Filtration Products Increase Craft Beer Quality and Expand Production Capacity

The craft beer business is booming, thousands of craft beer producers are looking on how to increase the quality and the profitability of their products. According to the Brewers Association, overall beer production in the U.S. only increased 1% in 2021, but craft beer sales growth was close to 8%. Small and independent craft brewers now make up 13.1% of the total U.S. beer market production volume, and almost 27% of the total retail dollar sales ($26.7 billion). Similar trends in craft beer demand and production are also happening in countries throughout the world.

^{This article is posted on our Science Snippets Blog}

Producers new to the craft beer game, or those looking to expand from microbrewing to a higher and more consistent production volume to keep up with the growing demands, face challenges to:  

• Increase production capacity and save time
• Reduce total costs
• Increase product stability  
• Maintain and even increase product quality
• Increase flexibility to produce multiple beer styles (IPA, pilsner, light, and dark)
• Demonstrate sustainability  

As consumer demand increases for high-quality craft beer, the right filtration system provides significant benefits to established and growing businesses.  

What Makes Craft Beer Production Unique (and Challenging)

Craft beer production is a unique industry. Many people who own craft beer brands come from various backgrounds outside of beverage manufacturing. Expertise comes over time with continual learning. They begin by making their own craft beer as a hobby or small side project, then watch it grow into a full-scale business.  

When the business is small, a simple production facility with basic equipment is enough. But as demand increases, the challenge of maintaining product consistency, stability, and quality while achieving cost targets gets harder without a foundational knowledge in large-scale beverage production, and advanced filtration equipment to achieve production targets.

The Benefits of Filtration for Craft Beer Production

Finding the right filtration system as you scale up production is essential to maintain quality and avoid costly errors.  

Save time and increase production capacity

Equipment with high filtration area and regeneration efficiency allows microbreweries and small craft beer producers to process at least 10 to 40 hL per day and eliminates clogging problems that bring production to a halt. It also allows uninterrupted filtration of 100 hl or more at flow rates of 25–40 hL/hour for bigger craft beer producers. Finally, it reduces stabilization time by as much as 50%, which is one of the most time-consuming steps in craft beer production.  

Add flexibility for multiple craft beer types  

Different products also require different separation technologies for clarification, including:  

• Decantation over time
• Centrifugation
• Kieselguhr filters
• Sheet filters
• Cartridges filters

For smaller craft beer producers, the cost of separate equipment to make multiple beer products isn’t feasible. Filtration products that support flexibility with multiple filter types are essential in scaling up production for small and medium-size craft brewers or improving efficiency in an existing local or regional production facility.

Lower total production costs

With the right filtration technology, producers can materially increase throughput and operational reliability and reduce downtime from common issues like filter sheet clogging and oxidation. Robust cartridge structures and wide chemical compatibility for all materials leads to higher efficiency and lower total costs per batch, even after multiple chemical regeneration and back-flushing cycles.  Plus, the right filtration solution can replace the Kieselguhr equipment to significantly lower total costs.  

Increase product stability and quality

Multiple factors in the production process can affect the taste, quality, aroma, and appearance of craft beer:  

• Microbiological contamination
• Hop-creep (refermentation)
• Oxidation
• Alterations from pasteurization or preservatives  

These factors are harder to control as production volume increases, making it difficult to manufacture a stable and reproducible product. With the proper prefilter and final membrane filters, producers can ensure that beer is free of yeast cells and even bacterial population. This increases shelf life and makes it possible to expand the geographic reach of craft beer producers to find new customers.  

At the same time, it’s essential that the filtration process does not interfere with the taste or quality of the beer. Completely inert materials like stainless steel filtration systems and all-polypropylene cartridges will not impact product quality. A closed filtration system also allows for CO2 oversaturation to prevent oxidation risk, and reduced maturation time avoids hop-creep and refermentation.

Create a sustainable production process

The environmental impact of craft beers can be as important to your consumers as the taste, aroma, and color. A proper filtration setup can:  

• Reduce the environmental impact via a feed pump with inverter and calorie recovery through heat exchangers on the CIP System
• Reduce water consumption for an efficient cleaning and regeneration using backflushing with pulsation, combined with an adequately dimensioned washing pump
• Lower energy consumption and low noise levels with enhanced technology

Discover More Benefits of Filtration for Craft Beer Production  

Sartorius offers the Jumbo Star solution and a range of products to meet the unique filtration requirements for microbreweries and craft beer producers. Whether you are scaling up production in response to higher demand or want to improve efficiency and lower costs in your existing production process, our Field Application Specialists can help. Contact us to learn more about our craft beer expertise.