The advantage and disadvantage of mashing system with many combinations in the beer brewing equipment

In the process of brewing beer, the mashing is a very important step. The following is introducing the advantages and disadvantages of each mashing system combination.

Two vessels combinations of mashing system

This kind of equipment is now widely used in the industry, mainly make up with mash/Lauter tun, kettle/whirlpool. The function of mash/lauter tun; mashing and filter, Kettle/whirlpool function; boiling and whirlpool. If you configure a hot water tank, the work effective can be increased by 50%.

The advantages of two vessels of mashing system：

1. equipment simple, invest small
2. pipeline simple, the operation easily
3. the equipment height is low, the height requirement for the site is not high.

The main disadvantages are:

1. Only can use extraction and filtering during the wort filter（The wort in the lauter tun, can extract the wort by the wort pump, then pump in the kettle/whirlpool tank.) the filter speed is relatively slow, no too higher requirements for brewers. Once the operation is wrong, the wheat grain layer is tight and the filtration is difficult. The heavy results will cause the sieve plate to deform and affect the subsequent use.
2. In general, the beer equipment manufacturing industry will set up agitator in the kettle/boiling tank, because the kettle/boiling tank has functioned with whirlpool, the agitator will affect the effect of the whirlpool.
3. The water for washing grain need to prepare in advance, store in the tank or fermenters（usually does not recommend a store in the fermenters, if operate wrong, easy to form a vacuum in the fermentation tank or affect the operation of the ice water system), operation trouble, high heat loss.
4. In order to reduce the influence of whirlpool, this type of equipment usually will not be equipped with the anti-rotation cross, it was mainly installed in the mashing tank. The function is to prevent vortex from when pouring down the wort. Obviously, there is no mashing/boiling pot with the anti-rotation cross. When it pours, it will easy to form a vortex, which will cause gas to enter the wort pump, which will form an air binding on the wort pump. It will cause a large amount of gas to enter the wort pump, forming cavitation, affecting the life of the wort pump.
5. When mashing, only the mashing with add wort method can be used, the mashing temperature step is less, and the quality of the malt is higher.
6. Generally, only two batches can be brewed per day, and the craftbrewer need to work overtime.

Three vessels combinations of mashing system(two tanks with three vessels of mashing)

This equipment is generally combined with boiling tank/kettle, Mash/Lauter tun, whirlpool tank. In fact, Its Lauter/whirlpool tank was actually composed of the upper and lower structures.

The upper structure is the Lauter tun, and the lower layer is the whirlpool tank. It is commonly seen in beer houses and restaurants

The advantages of three vessels of mashing system：

1. Compared with three tanks three vessels saccharification system, the whole system is more compact and occupies less space
2. The heating area of the steam jacket in the kettle/boiling tank is very large, has fast speed heating up.
3. The Lauter tun is above the whirlpool tank, which can realize the natural filtration (wort filtration rely on by gravity), the filtering speed is fast, the wort is bright and the brightness is high, even if the operation is wrong, the deformation of the false bottom will not occur due to the tightness of the wheat grain layer.
4. The whirlpool tank is designed as a vertical column tank, because it is a special whirlpool tank, the whirlpool port is designed as a tangential whirlpool port, so the separation effect of hops and hot coagulum is better.
5. During the wort filter, the kettle can prepare the washing grain water, can shorten the mashing time by 30-50 minutes, the using effective is higher than two vessels of the mashing system.
6. In general, the daytime can brew two batches of beer, if you consider working overtime and staying up late, you can brew 3-4 batches per day. During the peak beer sales period, you can brew more beer in the shortest time.

The main disadvantages are:

1. The equipment is generally higher than the traditional two vessels of mashing equipment, and has certain requirements on the height of the site.
2. The equipment investment is higher than the traditional mashing two vessels of equipment, and the combined three vessels of mashing can be done up to 1000L, and the volume is limited.

Three vessels combinations of mashing system(three tanks with three vessels of mashing)

Such equipment is commonly found in small and medium-sized breweries. The equipment is available in a variety of combinations.

The common combinations are as follows:

1. Mash tun+Lauter tun+ kettle/whirlpool tank
2. Mash/Lauter tun+Kettle tun+whirlpool tank
3. Mash/kettle tank+Lauter tun+whirlpool tank

The advantages of this equipment：

1. The daily batches of brewing are similar to the three-vessels combinations of the mashing system.
2. Low equipment height
3. A variety of combinations can be selected, and later can be transformed into four vessels combination of mashing system.

The main disadvantages are:

1. Filtration can only be taken by filtration with extraction
2. The equipment covers a large area and has a large investment.

Four vessels combinations of mashing system

Such equipment is common in small or medium-sized breweries, and is equipped with hot water tanks in addition to mashing basic equipment, which can greatly improve production efficiency.

Its main advantages are:The mashing apart has a clear division of labor, which significantly reduces the time occupied by the tank and improves production efficiency. The maximum brewing batch of beer can reach five batches per day.

The main disadvantages are as follows:

1. The equipment volume and land occupation are relatively large. Under the current transportation conditions, such equipment can do up to 3000L, if add the volume of equipment, must need to be constructed on the site.
2. Equipment investment is large.