Enjoying local craft beers has become a social pastime and personal hobby for many Americans. If you want your beer to hit the spot, you’ll have to keep your brewery shipshape.
A clean brewery is a key to making refreshing, tasty beer. Follow the four best practices for brewery sanitation to keep this beverage flowing.
Label Cleaning Supplies and Use Them on Schedule
Label your cleaning supplies so that there’s never a mix-up between cleaners or ingredients. Mistakes could result in a dirty brewery or a ruined batch.
Keep your kegs and tanks sanitary using caustic and acid chemicals. Use caustic chemicals to clean your kegs and tanks every two to three weeks. Use acid less often, just once every three to four months, to clean your tanks of beer stone and calcium buildup. You don’t want your beer to taste old, and cleaning the tank will keep the flavor fresh.
Seal the Concrete Floor
Your brewery has a lot sloshing around. Between water, alcohol, and sanitizing and cleaning products, there’s a lot of liquid falling on the floor. And some of this liquid is hot or cold, leading to thermal shock that can cause cracks in your flooring. You need to protect your floors from inevitable spills.
Unsealed floors allow beer and other liquids to soak in, leading to bacteria and mold growth. The cleaning supplies necessary for keeping a brewery sanitary are also chemically harsh on floors, so sealing them will protect them from damage.
The best-sealed floor will be non-porous and crack resistant. These features will protect the floor from chemicals, spills, the weight of heavy equipment, hits from moving equipment, thermal shock, and daily wear from foot traffic.
Keep the Floor Drain Clean
You might not want to think about your floor drain, but you need to because it can get gross fast. Liquids and even solids go down the drain every day, and you can have a buildup of bacteria or even pests if you don’t regularly clean it.
Whatever type of floor drain you have, this best practice for brewery sanitation will keep it sanitary and control unwanted odors. Some floor drain designs are corrosion resistant and make it easier to keep the drain clean. Be sure to comply with clean water regulations and have the person doing the cleaning wear the proper protective gear.
Use Stainless Steel Filters
Using proper materials in your brewery will make it easier to clean those surfaces and keep them cleaner for longer. Stainless steel is naturally sanitary, resistant to corrosion, and non-porous, so dirt and grime won’t get stuck to it. These qualities make stainless steel popular in both home kitchens and industrial settings.
Consider a stainless steel sanitary filter to effectively screen out solid particles and help you avoid contaminating your beer. A stainless steel filter is also up to handling acidic liquids in a wide range of temperatures. Your supplier can customize the filter to manage your flow rates, pressure, and quantity considerations.