Maintaining a hygienic brewing environment to ensure beer quality is very important for any brewer. This is where a good clean-in-place (CIP) system comes into play.
 
Cleaning in Place (CIP) is a method of automatically cleaning the interior surfaces of pipes, vessels, equipment, filters and related fittings without requiring extensive disassembly. CIP is often used on pipelines, storage tanks, filling machines and other equipment. CIP uses turbulent flow through pipes, or spray balls for large surfaces. Chemical cleaning fluids are pumped or circulated by the CIP through other systems or equipment to clean brewery equipment. Therefore, the purpose of CIP is to provide cleaning capabilities to other process systems or equipment without requiring any equipment to be moved or dismantled.
 
Depending on the system and products being cleaned, your CIP can be as simple as a stand-alone skid-mounted system cleaning a small circuit, or as complex as a large complex system providing cleaning for multiple production lines simultaneously.
 
Transportable CIP skids are particularly useful in distributed CIP systems. All the equipment needed for clean-in-place is mounted on compact, self-contained slides that can be easily transported and used anywhere in the brewery. The mobility of this type of system gives users considerable flexibility in their cleaning operations, making them an excellent solution for breweries with a limited budget or those doing on-site cleaning for the first time.
 
The full features and capabilities of a CIP system are highly dependent on needs and budget. Understanding your needs and budget will help determine whether you need a basic system or a complex one. Highly automated CIP systems save resources and provide a higher overall return on investment than simple manual systems.
 
The more complex the CIP system (more tanks, more advanced controls), the greater the initial investment in purchasing and installing the system. However, a CIP system is an investment that can provide long-term returns. Each time a cleaning cycle is allowed, you regain valuable production time previously lost to slow, inefficient cleaning operations.
 
For large breweries, saving just a few minutes of cleaning time each week can generate thousands of dollars in additional production. Depending on cleaning frequency and product value, many breweries will typically see a full return on their CIP system investment within 1-2 years through weekly cleaning time savings.
 
Purchasing and installing the right CIP system for your brewery can be a daunting task. You need to analyze and plan your brewery’s cleaning steps and choose the most suitable partner.
 
Still have a problem on choosing the brewery equipment? We can help with your final decision. If you are looking for a turnkey solution for craft beer brewing system, please contact us. We are looking forward to working with you. Send an email now: [email protected]