With the keg market growing in the UK, many of Cask Force’s existing customers are asking about the keg equipment the brand is now building. Established in the UK market over recent years, this started with the K-series dual cask and keg washers and has continued with the KEG 2000 series of washer/fillers. The latest customer to make an enquiry was Nene Valley Brewery, based in Oundle, Northamptonshire. The company has been expanding its keg population and was washing, sterilising and filling 50 kegs a week by hand. This involved removing the spears, washing and sterilising them independently of the keg, which was then washed on the brewery’s 200 series Cask Force cask washer, purchased in the summer of 2012. The kegs were then reassembled and filled direct from one of the brewery’s conditioning tanks. This was slow, time consuming and inefficient, and the risk of contamination also existed when the spear was removed. Considering this, and with demand for its range of keg beers increasing, Dick Simpson, the brewery’s owner and founder, took the decision to invest in a keg washer filler and after doing the necessary research decided that a KEG2000 would best suit their needs. Dick said, “I would never normally buy a piece of equipment so early in its model life cycle (Nene Valley’s KEG2000 is the third to be sold) but I’ve been so pleased with the performance and reliability of the cask washer and the service that Keith and the company provide that I’ve decided it’s the machine for us. “We’ve looked at other equipment but the simple, uncomplicated design, output performance and previous backup received have led us to this decision. From what I’ve seen so far I think it has been a good choice but time will tell!” With production forecast to rise to one hundred kegs a week, time will certainly tell on that! There are currently two models of the machine - the KEG2000 which is a washer/filler, and the KEG2000W which is a twin head washer. The KEG2000 will clean and fill 18x30 or 50lt kegs an hour, while the KEG2000W will wash up to 36 kegs an hour. The kegs are placed on the flat bed and the operator presses the start buttons, both kegs are clamped to the bed plate and the heads insert automatically. The machine follows a similar washing process to standard Cask Force machines. On head one the wash cycle consists of de-ullage, a pulsed pre-rinse, caustic wash, post rinse and acid wash finished with a CO₂ purge and pressurisation. The wash cycle status is displayed on the panel by LEDS. Whilst head one is carrying out the wash function, head two is filling the clean keg which has previously been transferred from head one by the operator. The beer is accurately metered via a batch controller and the status is displayed on the instrument. Flow rate and pressure is controlled automatically. When both the washing and filling process is complete the heads retract and the kegs are released. The full keg is then lowered down the output slide by the operator to floor level. The - now clean - keg from head one is transferred to head two, head one is then reloaded with a dirty keg and the whole process starts again. The machine features self CIP; the filling head can be cleaned and sterilised without the need for additional equipment. 18 BREWING & BEVERAGE INDUSTRIES BUSINESS Cask Force builds relationship with Nene Valley Brewery The EINBREW 3V2P is a single integrated controller and timer, allowing the operator to pre-program the brew as a single continuous process, not three independent steps. The controller uses multiple set points and times for the ultimate control. EINBREW EBC offers an all-in-one control solution for 3-vessel brewing; a custom controller lets you set up your brewing recipe before you start, with support for up to 9 mash stages and 9 hop insertions. It is compatible with wall or stand mounting so it can be placed at a convenient working height. It automatically controls to a brewer’s set temperatures, and rests for the time defined. Custom control algorithm helps to prevent overshoot and oscillation. Temperatures and stages times can be adjusted on-the-fly when brewing, if things need to change! It includes a temperature measurement probe for each vessel (3 in total). www.caskwasher.co.uk For more information visit: All-in-one control solution PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT Showcase www.einbrew.com For more information visit: 18_Layout 1 10/11/2017 10:02 Page 1