Top 10 best brewhouse of 2022?

What is a brewhouse?

Brewhouse is the place where people to brew beer. A brewhouse consists of all of the components or procedures (usually named as vessels) necessary for brewing.

Different sizes and configutations of brewhouse

Depending on the production scale, brewhouses are divided into home brew, nano brewe,  micro brew and brewery plant. Small home brew systems refer to those looking to produce smaller quantities of beer. Nano or Micro brew systems are smaller commercial projects. These brewery plants are full production facilities built to produce mass quantities of beer for large-scale distribution.

So the size of the brewhouse depends on the production capacity and the size of your facility. Some typical units of measurement of brewhouse systems include:
Beer Barrel – BBL, Gallon – GAL, and Hectoliter – HL.
1 BBL = 31 GAL, and 1 HL = 0.85 BBL

Brewhouses are typically measured and named by the number of vessels. For instance, a 2-Vessel brewhouse may have a Mash/Lauter Tun combination vessel paired with a Kettle/Whirlpool combination vessel. On the more advanced end of the spectrum, a 4-Vessel brewhouse would have Mash tun, Lauter tun, Kettle Tun and Whirpool tun independently working. The setup that you choose depends on the brewing volume per batch, the space that you have, and of course your budget. Below are some main configurations of brewhouses depending on the number of vessels:
2-Vessel Brewhouses
Mash/Lauter Tun Combination vessel + Kettle/Whirlpool
Mash/Kettle Tun + Lauter/Whirlpool
3-Vessel Brewhouses
Mash/Lauter Tun Combination vessel + Kettle + Whirlpool
Mash tun + Lauter Tun + Kettle/Whirlpool
4-Vessel Brewhouses
Mash tun + Lauter Tun + Kettle tun + Whirlpool tank

What other components are in a brewhouse?

Hot Liquor Tanks

The hot liquor tank (HLT), also named as hot water tank. It is a tank that heats the sparge water to a desired temperature for mashing. The size of the HLT’s volume is mainly two times bigger than the volume of the brewhouse. For example, for a 5HL brewing volume per batch, you would use a 10HL HLT. Hot Liquor Tanks are made from stainless steel, same as the brewhouse vessels.

Mash Tuns / Lauter Tuns

The Mash/Lauter Tun is a vessel used to mash the malt with hot water to create wort. The mash tun is a vessel where mashing takes place and wort is separated from the grains. Mash and lauter tun vessels are made from stainless steel.

Brew Kettles and Whirlpools

Brew kettles, also known as boil kettles, are vessels in which the mash is boiled to a specific gravity and hops and other flavorings will be added on and after. Some chemical reactions take place in the boiling process, such as wort concentration, isomerization, and enzymatic-stopping.

Whirlpool is the tank where proteins and vegetable matter from the hops to settle and collect in the center. Through collection in the whirlpool, it will be easier to remove the undesirable trub from the wort. The clear wort is then pumped through the heat exchanger into the fermentation tanks.

Heat Exchangers

Heat exchangers, sometimes also named wort chillers/coolers, are the plates through which to cool the wort from about 98 centigrade to yeast-pitching temperature in short time. In order to pitch the yeast and get the fermentation process begin, the wort must be cooled firstly to a optimal temperature for fermentation for different beers.

Modern breweries usually use a plate heat exchanger, which has two ridged plates with two separate paths. One path is for the wort, and the other is for the cooling medium, which is water mainly. Plate heat exchangers are made of stainless steel. Depending on different brewing capacity, an appropriately sized plate heat exchanger will be needed to properly cool the wort before it is transferred to the fermenters.

Fermentation tanks

Fermentation tanks, also referred as fermenters, FV, CCT, are aging tank where yeast is pitched into the wort and effectively turns into beer. The wort is pumped into this tank through a heat exchanger and then added to the previously pitched yeast where it can begin fermenting. Depending on your brewing volume, fermentation period of time and flavors of beer, you may need different quantity of fermentation tanks. Fermentation tanks are also made of stainless steel, with manholes on the top or at side. Unitank fermenters are used for both fermenting and lagering.

What are the top ten best brewhouses all over the world?

