Microbrewery Water Treatment: Ensure Beer Quality

Ⅰ. Water quality: the “invisible formula” of craft beer

1. Precise control of water parameters

 Craft beer has stringent requirements for water quality, which requires precise control of pH (5.3 for saccharification), hardness (more than 50 ppm for calcium ions), alkalinity (which affects the buffering capacity of the wort), and the ratio of minerals (e.g., the difference between English-style ales and American-style IPAs). .

2. Deadly Risks of Water Quality Defects

 • Organic contamination: leads to microbial spoilage and destroys the brewing environment.

 • Excessive metal ions: give beer a metallic taste and accelerate oxidation.

 • Chloramine residue: generates chlorophenol and produces potion odor.

Ⅱ .  the core technology: multi-stage treatment to build water quality defense

1. Physical treatment: the basic purification barrier

 • Sedimentation and filtration: remove suspended solids to ensure that the turbidity of the incoming water is less than 5NTU.

 • Adsorption process: activated carbon removes residual chlorine, organics, and odors to comply with drinking water standards.

2. Biological treatment: the ultimate nemesis of organic pollution

 • Anaerobic-Aerobic Combined Process: UASB reactor converts organic matter into methane, SBR reactor removes ammonia nitrogen and total phosphorus synchronously, and the COD of effluent is stabilized at less than 100 mg/L.

 • Case: A factory adopts “hydrolysis acidification + contact oxidation” process to achieve zero discharge and recycling of wastewater.

3. Chemical treatment: precise control of water quality parameters

 • Ion exchange method: reduce total hardness to 80mg/L, suitable for ultra-hard water areas.

 • Reverse osmosis (RO) technology: desalination rate ≥98%, output water conductivity <10μS/cm, support PLC automatic control.

 • Phosphorus remover application: total phosphorus is reduced to less than 0.5mg/L within 30 minutes, and the floc settling speed reaches 15cm/min.

4. Membrane filtration: the ultimate purification guarantee

 • Nanofiltration (NF) membrane: selective interception of divalent ions and retention of beneficial minerals.

 • Ultra-filtration (UF) membrane: removing yeast and bacteria, guaranteeing the sterility of the filling line.

Ⅲ. Equipment selection: the whole link solution from laboratory to production line

1. Core equipment configuration

 • Saccharification system: single batch 50-60HL, 316L stainless steel, equipped with automatic CIP cleaning system.

 • Fermentation tank: 100-200HL, jacketed cooling design, temperature control accuracy ±0.5℃.

 • Filling line: Bottle line 24,000 bottles/hour, keg line supports 30L/50L draft beer kegs automatic cleaning and filling.

2. Auxiliary equipment list

 • reverse osmosis water purification equipment: 15 tons/hour RO system, equipped with flow meter and conductivity meter.

 • Ammonia refrigeration unit: to meet the needs of the whole process temperature control.

 • Laboratory equipment: support real-time water quality testing and process adjustment.

Ⅳ. Industry Practice: The Leap from Home Brewing to Industrial Grade

1. Home Brewing Scenario: Minimalist Solution of Pure Water + Mineral Salt

 • RO Water Substrate: Remove all impurities.

 • Mineral salt addition: calcium chloride regulates calcium ions, calcium sulfate highlights hop bitterness.

 • pH adjustment: add phosphoric acid to reduce residual alkalinity.

2. Industrial application: full process automation control

 • PLC/DCS system: integrates full process data, supports recipe management and production traceability.

 • MES system: real-time monitoring of energy consumption, water quality parameters and equipment status.

Ⅴ. Conclusion: Water quality is the quality of beer, technology creates eternity

 Water quality management is the core competitiveness of craft beer. Driven by technological innovation, our company provides a full chain of solutions to help our customers win the trust of the market with beer of “consistent quality”.