Troubleshooting Red Flags in the Brewery

How much time do you spend firefighting?

Being responsible for processes and production in a brewery will often mean you spend your valuable time resolving operational issues. However, effective problem solving depends on knowing where to look for anomalies, inefficiencies or mistakes - however hidden they may be.

Consider this, is it possible that you might overlook certain areas as potential causes for production issues? 

The precise control of the steam that is heating your process could be one of those hidden impacts. 

Below are some ‘red flags’ that could indicate you have an issue with steam temperature control:

• Your process takes a long time to warm up
• You may find that you have to clean more regularly or use an increased amount of cleaning chemicals
• You have taste/taint/colour issues with your product

Are you experiencing these problems? Perhaps you have tried different avenues to resolve them without being entirely successful?

If so, you should take a closer look at your steam temperature controls. The increase in the temperature of the steam that is heating the wort in your kettle should be precisely controlled. 
A requirement of most recipes is that the steam temperature should be ‘tracked’ by the temperature of the wort itself. 
In other words, the steam temperature should gradually increase at a similar rate to the raising temperature of your wort. This relationship must be carefully maintained to control the Maillard reaction and caramelisation taking place.