“Isobaric Hop Injector” the answer to your prayers from Enterprise Tondelli
When you have finally got the beer packaged and sent out to market you are left with one problem if you have late hopped – how to remove the spent hops now resident in the pressurised conditioning tank.
Often they have formed an almost concrete like deposit in the cone of the tank that is hard to clean out. Additionally it also reduces your yield by containing saleable beer that you cannot access economically by filtration. With the trend towards more and more hoppier beers especially amongst the younger drinkers this problem is only set to get worse.
The use of hops in the conditioning tank is also a costly business due to the current prices for hops and also problems of availability with some of the more popular and newer hops being as rare as the proverbial ‘hens eggs’. Dry hopping can also add further conditioning time in the tank taking up valuable space which reduces the brewery output.
Enterprise Tondelli with their manufacturing partners in Italy Simatec have the answer. The unit was especially developed for the award winning Italian brewery SorAlaMA a few years ago. The system is mobile so that allows it to be moved around the brew house between tanks as required using flexible hoses to give maximum versatility. It can be used with either dried hops or hop pellets. Some of the hop material will remain in the isobaric hop injector which reduces the load in the beer and cleaning. Additionally as the hop material is kept in slow circulation it reduces the amount that settles in the bottom of the cone improving yield and reducing cleaning.
Other very interesting benefits are a potential reduction in hop usage of around 20 % and reduction in conditioning time of around 2 days. Mr.Paul Holden-Ridgenway Head Brewer of Craft Brewery “B.A.D. Co.” or as they are formally known Brewing and Distilling Ltd based in N.Yorkshire recently took delivery of a unit for their expanding brew house. He commented “We have been highly delighted by the results of the unit. Already we are seeing significant improvements in hop usage and conditioning time. Having the wort in very slow circulation really helps the yeast to work. We love the fact that it is mobile as it allows us to move it around to where it is needed. The manufacturers have surprised us with their brewing knowledge and innovative attitude to this and other brewing processes where they are challenging conventional wisdom.”
The system consists of a pressurised vessel with a control panel and a special recirculation pump. It allows the brewery to load hops into the unit without accessing the conditioning tank and dose or recirculate as per the brewer’s preference. The unit is designed to exploit and accentuate the convection already present in the vessel during fermentation, for this reason, the injection/recirculation should be administered with delicate short work cycles and repeated within 12 hours, sometimes more. Typically this could be 10 minutes every 90 minutes but the recirculation system is fully automatic and on a pre-settable timer so it can be adjusted depending on the result required.
Optional extras can include a wort oxygenation system for use at the start of fermentation if required. It can also be used for dosing spices or sugar solution if required into the pressurised conditioning tank. Typical sizes are 8kgs, 30 kgs, 45 kgs etc.
Craig Wilson Managing g Director of Enterprise Tondelli UK said “Our partners Simatec in Italy have some significant advantages with their company structure. They own and operate their own Brewery so are keen to watch both quality as well as costs and this two fold approach results in some very innovative brewery solutions. We have supplied a number of brew houses from them in the UK with good results. Their range is also very inclusive for both craft and larger breweries with brew houses from 3hl to 96 hl available.”
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Further details can be found at www.enterpristondelli.co.uk or by calling 0044 1525 718288.
