power outage at a beer plant,what actions?

What went wrong? Was this supposed to happen? Should I throw it out? What do I do now?

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nonra66
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power outage at a beer plant,what actions?

Post by nonra66 »

Let us say we have an industry which manufactures beer and electricity went out for 4 hours what could be the possible problems occuring and how could we minimize this problem.Deep biochemistry needed.Please ineed a speedy response
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Suthrncomfrt1884
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Post by Suthrncomfrt1884 »

I suppose it depends on what stage of processing you're in.

I'm no biochemist, but I'm sure more information would be useful to those that CAN help.
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nonra66
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Post by nonra66 »

very good response i was thinking more at all all stage from the beginning of the process to the end,the posiible things that could wrong.This is because i would want to do a damage control just in case and in a power outage we would not know where in the process we would be.Thanks for the response
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jawbox
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Post by jawbox »

why the arbitrary 4 hours?

Like southern stated it would depend on your stage of process.

1) Heating Liquor, power goes out. No problems.
2a) Mashed in (assuming single temp infusion), not that big of a deal as long as the mash bed stays close to range. I don't loose a single °F over a one hour mash, couldn't imagine you would drop more than a few degrees over 4 hours.
2b) Step mash. This would affect the final product as you may be resting for too long at lower temps which would affect your final wort profile, ie would result in a very dry beer.
3)During Sparge. This could create problems with your lauter unless the temp of your mash bed didn't drop too much. However, this really overlaps with stage two as you would be heating your sparge water during the mash cycle.
4) During boil. This would have the biggest impact. Boil-off, gravity and hopping calculations could be off. There could be a chance of minor infections in the wort. These would get killed once you resumed boil, might be detectable in the finished product.
5) Why do I feel like I just did your homework assignment? :)
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nonra66
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Post by nonra66 »

Thanks for that advice,anyone else have any oponion on this topic,this advice has been really helpful
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slothrob
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Post by slothrob »

You'll need to keep any active fermentations cooled to an acceptable temperature.
You might want to consider a back-up power generator.
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jawbox
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Post by jawbox »

agree with the backup generator.

Do you have frequent power outages?
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Suthrncomfrt1884
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Post by Suthrncomfrt1884 »

I would think fermentation should be safe depending on the volume of liquid. Of course, I'm speaking from a homebrew perspective, but 5-10 gallons doesn't lose but maybe a degree or 2 over a few hours. I'm sure brewery equipment is capable of a much better temp. consistancy.

Brewery standards are a little above homebrewing though. Most recipes have to be exact, with no alterations...so a power outage that causes any temp. drops could be a trashed batch. That depends on if you're brewing for craft or mainstream breweries I suppose.
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nonra66
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Post by nonra66 »

i think what would happen in malt mixer is gelatinization and therfore when moving through the lauter tun clogging colud occur.Another possible occurence could be souring due to microbes
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Generator

Post by bfabre »

You had stated this query in the "Brewing Science" section of the forum also. I am in agreement with getting a backup generator. If you live in an area with frequent outages. It is or should be a very good idea to think about saving up on getting one.
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