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North Slope Chillers

Industrial Water Chiller Systems

Archives for August 2019

Lautering in Brewing

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Temperature control is a vital part of nearly every step in the beer-making process. From boiling to fermentation, all brewers have to stay in charge of heat. 

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Hops being added to hot wort before wort chilling and fermentation

During the lautering phase of brewing, temperature control plays a critical role in ensuring flavors are developed correctly. Without control, beer flavors can vary and develop unwanted tastes and textures.

Lautering is broken up into three steps:

Mashout

Mashout is the term used to describe the heating of mash. Doing so helps liquify the mash and stop the fermentation of starches within the mash. This is where temperatures get precise. Optimum temperature of mashout is 170° F, which kills off bacteria that was formerly assisting the fermentation process. 

Recirculation

Once wort liquifies, it’s best to recirculate it through the mash repeatedly. The mash acts as a filter, catching small pieces of grain and other debris leftover from earlier phases of the brewing process. Recirculation is best performed by draining wort water out from the bottom of the mash and spraying it back over the top.

Sparging

Sparging is the most delicate part of lautering because any errors will significantly impact the flavors of the brew, especially the bitterness levels. Water is sprinkled on top of the grain to extract sugars that will be vital to beer taste. 

There are two methods of sparging, English and German. In English sparging, the wort is completely drained from the mash. Once the wort is removed, water is added to the mash. This time, the water is held at exactly 169° F. Eventually, the water can be drained and either be added to the wort or be used as its own light brew. 

In German sparging, water is added at the same rate as the wort is being drained from the mash. The main difference between English and German sparging is that German sparging generally results in a larger quantity of beer. 

Cold Control

keg cooler

Using temperature control equipment during lautering is important to protect these sensitive chemical changes. North Slope Chillers specializes in equipment brewers need to stay in command of their brew. Using Keg Coolers and Beacon Control technology takes the pressure off brewers as they move forward into the next part of beer-making, leading to a brew that drinkers can’t help but drain to the last drop. 

Contact North Slope Chillers to find the right temperature control equipment for your brewing needs at (866) 826-2993 or [email protected]. 

Conformal vs Conventional Cooling

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Injection molds are wonderful things. You can create nearly any object using an injection mold, but knowing the difference between different cooling options will make all the difference.

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conformal cooling
Conformal cooled mold for a power drill. Image from www.ogm.uk.com

Using injection molds to manufacture objects is a technology well-known across the world. Injection molds use cooling channels to allow molded objects to cool quickly, leading to faster turnaround times as more objects are quickly molded.

Know Your Cool

There are two types of cooling channels that are incorporated into injection molding: conventional and conformal. 

Conventional

Conventional cooling, also known as standard cooling, consists of straight line cooling channels that are generally located in the center of the object, regardless of the object’s shape.

Conformal

Conformal cooling channels follow the shape of the interior of an injection-mold object.  

Conformal is the obvious choice for most injection molds. Compared with conventional cooling channels, conformal cooling allows for greater heat transfer due to the cooling channels filling out more of the interior of the object. On the other hand, conventional cooling only cools outward from the inner center of the object, taking away less heat. 

Save Time, Save Money

conformal cooling
This injection mold contains a conformal cooling system. Notice how the cooling channels curve along the shape of the mold. Image from www.3dsystems.com

So why is this important? Because time is money. When your injection molded products need to cool, it takes a lot of time to come down from the high temperatures achieved during the injection process. The longer it takes to cool down, the longer it will be before you can get another mold made.

Several companies around the world have striven to perfect conformal cooling technology in their manufacturing processes, but none have been successful as The LEGO Group. In 2010, a study was completed by the toy company to see if conformal cooling was as effective as other methods when using injection molds to create LEGO brick elements. The survey revealed that conformal cooling was the method of choice. While its cooling effectiveness was matched by bronze inserts, conformal cooling proved to allow for higher quality bricks to be produced. 

Complete Control

Maintaining control over temperatures is critical in any manufacturing environment. Trust North Slope Chillers to meet your cooling needs. For more information, call (866) 826-2993 or email [email protected].