Microbreweries - New in India

Microbreweries, brewpubs have recently been allowed in some States of India. A microbrewery has been installed in India's first brewpub at Hotel Galaxy in Gurgaon, Haryana. The Equipment was imported on turnkey basis from China.

Microbreweries are modern breweries with a two vessel combo brewhouse producing limited quantity of beer per day. The maximum amount of beer such a brewery can produce and still be classed as a microbrewery ,varies by region, is usually 5000L/day or 50HL/day. There is no bottling or preservatives in this beer. A variety of beers can be produced – lagers, ales, porters, stouts. Fresh beer is produced before you and you can drink it directly ( from the tap).

Microbreweries can be installed in restaraunts, pubs, hotels, clubs or malls. The space requirement is approximately 0.1 sq.mtr. per litre capacity (excluding malt milling and malt and other raw material storage ). Microbreweries can be designed for installation on single or split levels – as per customer’s requirement and availibility of space.

The microbreweries equipment is mainly imported into India. The equipment from Europe or other western countries is expensive when compared with Chinese equipment.The Chinese equipment quality and technology is very good with relatively simpler systems and ease in operation.

With the opening up of the microbreweries sector in some states in India there are many persons making a beeline to establish brewpubs. Most such persons have little or no knowledge about microbreweries or the beer making process. It being a new concept in India and therefore an attractive business venture, one finds many consultant companies mushrooming and offering turnkey projects and technical services.

Most such companies are offering consultancy and turnkey projects , with Chinese equipment, in India to set up these microbreweries. The installation, commissioning and training is part of the contract with the equipment supplier. You should know that its possible to get various qualities of equipment at varying price levels from China. Prices alone should not be the primary factor for buying the equipment. The quality of materials and technical specifications of equipment is very important. Beer production requires rust free and very hygenic conditions.

A few words to the new aspiring entrants in this field :-
Choosing your Consultant company -- Do not go by just website or catalogues or meetings. Check out their past performance. Ask for detailed resume of the Brewing technologists/technicians of these Consultants. Ask for references.
Assessing the Chinese equipment manufacturer -- Visit the factory in person and see for yourself the equipments in production and in finished stage. Ask for customer profile of the supplier and of years of experience in the field of manufacture and overseas turnkey projects. Ask for detailed equipment list and technical specifications of materials and physical technical specifications. Ask for testing methods of equipment in production and in-house test reports ( the information would be in chinese language, however, its still possible to understand the basic information).
Equipment material ( Tanks, pipelines, valves etc.) where the beer passes should be stainless steel SUS 304 only. The outer of tanks can be other material according to price and customer requirements ( however, for Brewpubs I would recommended to use SUS 304). Plastic pipelines material wherever required and used must be Food Grade only.
Equipment List must include the brewhouse tanks, fermentation tanks, ice water tanks, bright beer tanks, CIP (clean-in-place) tanks, Filteration machine ( Indian tastes prefer filtered beer ), PHEs (Physical Heat Exchangers), Refrigeration machine ( get an extra one as standby since its a very important requirement in beer production), Boiler (if using steam), Electric Cabinet with all controls, PLC touch type process controller (using Siemens or equivalent technology), all necessary pipelines, valves, motors, pumps, gauges, meters, electric wiring, beer dispensing equipment. Necessary spare part items also must be specified.
Discuss the production capacity and production process base of the quoted equipment.Cycle time for brewhouse, fermentation tanks, holding time of ready beer.
Surface finish to be specified by client.
RO water is required for beer production in areas where water supply does not meet standards. This is to be provided by the client.
Client must have atleast two reliable staff for operation of brewery to undergo training from equipment suppliers technicians. The training should include assembling of the equipment, process of beer producing, filteration and storage, beer dispensing, cleaning and hygeine, record keeping of process and raw materials. Educational background of these personnel should be atleast science graduates.
Happy Brewing !!!