Practical Handbook for the Specialty Brewer: Fermentation, Cellaring, and Packaging Operations Volum

CHAPTER 3

Racking Room Operations Bob August Majestic Packaging Solutions

1. What is racking?

The term racking “is applied to the process of transferring beer from storage tanks to transport containers” (Vogel et al., 1946, The Practical Brewer, p. 141).

2. What is the general procedure in racking room operations?

The objective of racking operations is to transfer finished beer or ale into kegs or casks, often of various capacities, while maintaining the utmost integrity and quality of the final packaged product. Figure 3.1 shows full Sankey kegs exiting a racking line after being cleaned and filled in a series of steps described later in this chapter.

Of primary concern is a clean and sanitary workplace. Since draft beer is not pasteurized in the package and is seldom flash-pasteurized or sterile-filtered, cleanliness should be the brewer’s highest priority.

Beer should be properly finished for its style and within specification before it is released for racking. If the beer is fully carbonated, it should be racked as cold as possible without freezing. If carbonation is to occur in the keg or cask, it should be racked at the appropriate cellar temperature.

3. What are some general considerations for establishing a racking operation?

The finished beer tank should be located near the filling equipment, if possible. If the tank is placed sufficiently high above the filling equipment, gravity delivery may be possible. If the tank is below the racking 161

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Figure 3.1. Full kegs exiting a racking line.

line, or if the tank outlet is below the filling equipment, a pump should be used. The pump should be specified to deliver the product at a rate marginally above the maximum requirement of the line and at a pressure adequate to maintain carbonation (at least 15 to 20 psig above the equilibrium pressure of the product).

If beer is supplied directly to the racker without a pump, the tank may have to be pressurized to 15 or 20 psi higher than the beer equilibrium in order to get the racker to provide calm filling. Therefore, if the beer equilibrium pressure is 10 psi, the tank must be built to withstand 30 psi. If a pump is used between the tank and the racker, the tank could be built to withstand 15 psi and the pump could supply the additional pressure required. The racker would see the higher process pressure but not the tank. A tank built to 15 psi is considerably less expensive than a tank built to 30 psi.

If the finished beer cellar is some distance from the racking line, a small buffer tank can be included. The buffer tank should be constructed to the same standards as the finished beer tank: it should be sanitary in design and capable of meeting the pressure requirements of the racking operation. A good installation requires additional pumps, level indication, and usually computerized flow controls, introducing a level of sophistication that small breweries may wish to avoid.

Accommodations should be made for storage of the product, once packaged. The storage temperature should be maintained at or near the

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filling temperature. Warmer storage is not recommended. If the product is carbonating in the keg or cask, it may be moved to cooler storage once it has matured, to maintain freshness.

4. What U.S. federal regulations govern draft beer?

Federal, state, and local regulations governing draft beer should always be thoroughly investigated by the brewer before a product is released to the public. Some general guidelines to federal regulations are presented below. For complete information, the reader is advised to consult the U.S. government publications listed at the end of the chapter.

A keg must be permanently labeled with the brewer’s name. The place of production must be permanently marked on the keg, bung, or tap cover or on a label securely affixed to the keg. For breweries with multiple production facilities, the place of production can be part of a list of all locations, as long as it is not given less emphasis than any of the others.

If more than one location is shown on the keg, the place of production must be indicated by printing, coding, or other markings on the bung or tap cover or on a separate label. The coding system must allow a government official to determine where the keg was produced. The code must give a street address if the brewery has more than one operation in the same city. The regional compliance director must be notified before a coding system is used. A label or tap cover used for labeling must have a Certificate of Label Approval (COLA).

Alcoholic malt beverages must be marked, branded, or labeled with the following information: brand name class and type designation name and address of brewer (may be stamped or branded on the container) country of origin, if the product is imported name and address of the importer, if applicable name and address of the packer, for malt beverages packed for the holder of a permit or a retailer net contents (stamped or branded on the container) alcohol content, if required by state law health warning statement No statement of payment of internal revenue taxes may be shown.

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5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the various types of cooperage?

There are two basic styles of kegs: open systems and closed systems.

Each has its advantages for some brewers. Kegs of both styles are also made of various different materials, the particular advantages and disadvantages of which are described below.

Keg style a. Open systems. Open kegs are characterized by their barrel shape and open filling system, in which the keg is filled through a hole in its side. Once a keg is filled, a wooden or plastic plug called a bung is hammered or driven into the opening, sealing the keg. The bung must be removed for cleaning.

