Brewhouse Cleaning SOP

Recommendations for cleaning ABE brewhouses.

Cleaning Brewhouse: Guide Lines

Warning: You should always wear proper personal protective equipment anytime you handle chemicals.

Before you start:

Run time, temp. and dilution of chemical will vary with each chemical manufacturer. You will need to reference the chemical label, any literature that came with the chemical, the breweries chemical rep (if applicable) or online for proper use instructions. Ensure you read all literature and warning labels provided.

• You may mix chemicals directly in the vessel you are about to clean or a CIP Cart(if applicable).
• Be sure to adjust pump speed to allow the CIP spray ball to hit the entire vessel. Typically between 50% and 70% depending on vessel and restrictions within the “CIP loop” such as a heat exchanger. Use best judgement. Do not run pumps over 75% to increase longevity of equipment.
• You will need to come in contact with all plumbing as well as the vessel with every cycle. (I.e. CIP ring on mash/lauter tun, vorlauf arm etc.) to accomplish this adjust valves to push through and fill plumbing that will not be included in the “CIP loop”.
• Each cycle will need enough water to supply the pump. Approximately 30 gal. per cycle in 15 BBL vessels, less for smaller vessels and more for larger vessels. Use your best judgement.
• Each batch of chemical may be used to clean more than one vessel based on soil level. Try to maintain temp. on chemical if using on multiple vessels.
• Special instructions per vessel:
• Wort grants: (if applicable) Clean wort grants by themselves by filling them to the brim with chemical at the proper dilution. If you have an auto wort grant you will need to do this at the end because the mash out valve will need to be closed otherwise the mash pump will turn on when water/chemical level reaches the high level sensor. Rinse by spraying it out with hose. This will be a “soak” cleaning rather than a “sheeting” of chemical on the walls of the vessel therefore the times will be doubled if not tripled from cycle times. I.e. twenty minute caustic cycle time = 40 minute to 1 hour soak time. Refer to chemical rep. or directions for specific directions.
• For Whirlpools and Kettle/ Whirlpool Combo: Run each cycle through the heat exchanger and out to the CIP arm. If you can’t get enough pressure through the heat exchanger to get the CIP spray ball to work sufficiently you will have to run separate cycles on the heat exchanger and Whirlpool.
• Fermenters: Usually require less water than brewhouse vessels because the cone supplies the pump more effectively, but the same guidelines on water amounts will work and it is helpful to have a little extra if you are going to be transferring to multiple vessels.
• There are a two different ways to run cycles on fermenters. Option one: run each cycle through all three ports on fermenter. Option two: (if you have enough parts and hoses) to save time you can put a cross or two tee’s on the racking arm and run pump into racking arm. Run hoses off of cross or tee’s to the two other arms. After blasting through racking and blow off arms for a few seconds choke the two valves back to about ¼ of the way open to send majority of the pressure to the CIP arm.(Refer to photo on final page)

Initial Passivation:

• Rinse (Optional)
• Rinse vessel first depending on soil level. I.e. excessive metal or grinding dust or debris.
• Drain
• Drain vessel all plumbing and hoses.
• Caustic Cycle
• Run time, temp. and dilution of chemical will vary with each chemical manufacturer. You will need to reference the chemical label, any literature that came with the chemical, the breweries chemical rep (if applicable) or online for proper use instructions.
• Some customers may want to run a degreaser cycle instead of, before or after the caustic cycle. Either way should suffice for initial passivation only as long as the chemical is compatible with stainless steel.
• Drain
• Drain vessel, all plumbing and hoses.
• Rinse
• Rinse water should be the same temperature as the chemical cycle last ran.
• Fill with rinse water and cycle it which will dilute the remaining chemical. Testing the amount of chemical in rinse water is advised. You may have to repeat this one more time for sufficient rinse. Or rinse through all plumbing and through the CIP arm to drain for about thirty seconds to a minute. This will be a much more efficient rinse because you are not diluting the chemical into all of your rinse water instead you are supplying constant fresh water for rinsing.
• Drain
• Drain vessel, all plumbing and hoses.
• Passivation Acid Cycle
• Run time, temp. and dilution of chemical will vary with each chemical manufacturer. You will need to reference the chemical label, any literature that came with the chemical, the breweries chemical rep (if applicable) or online for proper use instructions. You will want to ensure you are using the passivation directions rather than an acid rinse or acid wash cycle. The amount of acid will be much greater for passivating.
• Drain
• Drain vessel, all plumbing and hoses.

• Air Dry
• Allow to air dry for 12 to 24 hours following chemical directions again for passivating, not for acid wash or rinse.
• Open all manways and valves to allow everything to air dry.
• Rinse (before use of equipment but not until you have had the proper dry time).
• Rinse water should be the same temperature as the chemical cycle last ran.
• Fill with rinse water and cycle it which will dilute the remaining chemical. Testing the amount of chemical in rinse water is advised. You may have to repeat this one more time for sufficient rinse. Or rinse through all plumbing and through the CIP arm to drain for about thirty seconds to a minute. This will be a much more efficient rinse because you are not diluting the chemical into all of your rinse water instead you are supplying constant fresh water for rinsing.
• Drain
• Drain vessel, all plumbing and hoses.

Cleaning Before, During & After Brew Day:

Before:

• Sanitizing Heat Exchanger and Transfer Line
• It is always recommended to make sure that your heat exchanger and transfer lines are cleaned and sanitized prior to brewing.
• There are a couple of ways to do this. (1)The first is to measure out the amount of sanitizer that you will need to sanitize your fermenter (generally 25-35 gallons) plus enough to pack your heat ex and transfer line (5-10 gallons depending on distance to fermenter). (2)The second, if your fermenter is already sanitized, is to measure out just enough to pack the heat ex and transfer line.
• Set up your transfer hoses from the outlet of the heat exchanger to the base of the fermenter. It is recommended that you put a tee with two valves and a sight glass at the end of your transfer lines so when wort is transferred you can divert the sanitizer to the drain until only wort is present.
• (1) Open all valves to the fermenter, leaving the drain on the tee closed, and transfer most of the volume to the fermenter. When you get down to the last couple of gallons, close the valve at the end of your transfer lines and close the inlet to you heat exchanger. Be sure to open the blow off arm to allow air to be displaced.
• (2) Open only the drain valve on your transfer line and transfer most of the volume through the heat exchanger and into the hose. When you get to the last couple gallons and both heat ex and line are packed, close the drain.

During:

• Cleaning Tops of Rakes and Grist Hydrator (if applicable)
• There will be residual grain on the top of your rake and inside your grist hydrator. It is simplest to clean this as soon after mash in as possible.
• The rake can be hosed down with hot water.
• The grist hydrator can be removed to be cleaned in a sink or over a floor drain.
• Sanitizing Fermenter
• Good brewing practice insists that your fermenter be cleaned and sanitized prior to being filled with fresh wort. Typically, this is done during the brew. You can mix up and transfer your sanitizer while sanitizing your heat exchanger. ( See Before)
• Remove all loose parts from the vessel and soak in sanitizer.
• Rinse the vessel with sanitizer as directed by your chemical supplier.
• Rinsing Mash/Lauter Tun
• The best time to clean the mash tun is directly after wort/mash has been transferred to the kettle/lauter tun.
• After clearing grain from the vessel, use a spray hose to clean the sides, top, and floor of the vessel. Push any residual grain or husk material out of the vessel by using a hose and spraying it around the vessel clockwise.
• If available, connect a hot water hose and back flush all plumbing as configuration allows. In the end you should have rinsed any plumbing that you used during the brew.
• Be sure to spray/rinse all drain ports. It is especially common to see residue in the sight tubes after a vessel has been rinsed.
• When the vessel has been completely rinsed you can begin your cleaning cycle per your chemical preference and chemical supplier’s suggestions.
• Rinsing Kettle/Whirlpool
• After your wort has been transferred to the fermenter you can begin cleaning out your kettle/whirlpool.
• Generally, there will be a lot of hop residue and material baked onto the sides of the vessel. Hot water will help remove some of this, but most will be taken care of with a caustic wash.
• Open your edge and center ports and use a spray hose to break up your trub bed and force waste down the drain.
• When the vessel has been completely rinsed you can begin your cleaning cycle per your chemical preference and chemical supplier’s suggestions.

After:

• Rinsing Heat Exchanger
• After a brew it is generally recommended that you perform a back flush of the heat exchanger. This will help clean out any solids, helping maintain good transfer speeds and reducing the frequency of full heat exchanger tear downs.
• To do this, connect a hot water hose to the outlet of the heat exchanger and open the inlet to drain. Then run hot water in reverse through the heat exchanger for 5-10 minutes or until little to no solids are present in a water sample.
• Packing Heat Exchanger
• It is generally recommended to leave the heat exchanger packed with sanitizer when not in use. This will greatly reduce the likelihood of bacterial formation in the heat exchanger.