CV-300 Compact Two-Vessel Brewhouse – Coppervat Brewing Systems

Description

The CV-300 exists because most breweries need somewhere to be wrong cheaply. Three hectolitres is enough beer to put on tap and see whether the market agrees with you, and small enough that a failed experiment costs an afternoon rather than a month.

Mechanically it is a two-vessel plant: a mash-lauter tun and a kettle-whirlpool, both on one welded frame with a shared pump and a shared control cabinet. The false bottom is the same wedge-wire we fit on the fifty hectolitre machine, cut down — the open area per unit of bed is identical, so run-off behaves the way it will when you scale.

Heating and control

Three eight kilowatt elements sit in a stainless pocket in the kettle floor, driven by smooth proportional control rather than a simple on-off thermostat. The result is a ramp that holds within half a degree of the programmed step and a boil you can dial from a gentle roll to a hard four per cent evaporation.

What it will not do

It is comfortable at two batches a day rather than four, and it is not built for the most demanding traditional mashing methods. If you are already planning a second fermenter before the first brew, look at the CV-1000 instead — the step up costs less than replacing the CV-300 in eighteen months.

Engineering highlights

The mash vessel has a proper stainless screen and a manual rake, so even sticky grain mixes drain cleanly.
The kettle doubles as the settling vessel, which means one less tank to buy and one less to clean.
Single wort pump on a swing arm serves both transfers, cutting hose changes to two per brew.
Same recipe file format as every larger Coppervat brewhouse, so a pilot batch scales without a rewrite.

Specification

Technical data

Technical specification
Model	CV-300
Batch size	3 hL
Total volume	3.9 hL
Working volume	3 hL
Vessel count	2
Max brews per day	2
Heating ramp rate	1.6 °C/min
Shell diameter	1100 mm
Overall height	2450 mm
Design pressure	0.5 bar
Connected load	24 kW
Material	304 shell, 316L product contact
Lead time	10 – 12 weeks
Heating	Electric, 3 × 8 kW elements
Grist case	90 kg with hydrator
Footprint	2,600 × 1,500 mm
Platform	Optional 600 mm mezzanine
Wort pump	Single, variable speed

Dimensions are nominal and exclude platforms and insulation. Voltage, frequency and connection standards are built to the destination market.

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.

The Process

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.

Roller gap 0.9 – 1.2 mm

Grist throughput 600 kg/h

Dust extraction ATEX rated

Systems covering this stage

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.

Step accuracy ±0.5 °C

Rest range 35 – 78 °C

Agitator VFD 0 – 30 rpm

Systems covering this stage

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.

Open area 11 %

Bed depth 320 mm

Run-off time 75 – 95 min

Systems covering this stage

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.

Evaporation 4 – 6 %/h

Boil time 60 – 90 min

Heat recovery Vapour condenser

Systems covering this stage

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.

Inlet velocity 3.5 m/s

Rest time 20 min

Wort loss < 4 %

Systems covering this stage

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.

Outlet temperature 8 – 20 °C

Knockout time 45 min

Dissolved oxygen 8 – 12 ppm

Systems covering this stage

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.

Control band ±0.3 °C

Cycle time 14 – 21 days

Headspace 25 %

Systems covering this stage

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.

Oxygen pickup < 40 ppb

Fill accuracy ±3 mL

Formats 330 / 440 / 473 mL