There are essentially only two remaining dispensing systems for open kegs in the United States: the Hoff-Stevens design and the Golden Gate design. These designs do not require automated cleaning or filling systems, and the only automation commonly available for these kegs is for cleaning. Manual inspection after cleaning is still necessary.

The open system is suitable for the addition of hops to the keg (dry hopping) and the addition of finings to cask-conditioned products. b. Closed systems. Closed kegs are easily identified by their typically straight sides and handled upper chimes. They have a single valve incorporating two ports, one for the product and one for dispensing gas.

Closed kegs lend themselves to fully automated lines and labor savings.

Unlike open kegs, they can be filled so that the finished package contains only a very low level of dissolved oxygen. Closed kegs can be cleaned and filled manually, but manual operations are not recommended if the full benefits of these kegs are to be received. Unlike open kegs, closed kegs are not easy to inspect.

Composition a. Wood. Wooden kegs have all but disappeared in the United States, although some brewers have begun using bourbon and wine barrels as aging vessels. Wooden kegs add complexity to the flavor of the finished product, and they provide novelty in the presentation of the product. They do not require automated filling or cleaning systems. However, wooden kegs are the most difficult system to maintain. Because of their rarity, it is no longer easy to repair them, except where a skilled cooper-

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smith is available. Wooden barrels are heavier than metal kegs of like size.

They are not suited to high-pressure delivery systems. They can require unusual tapping equipment not likely to be recognized in the trade. The uniformity of the volume of barrels can be questionable. Thorough cleaning and sanitation are impossible. Wood can shrink unless kept damp during storage. Dried-out wooden kegs can leak. The interior surface of the keg must periodically be pitched, or coated with a mixture of tree resin and cottonseed oil mixed with paraffin. Wooden kegs can provide a satisfying experience, but they are best suited to an environment in which the brewer can maintain complete control over the vessel. b. Aluminum. One of the first materials used for making metal kegs was aluminum. Its primary advantage is its light weight. Aluminum can be shaped into any modern configuration. However, it is very easy to damage. Aluminum is generally corrosion resistant, but it is damaged by most common cleaning agents and by beer. Therefore aluminum kegs are internally coated with paraffin. This requirement makes aluminum unsuitable for closed-system kegs, such as the Sankey, but it has been used in open-system kegs (Hoff-Stevens and Golden Gate), which do not require automated filling or cleaning. c. Coated mild steel. Coated mild steel is not commonly used as a keg material, but it is used in kegs designed for one-way, one-use export trade, in which return to the brewery is not cost-effective. The vessel is coated with a material that prevents any exchange between the product and the mild steel interior. The exterior is usually painted to protect against corrosion. These kegs are more dent-resistant than aluminum kegs. Almost all of these kegs are of the closed style, so that it is difficult to inspect them for damage to the coating if they are used repeatedly. d. Stainless steel. The most common and desirable material in modern keg production is stainless steel. It is suitable for both open and closed systems. Once it has been properly pacified (“pickled�), stainless steel is relatively inert in contact with beer. Stainless steel kegs can be cleaned with all cleaning chemicals commonly used in the brewery. It is often easy to repair these kegs. They are relatively light but very durable and strong. It is not unusual to find stainless steel kegs that have been in the trade for 50 years. Stainless steel kegs are often the most expensive, but the cost should be weighed against their long service life. e. Variants. One variant is the polyethylene or vulcanized rubber over metal keg. This design is typically used for closed-system kegs, but

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Figure 3.2. Kegs with rubber chimes (left) and with steel chimes.

not exclusively. The internal metal component is usually stainless steel.

The advantage of this design is its superior insulating qualities and easy handling and stacking. The polyethylene or vulcanized rubber protects the metal component from some damage, and metal of a lighter weight can be specified, to reduce the cost. The drawback is that the coatings are easily damaged, and dirt and bacteria can hide in damaged areas.

In another variant, only the chimes of the keg (the rims at the top and bottom) are coated with polyethylene or vulcanized rubber (Figure 3.2). The chief advantage is resiliency in the most commonly damaged component of the keg. The disadvantage is that the coating can easily be cut, and damaged areas create lodging points for soil. In extreme cases the material can become detached from the body of the keg.

A third design is polyethylene containers used as small take-home packages. Plastic packages have cleaning and structural problems, such as cracking and scratching, which limit their service life. However, their small size and convenience have made them popular packages, especially with brew pubs.

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Figure 3.3. Golden Gate kegs, showing the bunghole (left) and the tapping valve (right).

