{"id":23998,"date":"2026-01-27T11:37:46","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T11:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/summitsystems.co.uk\/process-cooling\/?page_id=23998"},"modified":"2026-02-19T15:04:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T15:04:41","slug":"breweries-distilleries","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/summitsystems.co.uk\/process-cooling\/industries\/food-beverage\/breweries-distilleries\/","title":{"rendered":"Breweries"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Brewery Cooling Systems <\/span>\n <\/h1>\n \n \n
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Industrial glycol chillers and process cooling systems for breweries and distilleries –\u00a0engineered for precise fermentation temperature control, wort cooling and energy-efficient operation.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n

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Process Cooling Systems for Breweries<\/h2>\n

Temperature control is fundamental to every stage of the brewing process. From cooling hot wort after the boil through to maintaining stable fermentation temperatures and conditioning beer in brite tanks, each stage demands precise, reliable cooling to protect product quality and ensure batch-to-batch consistency.<\/p>\n

Summit Process Cooling designs, supplies and installs brewery cooling systems built around the specific thermal demands of your brewhouse, fermentation hall and packaging line. Whether you operate a 5 BBL microbrewery or a large-scale production facility, we engineer cooling solutions that match your current capacity and allow for future expansion.<\/p>\n

Our brewery cooling systems are built around propylene glycol chiller technology<\/strong> \u2014 the industry-standard approach for food-safe, sub-zero process cooling in brewing environments. We supply packaged air-cooled<\/a> and water-cooled chillers, glycol distribution pipework, pump and tank sets<\/a>, and temperature control systems<\/a>, all integrated as a single turnkey solution or supplied as individual components to upgrade an existing cooling plant.<\/p>\n

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Where Brewery Cooling Systems Are Used<\/h2>\n

Cooling is required at multiple points throughout the brewing process. Each stage has different temperature targets, flow requirements and load profiles, and the cooling system must be designed to serve all of them reliably without overspecification or unnecessary energy consumption.<\/p>\n

Wort Cooling<\/h3>\n

After the boil, wort must be cooled rapidly from around 95\u2013100\u00b0C down to yeast pitching temperature \u2014 typically 10\u201320\u00b0C depending on the beer style. This is usually achieved using a plate heat exchanger (PHE), with cold liquor or glycol on the cooling side. Rapid wort cooling reduces the risk of bacterial contamination during the transfer to fermentation and helps achieve a clean, predictable fermentation start.<\/p>\n

Summit supplies and integrates plate heat exchangers as part of the brewery cooling loop, sized to match your batch volume and target cooling time.<\/p>\n

Fermentation Vessel (FV) Jacket Cooling<\/h3>\n

During active fermentation, yeast produces significant heat as it metabolises sugars. Fermentation temperatures must be held within a narrow range to control ester and phenol production \u2014 typically 18\u201322\u00b0C for ales and 8\u201314\u00b0C for lagers. Temperature deviations of even 1\u20132\u00b0C can noticeably affect flavour profile and fermentation performance.<\/p>\n

Glycol is circulated through the cooling jackets of fermentation vessels to remove this metabolic heat. The glycol supply temperature is typically maintained between \u20134\u00b0C and \u20136\u00b0C, using a propylene glycol concentration of around 30\u201335% to prevent freezing while maintaining efficient heat transfer.<\/p>\n

Our systems provide individual temperature control per vessel, allowing different fermentation profiles to run simultaneously across your FV bank.<\/p>\n

Crash Cooling<\/h3>\n

At the end of fermentation, many brewers drop the vessel temperature rapidly \u2014 often from fermentation temperature down to 0\u20132\u00b0C over 24\u201348 hours. This crash cooling step encourages yeast and protein to flocculate and settle, improving beer clarity before transfer. Crash cooling represents the peak cooling load for most breweries and must be factored into chiller sizing to avoid overloading the system during this period.<\/p>\n

Conditioning and Brite Tank Cooling<\/h3>\n

Beer transferred to conditioning or brite tanks is held at low temperatures \u2014 typically 0\u20133\u00b0C \u2014 for carbonation, maturation and clarity. Glycol-jacketed brite tanks require a consistent, low-level cooling supply to maintain these temperatures, particularly in warmer months when ambient heat gain increases.<\/p>\n

Cold Liquor Tank (CLT) Cooling<\/h3>\n

Many breweries use a cold liquor tank as a thermal buffer \u2014 storing chilled water (typically at 2\u20134\u00b0C) that is used for wort cooling and other process demands during the brew day. The chiller replenishes the CLT during off-peak periods, reducing the peak electrical demand on the cooling system and allowing a smaller chiller to serve a larger brewhouse.<\/p>\n

Summit designs brewery cooling systems that integrate CLT storage where appropriate, balancing capital cost against operational efficiency.<\/p>\n

Cold Room and Packaged Product Storage<\/h3>\n

Temperature-controlled cold rooms for finished beer, raw ingredients or yeast storage may also be served by the central glycol loop or by dedicated split systems, depending on load and layout.<\/p>\n

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Brewery Cooling Equipment<\/h2>\n

Glycol Chillers<\/h3>\n

Air-cooled<\/a> and water-cooled packaged chiller units, sized from 3 kW to 1,400 kW cooling capacity. Our brewery chillers deliver glycol at stable sub-zero temperatures, with inverter-driven compressors and modulating capacity control to match the fluctuating cooling demand typical of brewing operations \u2014 from low overnight loads through to peak crash cooling periods.<\/p>\n

We supply chillers from leading European manufacturers including Frigel and Hitema<\/a>, selected for reliability, energy efficiency and serviceability.<\/p>\n

Plate Heat Exchangers<\/h3>\n

Single-stage and two-stage plate heat exchangers for wort cooling, sized to your batch volume, boil temperature and target pitching temperature. Two-stage configurations use cold liquor in the first stage and glycol in the second, achieving lower wort temperatures with greater energy recovery.<\/p>\n

Glycol Pump and Tank Sets<\/h3>\n

Custom-built pump skid and glycol buffer tank packages<\/a>, designed to match your system flow rate, vessel count and distribution pipework layout. Available in single-pump or run-standby configurations for critical applications where uninterrupted cooling is essential.<\/p>\n

Temperature Control Systems<\/h3>\n

Individual vessel temperature controllers<\/a> with setpoint programming for fermentation profiles, crash cooling schedules and conditioning holds. Systems can include remote monitoring and data logging for process traceability and quality assurance.<\/p>\n

Glycol Distribution Pipework<\/h3>\n

Full mechanical installation of insulated glycol flow and return pipework from the chiller plant room to your fermentation hall, conditioning area and any other cooling points. All pipework is insulated to minimise thermal losses and prevent condensation.<\/p>\n

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Brewery Chiller Sizing<\/h2>\n

Selecting the right chiller capacity for a brewery depends on several factors specific to your operation:<\/p>\n