In its latest major project, Coolmation – the cooling specialist for the brewing sector – is creating the perfect, beer-fermenting conditions for Ringwood Brewery’s award-winning range of cask conditioned ales. The Hampshire-based real ale brewer, renowned for its celebrated beers, Fortyniner, True Glory and Old Thumper, now has a new, energy efficient cooling system designed, supplied and installed by Coolmation to meet the ever increasing production requirements at its Ringwood site.
By adding new fermentation vessels and creating a new cask storage area in its tun room, the brewery recognised that cooling capacity at the plant would also require extending if its high quality standards were to be maintained.
“For best results, fermentation vessels require extremely accurate cooling from a point of 23-25°C, depending on the type of beer, in an even curve down to 10°C” explains Bob Mavin, Works Engineer at the Ringwood Brewery. “This allows us to carefully control the pace at which the yeast turns to alcohol, and hence the clarity, quality and success of the fermentation process. Our existing chiller was already operating at the limit of its capacity, so with an expansion programme in full swing, now was the time to upgrade and enhance the cooling system”.
Ringwood Brewery contacted process cooling specialist, Coolmation – also, co-incidentally, a Ringwood based company, for advice. Coolmation carried out a detailed site survey and consulted closely with the brewery on its technical concerns as well as its energy saving and environmental demands. Using all its experience in the sector, Coolmation recommended installation of a new, high efficiency, 200 kW air-cooled chiller, working on a ‘green’ secondary refrigerant fluid, and the re-use of the existing 100kW chiller to meet other site cooling requirements.
The new chiller is connected to a series of eight jacketed fermentation vessels, with the water/glycol, secondary refrigerant mixture maintained at a constant temperature of 4°C. The brewery’s sophisticated, demand-driven control system precisely regulates the rate of cooling then delivered to each vessel to maintain its optimum fermentation temperature. The chiller also serves an air handling unit in this area which maintains a steady ambient air temperature, eliminating the risk of the stainless steel vessels or yeast head reacting to any fluctuations and the threat of stop-start or racing fermentation. Via a second air handling unit, the smaller chiller is now providing cooling to the cask storage area, where secondary fermentation takes place, maintaining ambient air temperatures at 14°C. The whole system has sufficient capacity built-in to meet future demands at the Brewery, including the cooling of new conditioning tanks and the addition of further vessels, as required.
Coolmation carried out all necessary work at Ringwood Brewery, including the supply and installation of new stainless steel pipework, energy efficient, inverter-driven pumps, frame-sets and associated components. As part of the project, Coolmation has also upgraded the steam boiler plant at the site, installing new stainless steel pipework to serve a hygienic, cask washing machine.
“Coolmation have proved excellent, all-round value on this project” says Bob Mavin. “We are delighted with the way the system is now working, and throughout the project, we were very pleased with both the quality and speed of service that Coolmation provided.”
Coolmation provides a fully comprehensive, solutions-based approach for brewers, beverage and food manufacturers keen to improve production quality, yields and business profitability. All Coolmation equipment is designed for high reliability and manufactured to internationally recognised quality standards. With offices in Lancashire, Leicestershire and a Head Office in Ringwood, Hampshire, Coolmation operates nationwide in equipment sales, supply and technical advice.
