MBTVN | Maturation tanks : vertical, non-insulated, cooled by air

MATURATION TANKS – pressure vessels for a maturation of beer, cider or wine

Maturation vertical tanks – non-insulated – single-jacked – cooled by air

The main fermentation process of the young beer , which intermediate is called green beer , follows the process of the maturation of beer in the maturation tanks (also lager tanks). During this production phase, the beer matures, or saturates with the carbon dioxide, which is formed of the remaining activity of yeast. This way the beer acquires savour.

Maturation is the longest stage of the beer production process. The length of the beer maturation depends on the chosen recipe, temperature and the set pressure in the maturation tank. Maturation of bottom fermented beers with EPM 10 % takes two to three weeks, light lager with EPM 12% at least 30 days, beer with special EPM above 12 % tekes 60 days up to several months.

The length of the maturation of beer, the batch size and frequency of its production is important for the decisions on the required number of maturation tanks in the brewery.

Maturation tanks are designed for max. overpressure 1.5 bar and they are pressure vessels according to PED (Directive 2014/68/EU). According to customer request we can replace all the maturation tanks by serving tanks with a maximum pressure of 3.0 bar (pressure vessels) – then the microbrewery operator can bottle and serve beer from any pressurized lager tank without pumping beer into dedicated serving tanks.

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Equipment of the maturation beer tank (non-insulated, vertical, cooled with air) :

Maturation tanks with single-jacket

Simple and cheap non-insulated tanks , cooled by cold air. The traditional way of cooling in a lager cellar . The advantage is low cost, but there is also number of disadvantages: high cooling energy demands (it can be affected by the quality of the thermal insulation of walls in the lager cellar) , the impossibility of controlling the maturation ( it is not possible to set different temperatures in individual tanks ), low comfort of work in the lager cellar ( cellar workers are working in very cold and humid environment which is not conducive to their health and working condition ).

It is necessary to note that for the brewery cellar with single-shell tanks it is needed to create a cooling box, a room with very good insulation of walls and ceiling and with a refrigerator door. The operating costs of cooling are particularly during the summer months, possibly year-round in tropical areas, significantly higher than the lager cellar with insulated tanks cooled by liquid. These increased costs to the building and operation usually outweigh the savings from buying cheaper technology brewery.

In contrast, the solution is usually advantageous for air cooling Microbrewery what need to create a refrigerated storage area for filled kegs or bottles of beer, and have not a dedicated storage room. In this case, together with the beer for sale are simultaneously cooled also lager tanks.

Maturation tanks vertical

Tanks in a brewery are “standing”. Easy for cleaning and sanitation and there is also easy access to the tanks from all sides. The disadvantage is the space requirement both in height and in the area of beer cellar. Vertical maturation tanks are standard in modern breweries and this concept is preferred where small space is no fundamental limitation.

We produce vertical non-insulated maturating tanks in several standard product lines

Our wide range of produced maturating lager tanks allows you to select the optimum tank dimensions as layout space.

Properties wider tanks with small height of cylindrical part:

They are better for the beer yeast (lower hydrostatic pressure)
A gradual temperature curve during the transition from primary fermentation the beer maturation (smaller heat transfer area, lower cooling effect)
They are less demanding in terms of height space.
They are more demanding in terms of floor space.

Properties slender tanks with large height of cylindrical part:

Tanks with larger volumes require a different yeast strain (higher hydrostatic pressure)
steep temperature curve during the transition from primary fermentation the beer maturation (larger heat transfer area, the greater the cooling effect)
They are more demanding in terms of height space
They require less floor space.

We also produce maturating lager tanks other than the standard sizes . We can customize almost any tanks spatial dispositions and needs.