Craft brewers may not be aware of all of the benefits they can achieve from keeping stuff out of the drain. In general, these can include reduced water and wastewater management costs, increased revenues, operational efficiencies and enhanced community relations.
Click on the image below for one example on the multiple benefits from keeping yeast out of the drain. The achievable benefits will depend on the approach used, e.g., simple diversion, racking or a centrifuge.
Water Filter
Boiler
Hot Liquor Tank
Brewhouse
Wort Chiller
Mobile CIP
Fermentation
Centrifuge
Brite Tanks
Filter
Canning Line
Loading Bay
Keg Washer
Keg Filler
Clean Water In
Wastewater Out
Reduced Facility Issues
Enhanced Municipal Relations
Increased Beer Yield
Yeast Management Benefits
Reduced Facility Issues
- Reduce drain odours and clogs
- Reduce corrosion of floors and drains
- Extend filter life (requires centrifuge)
Enhanced Municipal Relations
- Reduce strain on municipal wastewater infrastructure
- Reduce over-strength surhcarges
Increased Beer Yield
- Recover quality beer suitable for sale (requires centrifuge)
Yeast Management Benefits
- Divert spent yeast to feed or other beneficial uses
- Make yeast easier to handle and manage (requires racking or preferably centrifuge)
- Extend beer filter life (requires centrifuge)
CASE STUDY
See How Lake of Bays Brewing Company is Keeping Yeast Out of the Drain
For Lake of Bays Brewing Company, a small brewery in the Muskoka region of Ontario, integrating a centrifuge into their operation was an obvious decision for them. The interesting twist is how they have expanded its application beyond the conventional use, and made it a key part of their resource and wastewater management strategy.
By using the centrifuge to process the spent yeast leaving the fermenters, they are recovering more beer that can be sold. In fact, their beer yield has increased by 3 to 5 percent. The yeast solids are easy to handle, being collected in a small waste vessel before being transferred to a larger collection bin for disposal.
By keeping the spent yeast out of the drain, Lake of Bays has reduced the overall strength of their wastewater, leading to lower costs and future surcharge risks. This has also placed less strain on the local municipality’s treatment system – while also shrinking the scale and subsequent cost of any onsite wastewater treatment system the brewery might choose to consider in the future.
Darren Smith, Owner and President of Lake of Bays, estimates that the payback on the centrifuge, based only on the recovery of more beer, was approximately 18 months. However, if all of the other benefits are taken into account, this is an investment that quickly pays for itself many times over.