6. What are Sankey, Golden Gate, and Hoff-Stevens kegs?

Golden Gate and Hoff-Stevens kegs are open-system kegs, while the Sankey is a closed-system keg. The names refer more to the tapping system than to the keg itself. These kegs can be constructed from most of the materials described above. a. Golden Gate keg. The Golden Gate keg is now rare, although it was common on the West Coast 20 years ago. It has a characteristic barrel shape and a bunghole for filling (Figure 3.3). It has two valves—one on the side near the bottom of the keg, for dispensing the product, and one on the top of the keg, for injecting gas. There is a small sump leading to the lower valve. The two valves are typically identical in construction.

The bottom valve can be fitted with a small snorkel intended to empty the keg more completely. The valves are held in place with a threaded brass ring. Some older valves are threaded directly into the keg. The threads can easily be damaged by impact to the keg, but it is possible to repair them.

The valve employs a rotating disk with a sealing washer. The disk is most commonly semicircular or shaped like a bow tie, but it is sometimes round, with a small port for tapping. The disk is engaged by the tapping apparatus and turned 90 degrees to open. The sealing washer and O-ring should be periodically replaced, although this regular maintenance is

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sometimes neglected. Removal of the valve often reveals otherwise unreachable soils. The automatic cleaning equipment available for these kegs was not designed to clean through the valve, as should be done. Thorough cleaning can be accomplished manually by employing a tapping device attached to a detergent pump by a hose. Attaching the device and running detergent through the valve would contribute to superior cleaning. However, it is very dangerous to do so, as it places an operator very close to pressurized detergents and relies on the operator’s careful attention to avoid mishaps (remembering to turn off the pump before disengaging, properly attaching the tapping device to avoid leaks, attending to the condition of hoses so they don’t burst, etc.). The best and safest method of cleaning is removal of the valve, complete disassembly, and detergent soaking.

Some brewers prefer Golden Gate kegs for traditionally drawn caskconditioned beers, because of the two-valve arrangement. The upper valve is opened to the atmosphere, and the beer flows out of the lower valve under the force of gravity.

A brewer who intends to distribute Golden Gate kegs outside the brewery or pub should first find out whether distributors and accounts can still work with these kegs. b. Hoff-Stevens keg. The Hoff-Stevens keg is similar to the Golden Gate, with one major exception: a single valve is used for tapping.

This keg was once popular on both coasts but is less common today. It is still used, although primarily by old-guard regional and craft brewers. An externally threaded fitting containing the valve is welded to the top of the keg. The valve has two ports, each blocked with a separate spring-loaded ball. The tap utilizes two short spears, which open the check valves as the tap is fixed to the keg. The larger port is for dispensing the product, and the smaller port is for gas. A plastic tube is connected to the product port and extends to the bottom of the keg. This tube must be flexible in order to avoid damaging contact with the filling device. Even with great care, the tube can be damaged during filling, so that tapping will be impossible.

Like the Golden Gate keg, the Hoff-Stevens keg was not designed for automatic valve cleaning. Both types of valves are susceptible to the same accumulation of contaminants unless they are serviced regularly.

The plastic material used for the dispensing spear in the Hoff-Stevens keg does not hold up well to steam sterilization.

Some brewers have modified Hoff-Stevens kegs to convert them for use with a Sankey valve. This modification has advantages and disadvan-

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Figure 3.4. Sankey keg.

tages. The valve design is more sanitary and sturdy, but the barrel-shaped keg is not completely compatible with the Sankey valve. The bung must still be removed for draining and cleaning, because the replacement valve does not occupy the lowest point of the keg when it is inverted. It is impossible to completely remove cleaning agents through the Sankey valve alone. The rigid valve spear will also interfere with the insertion of a conventional racking arm, unless the valve is relocated to an unconventional position. c. Sankey keg. The Sankey keg (Figure 3.4) has become the keg of choice for most brewers. First introduced in the 1960s, it became widely used by the late 1970s. There are some variations in the valve in different parts of the world, but the general function is the same. In the United States, the Sankey system is the most common configuration, with the English Grundy system as an occasional variant.

Sankey kegs are identifiable by their straight sides (there are exceptions) and sturdy chimes. The upper chimes are formed with holes for easier handling. Most Sankey kegs are made of stainless steel. The valve is centrally located on the upper portion of the keg. It has a spear that reaches nearly to the bottom of the keg. The keg and valve are designed for fully automated cleaning and filling, with great improvements in pack-