A wort chiller is an essential element of brewing beer. It allows the brew to cool quickly after boiling to prevent the onslaught of bacteria. If this is not done, beer either becomes contaminated or fails to ferment properly. However, you have to be careful to use wort chillers in Eugene, OR correctly, or you may compromise the quality of your beer. Here are four tips on using wort chillers:
Choose the right type: You have three options for wort chillers. All types cool beer by running cold water through pipe mechanisms. Immersion wort chillers are the most popular with home brewers because they are easy to use. Made of copper, they merely need to be hooked to a water source and submerged in beer, as the coils cool the beer through circulating water. Counterflow wort chillers cool quickly, but require a pump and more space to operate. Cold plate worts require less room and also cool quickly. They are popular in breweries, but they’re also your most expensive option. If in doubt, choose an immersion chiller. You can always upgrade later when you expand your brewing skills.
Swirl the wort: This technique is used with immersion wort coolers, and you will have to wear heat-resistant gloves. Even though the copper coils are full of cool water, the copper will absorb the heat, and you risk burns if you do not protect your hands. When you submerge the immersion wort chiller in the beer, swirl it around like you are stirring a stew. This works great in areas where ground water is warmer than usual. If that is the case, you may wish to submerge the wort chiller in an ice bath first to speed the cooling process.
Use an ice bath: Another option to help your wort chiller is to place the beer kettle in an ice bath. While there are brewers who use just an ice bath without a wort chiller, this is not nearly as effective as combining the two. If you wish to speed up cooling, it will likely help you brew higher-quality beer. If you try this, be careful not to allow the wort chiller to come in contact with the ice. That risks bringing contaminants into the beer.
Maintain your equipment: The biggest challenge for home brewers especially is keeping equipment clean. Failing to remove dirt or debris from the previous beer batch can contaminate your future brews. Your wort chiller and any tubing associated with it must be cleaned thoroughly with mild detergent when you are done using it. Otherwise, you will defeat the purpose of controlling bacteria by introducing new strains into your next beer batch. As a further precaution, also clean your wort chiller before each use, as you do not know what it was exposed to while in storage.
American Refrigeration Inc. offers essential equipment and services for the brewery industry. Contact us today to learn about your refrigeration options after you successfully use your wort chiller in Eugene, OR.
Oak is the traditional material for wine barrels. However, it is not the only option for aging tanks in Eugene, OR. Stainless steel works well for some varieties of wine, especially white wine. Here are six reasons to consider stainless steel tanks for your winery:
Capture flavors: Oak barrels work best with fuller wines, like pinot noir and other red wines. It often overpowers the flavors of lighter white wines. Many winemakers learn that fermenting their white varieties in stainless steel captures the fruit flavors better. White wines age out with lighter, crisper flavors.
Temperature control: Stainless steel heats up and cools down very rapidly. This allows extraction to happen more quickly, as well. Average fermentation in steel lasts 15 to 17 days. Concrete tanks, which are a more common option, extend fermentation from 24 to 27 days. Wine flavor and aroma is richer with the shorter fermentation in steel tanks. Steel also works well with preserving required temperatures. The optimal temperature ranges from 45 to 65 degrees, and steel proves effective at maintaining that range.
Durability: There is a reason you see planters made from oak barrels for sale at nurseries or roadside attractions. Eventually, they decompose and start depositing debris into the wine. This leaves wine vulnerable to temperature stress, humidity and other adverse conditions. Steel proves impenetrable to all these elements. Also, steel is easy to clean, which further reduces the wear and tear factors. The tanks and barrels hold up well, and often offer a strong resale value if you decide to replace them.
Easier winemaking process: There is less barrel movement when you use stainless steel. When oak is the preferred material for aging tanks, you have to move the wine into different containers as it reaches new stages in the fermentation process. With stainless steel barrels, you can complete all stages without moving the wine. This makes winemaking more efficient, and you do not have to buy as many barrels to run your operation.
Design options: Stainless steel tanks are available in a variety of sizes and designs. Variable volume tanks contain lids that can be set at any level so you can accommodate different levels of wine. The lid and bladder move down the tank to ensure an airtight fit that prevents contamination. Sealed tanks are fixed volume tanks and must be filled completely. They are a great option if your volume levels are consistent. There are also flat or conical tanks. That choice depends on whether you wish to ensure you rack all the wine out of the storage tank.
Add-on options: Technology comes standard with stainless steel tanks. You can purchase tanks with a variety of add-ons, including thermometers, cooling jackets, leveling feet, sight gauges, pump-over systems and fermentation manways. This allows you to customize your winemaking experience and reduces the need for extra equipment.
American Refrigeration Inc. offers winery chillers for your aging tanks in the Eugene, OR area. Contact us today to see what equipment you need for your winery or distillery.
Wine is a beverage that’s been enjoyed around the world for thousands of years, and there are many different techniques that are used to produce different varieties of wine. Today, chilling is an essential part of the wine production and preservation process. Winery chillers in Eugene, OR are designed to ensure the consistency of wine batches, and it’s important to understand how this equipment works if you want to maximize the quality of the wine you produce.
Winery chiller basics
Winery chillers are designed to preserve the flavor of wine as it goes through the production process. By cooling wine to subzero temperatures without freezing the vessel, winery chillers in Eugene, OR keep the wine in the highest quality state while enabling precise temperature controls. To achieve this, winery chillers commonly use propylene glycol, a food-grade antifreeze, to cool the wine to the required temperature. Using propylene glycol offers a number of important benefits, including greater efficiency and extra lubrication for chiller pumps.
