Abstract

The effectiveness of multiple cleaning in place (CIP) procedures was observed from different local breweries in the North East of England. Experiments were also carried out to investigate possible reductions in chemical, water and energy use with regards to CIP, without compromising the effectiveness of the CIP performed. The effectiveness of CIP cycles was quantified using Hygiena’s UltraSnap adenosine triphosphate (ATP) swabs, with a relative light unit (RLU) tolerance of <10-30 indicating a clean vessel. It is recommended that microbreweries use at least a 2% v/v dilution for caustic CIP cleaning cycles (based on a ~32% wt caustic liquor) for 35 min to ensure a thorough clean. High temperatures (40-60°C) did not indicate an improvement in cleanliness levels over ambient temperature water (10-20°C) over the 35 min cycle time. A single pass of 100 L of rinse water is adequate for vessels up to 1200 L to ensure removal of caustic residue and should be followed by a sterilisation stage. These recommendations are based on a final acid sterilisation cycle with 1% v/v dilution of a 5% wt Peracetic Acid (PAA) for at least 10 min. Reductions in the usage of caustic liquor, water and energy (heating) for caustic CIP cycles could yield microbreweries savings of over £1000 annually.

Key words: Cleaning, optimization, microbrewery.