Bubbling to the Top

An Inside Look at the Carbonation Process in the Beverage Industry

You know that satisfying sound (and feeling) you get when you crack open an ice cold can of your favorite craft beer?

Here in the Pacific Northwest, Spring is just around the corner and that means warmer weather is almost here… and soon you’ll hear the glorious sounds of craft brew lovers cracking open a cold one after work, at the lake or just because the weather hits 70 (which in Oregon is comparable to beach weather!)

What makes that satisfying “crack” when you open your favorite cold one? It’s a process called carbonation. There’s a whole process (and a ton of science) that goes into ensuring every can is perfectly carbonated. 

To learn more about this critical process to not just the brewing industry, but also other fast-growing beverage categories such as kombucha, soda and other carbonated beverages, we spoke with Peter Schultz, a long-time G&D Customer who uses our glycol chillers in the carbonation process.

Peter is the Vice President of Sales for TechniBlend, a leading supplier of beverage and liquid processing equipment & systems utilizing cutting-edge technology, innovative components and optimal design features to serve the food & beverage industry, based out of Waukesha Wisconsin (just outside of Milwaukee). 

We spoke with Peter about the basics of carbonation, how it works and why chilling is a critical part of the process.

Can you explain your business and what it is you do in the beverage industry?

Our subsidiary ProBrew provides processing equipment which includes carbonation systems, brewing systems, any type of process work for craft beer and craft beverages in general. We have recently expanded into other beverage categories like kombucha, NA beer and ready-to- drink cocktails. We also make can fillers for filling product beyond the beer industry.

Can you explain the basic process of carbonation?

To carbonate a product such as beer or cider, ProBrew measures the flow of the liquid to know how much CO2 to put into the solution. The operator puts in how many volumes of CO2 they want in the product, and then they use a flow meter and a flow control valve to add the right amount of CO2 to the product. As part of the process, it’s easier to keep CO2 in the solution when it’s colder. This is mainly due to CO2 saturation, meaning that the colder it is, the easier it is to keep the CO2 in the solution. Therefore, we use a glycol chiller from G&D Chillers to cool the product while carbonating it, making it a more stable product and helping to keep the CO2 in solution.

What are the biggest challenges when carbonating beverages?

The biggest challenges when carbonating beverages are temperature control, pressure, and dissolved oxygen. If there is too much dissolved oxygen in the product, it can lead to the carbonation getting out of solution. Therefore, it’s important to maintain low dissolved oxygen levels, the right temperature, and the right pressure.

Why do you need a chiller for carbonation? Do you always need a chiller? How important is the type of chiller in the carbonization process?

A glycol chiller, like the ones we use from G&D Chillers, is needed for carbonation as it helps cool the product while adding CO2, which keeps the CO2 in the solution. Using a glycol chiller when doing in-line filling is a huge time saver.

Can I use my current chiller? Why or why not?

It depends on the type of chiller you have and how well it can maintain the required temperature for carbonation. A glycol chiller, like the ones from G&D Chillers, is ideal for the carbonation process as it can cool the product while adding CO2.

Has this process changed at all over the years?

Brewers used to use a brite tank and bubble CO2 up into the tank to carbonate the product. Nowadays, it’s more common to use an in-line carbonation system that goes right to the filler, making the process much faster. We’ve been a customer of G&D for the past six or seven years and we’ve been very happy with your product and service. We definitely save our customers a ton of time and money using your glycol chillers in the carbonation process.

Last, but not least

We love whenever we get a chance to speak with our customers and learn more about their craft – whether it’s brewing, winemaking, distilling or most recently, learning all about the dairy industry.  Even though we’ve been producing the hardest-working glycol chillers used in the beverage industry for over 30 years, we always learn something new. And with the rise of new beverage brands and categories seemingly every time we turn around, we know carbonation is going to become even more of a critical process in our industry in the years to come.

Thanks Peter for chatting with us and giving us a peek into your world. Keep up the good work!

About TechniBlend

TechniBlend is a leading supplier of beverage and liquid processing equipment & systems utilizing cutting edge technology, innovative components and optimal design features to serve the food & beverage industry, as well as the consumer products, and household & personal care industries. TechniBlend continues to develop new & innovative technologies aimed to deliver quicker changeovers, greater flexibility, higher yield and improved product quality while producing a great rate of return on investment.

TechniBlend offers a variety of inline blending & beverage processing solutions designed to meet a wide range of throughputs and product requirements. Our multi-stream blenders perfectly blend high-to-low blend ratios, or to target Brix, TA or other beverage parameters for Ready-to-Drink cocktails, vitamin waters, functional beverages and soft drinks.

We offer a full range of our new LoDO (Low Dissolved Oxygen) Deaeration technologies based on vacuum-spray-diffusion, nitro or membrane deaeration systems to improve beverage manufacturing processes by delivering finished product DO content below 250 ppb (parts per billion). This helps producers run fast, run warmer, package more stable product with longer shelf life.

Our beverage processing systems & solutions also include ProCarbTM inline beverage carbonation & nitrogenation, CIP On-DemandTM, Flash Pasteurization, ABV continuous blending and proofing, fully automated batch blending processes, and more. Our products, services, and technologies are world-class solutions that guarantee you outstanding results.

About G&D Chillers

Since 1993, G&D Chillers have been manufacturing glycol chillers specifically for the commercial brewing, wine, dairy, cannabis, food processing and manufacturing industries. We are proud to provide chillers for our industry leading customers such as Ninkasi, Sara Lee, Angry Orchard, Stumptown Coffee, Jim Beam, Samuel Adams, Boeing and Brew Dr. Kombucha.  With well over 6,000 clients across the U.S. and beyond, we’ve built high-quality chilling units for specialty installations throughout the United States, Canada, the Bahamas, India, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Turkey, and the West Indies. No matter what your cooling needs are, whether you require a permanent installation, a portable chiller or a heater, we engineer the finest quality chilling systems in the USA. For more information, visit www.gdchillers.com.