Going from home brewing to establishing micro brewery - Which equipment needed?

[KombuchaEU]

Hi there!

I've been brewing Kombucha at home for quite a while now. Because I enjoy it so much I have been toying with the idea of opening a Kombucha micro brewery here in Europe. Only question now is what equipment do I need here, and I am mainly talking about the fermentation tanks.

What I have figured out so far is that I probably need different tanks for first and second fermentation. For the first fermentation I am thinking a simple food grade stainless steel tank with an outlet on the bottom. For the secondary fermentation I am definitely more clueless since it also has to be able to cool down the content (double walls probably) and carbonate (has to resist some amount of pressure). Any ideas which type of tanks I need for the second fermentation and what features they have to have? Thanks so much!!

Cheers,
Simon

 

[madscientist451]

You have to check with your local regulations, pressure tanks have different ratings/regulations.
You could also pressurize in a keg and chill it in a walk in cooler. This would probably be the lowest cost option if you're just starting out.

Here's a Czech supplier of pressure tanks for beer:

http://www.czechminibreweries.com/p...nents/cold-block/beer-maturation-lager-tanks/

 

[zipper8650]

Do you plan on bottling or on tap only? If on tap just force carbonate in your kegs after primary ferment.

 

[KombuchaEU]

Thanks for the quick reply guys!

@madscientist: Thanks for the link. Very useful to gauge how those tanks look like. In terms of functionality, do you know what the Kombucha process requires of those fermentation tanks (leaving regulatory requirements aside) if they are used for secondary fermentation, i.e. adding the flavor and carbonation. For example, do they have to withstand 3 bar, have to have such and such monitoring functionality, etc.?

@zipper: Mainly planning on bottling. So the CO2 would be added after the second fermentation while the Kombucha is still in the tank (probably around 700L). Do you know how the tanks need to be designed to allow such procedure and what other equipment might be essential here? Thanks a lot!

Cheers,
Simon

 

[zipper8650]

Sorry, I do not