1. Alfa Laval

Alfa Laval is a leading global provider of first-rate products in the areas of heat transfer, separation and fluid handling. With these as its base, Alfa Laval aims to help enhance the productivity and competitiveness of its customers in various industries throughout the world. We define their challenges and deliver sustainable products and solutions that meet their requirements – mainly in energy, the environment, food and the marine industry.

2. GEA Group

GEA is one of the world’s largest systems suppliers for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical sectors. The international industrial technology group specializes in machinery and plants as well as advanced process technology, components and comprehensive services. A major focus is on continuously enhancing the sustainability and efficiency of customers’ production processes. GEA plants, processes and components help achieve significant reductions in carbon emissions, plastic use and food waste in production worldwide. In this way, GEA makes a decisive contribution toward a sustainable future, fully in line with its corporate philosophy of "engineering for a better world". 

3. Krones Group

Krones designs and implements complete lines for beverages and food, which cover each individual production process step – starting from product and container production, filling and packaging all the way up to material flow and container recycling. 

4. Paul Mueller

Paul Mueller Company is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, U.S.A., and was established in 1940, with additional manufacturing and sales operations located in Osceola, Iowa, Groenlo (pictured left), Netherlands, and Vietnam.

5. Meura SA

Design, build and maintain turnkey and modular process solutions for the food, ingredient and beverage industry as well as for the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.

6. Della Toffola

Della Toffola Group is a world leader in the design and construction of technologically advanced solutions for every step in the winemaking process. This vocation is matched by the corresponding
expertise and success of its Food and Beverages, Bottling and Packaging, Dairy, and Water Treatment, Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Divisions.The Della Toffola name has been present in the administration and management of the company and group for three generations, and provides a guarantee of continuity and commitment.

7. Criveller Group

As one of the oldest suppliers of processing, bottling, and labeling equipment in North America, Criveller is recognized not only for high-quality equipment, but also for technical expertise, design services and superior customer service. Their projects are found coast to coast and encompass the microbrewery and winery sector as well as apple cider production facilities, distilleries, pasta sauce production facilities, blending and metering systems for vodka production, tanks and packaging solutions to the bottled water industry and olive oil production.

8. Kaspar Schulz

It began in 1677. The master copersmith Christian Schulz started his own business in Bamberg, supplying brewpubs with “finely forged and hammered copper kettles as a guarantee for quality beer.” During the next 300 years, Christian Schulz’s humble coppersmith business would develop into a successful enterprise in the brewing technology field. Schulz has become a trusted resource in brewing technology and a peerless consultant for a wide-reaching customer base both domestically and abroad. We stand by our principles of expertise and consistency in the industry.

9. Hypro Group

Hypro is a turnkey solution provider for Brewery, CO2 Recovery, Water Deoxygenation Plants, Energy-saving schemes, and Oxygen Rectification Plant with the purpose of building a safer and sustainable future for the next generation. With its innovative approach and technology-driven products, Hypro has made a stellar reputation for itself on the global stage. Hypro has shifted its focus to tackling the rising environmental concerns of the world.  In view of the same Hypro has come up with innovative solutions like Smart Wort Cooler, Multi Evaporation System, CO2 evaporation & condensation that operate to safeguard the natural resources of the planet. Hypro is driven by the passion of making difference to society via innovative technologies thereby maintaining our reputation as a high-class manufacturer in the world.

10. Shandong HG Machinery

An equipment manufacturer who knows beer brewing best.

Shandong HG Machinery Co., Ltd. is a world's leading manufacturer of beer brewing equipment. They produce brewery equipment, beverage equipment and canning/bottling lines, with more than 30 national authorized patents and more than 20 high-tech achievements. A full range of services, including individual equipment and turnkey projects can be provided. All products are in compliance with the ISO9001: 2015 quality management system, have been exported to more than 120 countries all over the world, and have won recognition and praise from customers.

Located in Jinan, Shandong, they have a factory with most advanced producing facilities covering about 18,000 square meters, and have more than 20 years of experience in the brewing hardware industry. As the few companies in China who can provide with both brewery equipments and filling machines, they can supply professional design of process flow chart, plant layout, 3D drawings and excellent after-sales services.