Today, technology is a normal component of everyday life. It proliferates every aspect – either assisting us or providing us with a service or product. In the beverage market, technology helps to promote one product over another. It also helps to make one company more successful. In the brewing industry, the right beer filling equipment is one component in a company’s arsenal to keep the company one-step ahead of their competition.
What Is Filling?
This may seem a silly question but it deserves a closer examination. Bottle filling is a simple task in theory. It involves a machine packaging a liquid product. A beer-filling machine fills the bottles or cans with the craft company’s brew in much the same a similar (or even identical) machine would fill their containers with water, juice or a carbonated beverage.
Yet, the actuality is not the same as theory. It is more complex than that. The act, if not the term, is rife with so many variables. For a craft brewer, before purchasing a beer-filling machine, he or she must consider such things as:
* Containers – bottles, cans or both
* Caps, lids or other devices
* Precision – this is essential when it comes to preventing profit loss due to over or under filling of the beer
* Cost of the beer filling equipment – in both the short and long term
* Other components integral to the overall packaging process e.g. labelling
In addition to this, breweries now also need to consider the environmental impact of the product’s container and packaging. Consumers are looking for greener solutions.
Beer Filling Equipment: Technology, Compatibility and Co-ordination
Technology is making strides forward. High quality machinery is available that can address many of the problems facing craft brewers. Manual and automotive options are a case in point. Flexibility is another component of the new brand of brewing technology. It recognizes the need for differentiation, compatibility and affordability.
In the scheme of things, the filling machinery is one component of the process. All need to work efficiently and as a single system to produce the perfect packaged brew. Co-ordination between every piece of equipment before and after the bottling process is essential. The wet and dry areas must meet in perfect harmony if the company is to provide what the consumer wants; when he or she wants it; in the amounts they demand at the level of quality they expect it.
Technology has increased the ability of machines to fill the bottle or cans precisely. They make certain the levels of CO2 pressure are correct and maximize the hygienic aspects of filling. This does not mean the current line of beer filling equipment is perfect, but it does mean we now have a choice of a variety of viable and very efficient and productive types of technology.