent and comfortable with their existing brew plants. They know every valve and switch, and every quirk and idiosyncrasy of their equipment, coaxing it along to producing award-winning beers. But when it comes to upgrades, all this can change. Suppliers will often provide basic training on particular pieces of equipment to ensure their functionality, but adapting the brewing process to work just the way you want it and produce beer to the same standard and quality of your previous brews takes longer. At Brewing Services and Consultancy, we spend time working with brewers and suppliers to ensure the correct equipment is chosen to optimise production and ensure the best possible beer quality from day one. We see it as providing the software to go along with the hardware. This starts with the design stages of a project, including how the transition from the old brewing equipment to the new takes place, sometimes working the new equipment in with the old, all whilst still producing beer. New brewing practices may need to be adopted and solutions found to the inevitable problems that crop up during commissioning: ‘adapting to overcome’ as we often say. Having designed and commissioned brewplants and equipment of all types, from numerous suppliers and for more than 170 breweries, we are in a unique position to anticipate problems and advise on options, with a view to maintaining best brewing practice. Project planning and building design will all help produce a better quality beer, even before the first pint is brewed. It’s also worth spending the time to create an ergonomic production system. After all, the less running around a brewer has to do, the more time he has to concentrate on the finer points of brewing and maintaining beer quality, as well as providing a more efficient and safer brewing environment. Maximum efficiency is more than just a collection of shiny new tanks. The process has to work effortlessly from milling (often a new skill for many brewers upscaling), through to beer maturation, along with filtration, carbonation and packaging, whether in cask, keg, bottle or can. Another pair of experienced hands is a great help during commissioning, working on the old adage ‘Two heads are better than one’. Automation has an ever-increasing part to play in modern brewing, but it cannot replace a well-trained and experienced brewer. Why spend money on shiny new plant to improve production without improving the knowledge and skills of those who operate it, both to harness the capabilities of the machinery and understand its limitations? Detailed planning of a project, selecting the right equipment and ensuring the right procedures are put in place, along with comprehensive staff training, are all essential to success and mean that the money is well spent, beer quality is optimised and the awards keep coming. Choosing new equipment How good planning and training means that money is well spent, beer quality is optimised and the awards keep coming. by David Smith & Rob Smith Showcase INSTALLATION & TUITION David Smith, BA(Chem), FIBD, Dipl.Brew and Rob Smith, BSc., M.Sc.(Biol.) run Brewing Services and Consultancy Ltd. Brewing Services has trained hundreds of brewers, from novices to experienced brewers seeking to upgrade their skills and knowledge, and designed and commissioned breweries all over the UK and beyond. 66_Layout 1 16/05/2017 15:26 Page 1