When your final product depends upon consistent chiller temperature settings, it’s vital to know what the temperature setting should be to get the job done. The question is: What is the right temperature for a chiller?
The answer will vary between industries and products. At J.C. Younger, we have decades of experience and knowledge manufacturing chillers for many applications, and we work with you to make sure your chiller system operates at the most efficient temperatures. There are standards for the different applications within some industries, and we can help you decide upon the right chiller model to produce your final product with successful results.
1. Beer Chiller Temperature Setting
The steps for crafting the best tasting beers require a variety of different temperatures throughout the entire process. From mashing to storage, temperature control is vital in crafting good-tasting beers. For the distinct flavor of wines, fermentation temperature control is critical.
The Beginning Process: Mashing to Boiling
After the malt, mashing is when it all begins for the crafting of beers. “How hot (or not) things get when you mash can totally transform your finished beer. Understanding how mash temperature affects the final body and finish of your brew can help you adjust your mash to the styles of beer you’re making and create tastier, more enjoyable beer.”
Lagers vs. Ales: The Fermentation Temperatures Varies
Depending upon the brew you want to produce, temperature settings vary during fermentation and onto cold crashing. “Temperature is the single biggest and most important variable you will deal with when it comes to your fermentation.”
Lagers require “colder fermentation,” somewhere around 50 °F (ca. 10 °C) up to 56 °F (ca. 13 °C), results in a “slower fermentation.”
Ales require “warmer fermentation,” in the range of 60 °F (ca. 16 °C) up to 68 °F (ca. 20 °C), resulting in a “faster fermentation.”
Improving the Clarity with Cold Crashing
Another brewing practice, cold crashing, helps “to improve the clarity of the beer prior to transferring out of fermentation.” During this process, the temperature of the brew needs to come down between 32 °F (0 °C) to 34 °F (1.11 °C), and that requires the chiller temperature to be at a lower temperature, somewhere between 26 °F (-3.33 °C) to 30 °F (-1.11 °C).
Oxidation at Any Step Affects Taste
Throughout “the brewing process, from the brewhouse, to the fermentation cellar, to the packaging line, and even within the bottle in storage after packaging,” oxidation is always a concern. Even once a beer is capped off, the varying temperatures can have a profound effect on the shelf life of certain beers.
2. Wine Chiller Temperature Setting
Consistency is crucial for wineries when it comes to producing their signature labels of wines. It’s never ideal for a winemaker to incur varied temperatures during fermentation when making a particular wine. Red and white wines require different fermentation temperatures, and you can find minimal variations of these temperatures that depend upon personal taste.
Red Wines
Red wines go through a warmer fermentation process that can vary from 68 °F (ca. 20 °C) up to 89 °F (ca. 32 °C). The varying temperatures affect the color, body, and tannins. You never want your fermentation process to go over 89 °F (ca. 32 °C). A chiller temperature of 60 °F (ca. 16 °C) is a good recommendation for red wine fermentation.
White Wines
White wines can be from either red or white grapes with the skins removed. The temperatures can vary between 54 °F (ca. 12 °C) up to 72 °F (ca. 22 °C), with the lower temperatures maintaining “the fruity and individual character of the grapes themselves.” You may even find others with lower lows. As a general rule, the chiller temperature for white wine fermentation can be at 45 °F (ca. 7 °C).
3. Agriculture
From food-related applications to the dairy industry, different chiller temperatures are necessary that must remain consistent. The food industry may require just below freezing up to approximately 54 °F (ca. 12 °C). In the poultry industry, the recommended chiller temperature is 36 °F (2.22 °C) up to 40 °F (4.44 °C). The dairy industry uses a rapid cooling process from high-temp pasteurization to storage at 38 °F (3.33 °C).
4. Medical and Pharmaceutical Industries
Chillers for the various applications in the medical and pharmaceutical industries must maintain extremely-low temperatures up to -40 degrees. Medical equipment can also rely on chillers for a source of cooling down, with chiller temperatures depending upon the equipment and how often it is in use.
5. Data Centers
Data centers house expensive servers and other computerized equipment, requiring efficient cooling systems. To keep these massive producing heat machines cool and efficiently working, “the most recent recommendation for most classes of information technology (IT) equipment is a temperature between 18 and 27 degrees Celsius (°C) or 64 and 81 degrees Fahrenheit (°F), a dew point (DP) of -9˚C DP to 15˚C DP and a relative humidity (RH) of 60 percent.”
When you’re looking not only for a quality-built chiller system but you’re also looking for a chiller partner who has the expertise and knowledge for accurate chiller temperatures to assure exceptional production results, the team at J. C. Younger is here for you. We welcome your questions, and we look forward to serving you.
