Fermentation Temperature Control is the 4th most important thing to master for brewing consistantly great beer. Numbers one two and three are Cleaning and sanitation.
Pro breweries typically use a propylene glycol chiller system to keep beer at a consistent temperature. Fermentation vessels are jacketed, or are double walled and have coils, or soft tubing that a glycol solution flows through to chill the beer to optimal fermentation temps, and maintain that temp. A thermostat is set and the system pumps glycol which removes volumes of heat from the fermenter, carried by the glycol then released through compression and evaporation. It is similar to an air conditioner, except focused on the vessel itself, and not the environment. I will attach a video that explains the system if you are interested.
I have been looking at a few glycol systems and am trying to troubleshoot problems so that we can avoid expensive repairs and downtime. One major thing to do involves the plumbing layouts. We will need to have by-passes in the plumbing so that if a pump breaks, or a thermostat fails, or there is a problem with the chiller, we can still control the temperature in our other tanks, only losing production in the one tank. This seems like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised how many breweries lack this bypass.
It is simply a matter of some plumbing and a few valves, but I want to be sure we include this in the process.
Here is quick YOu Tube video for y'all. I love watching this stuff.
Glycol Chiller System How it Works
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