Brewery Setup Blog

In the broader landscape of the worldwide beer culture, small packs play a key role in delivering a craft brew to consumers. Despite the boom in microbreweries, most beer enthusiasts still enjoy their favorite beer beyond the confines of a taproom, bar, or tavern. With so many options available, brewers must carefully select the packaging that best suits their product. One of the most prevalent choices is bottles - versatile glass containers that come in various shapes, sizes, and colors.

Bottling Preparation

The journey of a beer bottle starts at the brewery, where it meets the finished beer on the packaging line. In most bottling operations, automation takes center stage, with machinery and robots efficiently handling tasks. These mechanical marvels unpack bottles from their shipping packaging, invert them, and thoroughly wash them to eliminate any dust or lubricant residues. Brewers may opt to sanitize the bottles with a microbiocidal sanitizer, or in some cases, a blast of hot water at around 80-85°C does the trick, both ensuring food safety for the beer.

Precision Filling

As the bottles are prepped, they're lined up and introduced into the filling machine. Here, a filler arm lowers and seals the bottle's opening. A vacuum is applied, followed by the infusion of CO2, typically repeated to achieve a bottle filled with approximately 99% carbon dioxide. Alternatively, a touch of liquid nitrogen can be introduced, rapidly transforming to gas and displacing virtually all oxygen, resulting in a 99.9% N2-filled bottle.

The Art of Filling

Beer is then carefully introduced into the bottle via a tube, which can be short or long. The long tube filler, by filling from the bottom up, minimizes the beer's exposure to any residual oxygen inside the bottle. However, due to various practical considerations, short-tube fillers are more commonly used in the industry. Thanks to prior evacuation and CO2 infusion, only minimal oxygen remains in the bottle.

Precision Pressure

Filling continues through a counter-pressure method, whereby the bottle is pressurized to match the finished beer's pressure, and a valve opens to allow the beer to flow in. A relief valve ensures excess pressure escapes, stopping the filling process when the beer flows from the filler or when a liquid sensor is triggered. At this point, remove the filler arm, and inject a very small squirt of sterile water to create a foam cap. Before the foam settles, place the cap on the bottle, and use a sleeve to ensure a tight seal. The filled and sealed bottle advances to an inspection area, where the liquid level is meticulously measured.

As the craft beer industry continues to boom, mastering the art of small-pack beer production remains an essential skill for brewers to meet the needs of beer lovers.