Why Glycol Is So Important for Beer Brewing
Beer production has a unique process that works with different elements to achieve consistent and reliable results. Like any specialized process, making beer requires unique machinery to help achieve the perfect brew.
During its fermentation process, beer must spend long periods under certain weather and temperature conditions that glycol can help it reach. Glycol is important for beer brewing for multiple reasons; the fermentation process would fail without it.
Fermentation Process
The fermentation process is necessary to create beer. During the process, yeast converts glucose into ethyl ethanol, giving the beer its consistency and carbonation. The fermentation process relies on different factors, like yeast strains and precise timing.
Glycol plays an important role in creating a beer with a unitank fermenter because it regulates the temperature to make it ideal. This liquid is necessary for daily operations and will constantly run through the fermentation tanks to help them maintain a constant temperature.
Temperature Control
During the yeast fermentation process, the temperature should range from 18–20 degrees Celsius for the yeast to properly develop and not acquire any atypical flavors. The fermentation tanks must maintain this temperature for a long time; it is hard to know a precise time, which is why you need a hydrometer.
A hydrometer will tell you when the fermentation tank releases CO2, which means the carbonation process is done and the beer is ready. You need a mix of glycol and water to achieve and maintain below-freezing temperatures. Glycol is ideal for this process since it has a low heat capacity and will also remove heat from the water.
Ideal Flavor
Exposing beer to air during the fermentation process could ruin your batch, and using the same yeast is impossible, which means you will lose time and money. Glycol is important for beer brewing because, in addition to maintaining a constant temperature and repelling heat, it won’t change the flavor of the beer.
Even after the beer is ready, you must keep it at a low temperature to retain its flavor; trying to cool a warm beer will ruin it. Beers can have different flavors depending on the mix of ingredients, but the fermentation and the use of glycol are essential.