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Coppervat Brewing Systems
Capabilities
Process engineering, in-house fabrication, automation and commissioning — the four things that decide whether a brewery runs.
A brewery is a process, not a shopping list. Buying a brewhouse, some tanks and a chiller from three different suppliers usually produces a plant where each piece works and the whole thing does not. Everything below exists to stop that happening.
Process engineering first
Before anything is quoted we build a process model of your brewery: target annual volume, house styles, brew length, cellar turns, packaging cadence. From that we derive vessel sizes, the number of fermenters, utility loads and the shape of the brew day. If the numbers say a smaller brewhouse and more tanks will serve you better, that is what we will tell you — it is a cheaper plant and we would rather sell you the right one.
Fabrication in our own hall
Every vessel is built in our own workshop from start to finish, by the same team that designed it. The surfaces that touch your beer are welded and polished to a smooth, hygienic finish that cleans easily and keeps the beer safe. Every tank is inspected and documented before it leaves the building, and that paperwork travels with the vessel to your floor.
One control language across the plant
The brewhouse, the cellar and the cleaning station all run from the same recipe library and write to the same batch record. A recipe developed on a pilot vessel runs unchanged on a production tank, scaled by the vessel profile. This is the single biggest reason breweries call us back for their second plant.
Commissioning that ends with beer
Installation is not finished when the plant is bolted down. Our engineers run the water test, prove the cleaning cycles, and then brew the first three batches alongside your team until the gravities repeat. Only then do we sign off and hand over the documentation pack.
The process, stage by stage
Every stage below is something we size, build and commission. Select one to see the parameters we hold it to and which systems in the range cover it.
Process flow, stage by stage
Select any stage to read what happens inside it, the process parameters we hold it to, and exactly which systems in the catalogue cover that part of the line.
Grist milling and dry handling
A two-roller mill cracks the husk without shredding it, then a dust-tight auger drops the grist straight into the hydrator. Gap is set from the panel so the same recipe delivers the same crush every single brew day.
Step mashing under recipe control
Steam or electric elements drive the mash through each enzymatic rest. The controller holds every step within a tight band and logs the whole curve, so a recipe written once repeats on any vessel in the range.
Wort separation and sparging
A fine stainless screen and slow-moving rakes draw clear wort from the grain bed without compacting it. The system watches the flow continuously and adjusts itself before the bed can stick.
Wort boiling and evaporation
An internal steam heater gives a rolling but gentle boil at a controlled rate, driving off unwanted flavours while protecting the colour of the beer. Steam vapour goes to a condenser so the brewhouse stays dry and the heat is recovered.
Settling and clarifying
The wort enters at an angle that sets up a smooth rotation, and the solids gather into a tight cone at the centre of the floor. A short rest leaves bright, clear wort ready for cooling, with very little lost.
Heat exchange and aeration
A two-stage heat exchanger takes the wort from the kettle down to fermentation temperature in a single pass, recovering the heat into the hot water tank along the way. Sterile air is added inline, ready for the yeast.
Fermentation and conditioning
Conical fermentation tanks carry the beer all the way from yeast to packaging without a transfer. Two independent cooling zones let different parts of the tank sit at different temperatures, and every tank holds its own setting.
Counter-pressure filling and seaming
A rotary counter-pressure filler purges each can, fills it under pressure and seams it under a carbon dioxide blanket. Low dissolved oxygen pickup is what keeps the beer tasting the same on week six as on day one.
Systems covering this stage
After handover
Spare parts for every system we have built since the company started are held in stock or drawn from an archived drawing. Remote support on the control system is included for the first two years, and our engineers answer the phone.