Selecting a winery chiller
If you want to invest in a winery chiller for your business, it’s important to take a few important factors into account:
Sizing: The size of your winery chiller is important when it comes to storage and production capacity. For most wineries, a two-ton air chiller should have sufficient capacity to meet all your needs, but you should take your specific needs into account before choosing a winery chiller. You can consult with a product specialist to help you determine which size and capacity would be best for your applications.
Piping: The piping you use is another important factor you should consider when you’re selecting a winery chiller. Copper and plastic are the two most common piping materials used for winery chillers in Eugene, OR. Copper is typically the more durable and longer lasting option, while plastic piping offers an inexpensive alternative that is designed to be low-maintenance and easy to install. Plastic is usually the more popular option for new wineries that want to minimize their startup costs.
Maintenance: One of the most important things you have to keep in mind when you invest in a winery chiller is the fact that they require ongoing maintenance to continue operating effectively. You should find a refrigeration specialist who can assist you with regular maintenance for your winery chiller. They will be able to keep your equipment running properly and address any repair issues as they arise. In addition, they can recommend new parts or products if your winery chiller starts to wear out or if you need to expand your capacity with an upgraded model.
Winery chillers in Eugene, OR
You can find out more about winery chillers in Eugene, OR by reaching out to the team at American Refrigeration Inc. Since 1995, we have been proud to provide our clients with comprehensive commercial refrigeration services. Regardless of the size or scope of your project, our team is ready to help. Give us a call today to learn more about everything we can do for you.
If you consider yourself a wine aficionado or operate a business that serves wine, you might be thinking about investing in a custom wine cellar for your home. Custom wine cellars in Eugene, OR are great for keeping all of your favorite bottles of wine at the ideal temperature, and they can be a great addition to your home as a whole. However, a lot of people don’t know what to expect when they invest in a custom wine cellar. Understanding a little bit more about wine cellars and what a custom wine cellar project typically entails can give you a better sense of how to get started.
Benefits of wine cellars
There are a lot of great benefits you can enjoy when you install a custom wine cellar:
Wine preservation: Wine cellars are optimized to keep every bottle of wine as fresh as possible, for as long as possible. Most wine cellars include refrigeration equipment to maintain the ideal temperature for wine storage and to power individual refrigerator units for wines that require even colder conditions.
Organization: If you have a large collection of wine, you might have a hard time keeping all of your bottles organized. A wine cellar makes it easy for you to organize wines by year so you can choose bottles based on when they will be at their best.
Style: For many people, having a wine cellar is as much about style as it is about functionality. A wine cellar can make a beautiful addition to a home, and it allows you to display your collection of wines while keeping them safely stored.
Planning a custom wine cellar
If you decide you want to build a custom wine cellar in your home, you should start by doing some research into your options and establishing a budget. Get inspiration from online resources or design magazines and try to formulate a rough estimate of what the various materials, products and components for your wine cellar are likely to cost. Having a budget in mind from the start will give you the information that you need to communicate with your contractor and avoid breaking the bank on a project that’s way over budget.
Once you’ve done a little bit of research into custom wine cellars in Eugene, OR, you can find a contractor to help you with your project. They will be able to help you with the design and layout of your wine cellar. In addition, they can recommend refrigeration contractors if you want to outfit your space with advanced temperature control equipment.
Custom wine cellars in Eugene, OR
To find out more about the process of designing and installing a custom wine cellar in your home or business, reach out to American Refrigeration Inc. We specialize in all kinds of commercial and residential refrigeration services, so you can feel confident that we have the skills and experience necessary to assist you. To get started with a free consultation and quote, just give our team a call today!
Whether you’re a first-time distillery owner or simply working on upgrading the equipment you have in your operation, it’s important that you work with a seasoned professional to accomplish your distillery equipment installation in Eugene, OR. Even if you understand how all of the equipment works and are comfortable with working in a distillery environment, there’s a big difference between using the equipment when it’s set up versus actually performing the installation. One small error in installation could set you back behind schedule or even cause significant malfunctions that stall production or damage your product.
This is why American Refrigeration Inc. is your best choice for installing your new distillery equipment. Our team has significant experience in working with companies of all types for installing large-scale equipment, including breweries and distilleries. When you consider just how many craft brewers and distillers call Oregon their home, you can get a sense of just how many of these types of companies we are fortunate to work with.
We’re more than capable of working with you to handle installation for equipment such as lauter tuns, mash and brew kettles, wort chillers, fermenters, stills, crush pads, wine presses, aging tanks, filtration systems, stainless steel tanks, holding tanks, refrigeration tanks and so much more.
Professional assistance is crucial in the installation process
Perhaps the two biggest reasons why it’s so important to work with a professional team when installing new distillery equipment is that it will help you get the job done faster and safer. When we work with distilleries to install new equipment in their facilities, we oversee every facet of the installation process, allowing for it to go as seamlessly and smoothly as possible. This allows you to get your equipment up and running as soon as you can so you can start making beer, wine and other spirits in no time at all. If you’re already on tight production deadlines, our work ensures you’ll be able to continue to meet those deadlines even when debuting brand-new equipment in your facilities.
It’s also important to know you can rely on your installation team to get the job done correctly and safely. Any accidents or errors could set your distillery back by days or even weeks, so accuracy is just as important as efficiency when it comes to the installation of your new equipment.
Our team doesn’t just plop your equipment down in the place you desire it. We make sure it’s properly integrated with all of the other distillery equipment you currently have making up your system. We take the time necessary to calibrate and fine-tune all of your new equipment to prevent any potential troubles once you have it up and running. We’ll even take care of all the peripheral services to make sure you get an installation that encompasses all your needs.
