Five new yeast tanks at De Brabandere Brewery
Today, five new 165,000-litre yeast tanks have been installed at our brewery. This installation was a real feat with a transport over water and the public road, but was brought to a successful conclusion without any problems. The new tanks were installed because the demand for beer continues to rise. This investment brings the total capacity of De Brabandere Brewery to 350,000 hectolitres.
Transport
This morning at 6 o'clock the first 2 tanks of 15,000 kilograms and 23 metres in length were loaded onto an inland barge in Menen and sent to the quay in Harelbeke. No sinecure because the water of the Lys is very high due to the abundant rainfall of the past weeks. An additional 800 tons of weight was loaded and the captain's cabin was removed from the ship to prevent the ship from passing under the bridges over the river Lys.
From the quay in Harelbeke, the yeast tanks were loaded onto trucks and transported over a distance of 800 metres under special transport to the site of Brewery De Brabandere. Two gigantic cranes ensured that the tanks ended up in the right place - in spite of the wind coming up.
Investments
The investment of several millions was necessary to meet the rising demand. "Belgian beers are still very popular both at home and abroad, which means a substantial expansion of our capacity", says Stijn Vermoere, Marketing Director at the brewery. "We currently export to more than 55 countries, including Russia, the US, Chile and Vietnam. This number continues to rise."
In recent years, the brewery invested in a brand new bottling plant and a cooled warehouse, so the installation of the extra yeast tanks was a logical next step. To give you an idea of the content of the tank: 165,000 litres corresponds to 600,000 fresh Bavik Super Pils pints.
Yeast tank?
A yeast tank or CCT is a cylindrical conical tank with a conical end at the bottom that serves as an outlet point. In these types of tanks the fermentation of beer takes place: the process in which most of the fermentable sugars are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide.