A brewery’s output is only as good as the weakest link in its transfer system. Selecting the right hose is not a minor procurement detail, it is an essential strategy for strict quality assurance and sustained financial performance. Here is why hose selection matters in breweries
In the brewing industry, massive investments are routinely funnelled into state-of-the-art brewhouses, pristine fermentation vessels, and cutting-edge packaging lines. Yet, the critical links connecting this expensive infrastructure, the flexible transfer hoses, are frequently treated as a commodities afterthought.
Viewing hoses as mere utilities rather than specialised process components is a costly mistake. In reality, correct hose selection is foundational to reducing contamination risk, safeguarding product shelf life, and maximising operational uptime.
Contamination, dissolved oxygen pickup, loss of carbonation and unplanned maintenance downtime are some of the costliest challenges faced by breweries today, which can lead to wasted product, reduced shelf life and expensive operational disruption. But these stressful scenarios can be avoided by a strategic, often overlooked decision of selecting the right hose for each brewery application. With the correct hose technology in place, brewers can safeguard consistent product quality and optimise cleaning processes.
Over the last 20 years, clean-in-place (CIP) and sterilise-in-place (SIP) processes have evolved to be more frequent, use more aggressive chemicals, and operate at higher temperatures than ever before. Therefore, hoses in breweries must withstand repeated cleaning cycles through chemical and temperature resistance, as well as maintain hygiene and deliver long, reliable service life without compromising beer quality.
What defines an ideal hose for brewery applications?
According to Matthew Coultas, business development manager at Aflex Hose, the ideal qualities for hoses in brewery applications include: non-absorbent – does not absorb products or cleaning chemicals that could later leach back into beer; non-leaching meaning it contains no adhesives that can leach through the liner, or an undetected split in the liner, into the product; tasteless and odourless so to preserve flavour and aroma profiles and resistant to biofilm formation
In brewery operations, hoses are exposed to product transfer, repeated filling and cleaning cycles which use aggressive chemicals. Wetted surfaces are routinely subjected to prolonged CIP processes that remove soils and kill bacteria.
These cleaning cycles often last over an hour daily, or after every product changeover, placing significant stress on hoses. It is often the cleaning process that has the most significant impact on hose life and total cost of ownership. The duration of a CIP cycle can also have a significant impact on productivity of a brewery.
The chemicals used in such cleaning operations depend primarily on the nature of the soils (unwanted matter on the surface of food or beverage contact surfaces). These are composed primarily from product residues but may also include: minerals from the water supply; insoluble detergent residues; sticky biofilms formed by micro-organisms, and environmental contaminants such as dust or machine lubricants. These soils provide a nutrient source for bacteria and must be removed.
In brewery environments, yeasts and bacteria can form invisible films on surfaces that are very difficult to remove. As a result, highly oxidising, acidic cleaners and sanitisers are required, such as phosphoric, nitric or hydrochloric acids.
Once soils have been removed, sanitisation is required to destroy residual micro-organisms. Depending on the beverage and process, this may involve steam, hot water, or chemical sanitisers.
Chlorine is the most widely used form of chemical sanitiser and may be applied as liquid chlorine, sodium hypochlorite, or inorganic chloramines. In solution, these form hypochlorous acid (HOCl), whose effectiveness depends on pH, concentration, temperature and exposure time.
Other sanitisers include peroxides, fatty acids, quaternary ammonium compounds, and iodine. Collectively, these impose an extremely aggressive operating environment for hose materials.
Nitrile rubber hoses are widely used due to their low purchase cost, but they begin to deteriorate when exposed to standard CIP cleaning and sterilising chemicals. EPDM rubber hoses are more expensive than nitrile with a better general chemical and temperature EPDM offers improved resistance but still suffers limited-service life.
Silicone hoses provide flexibility and high temperature capability and are common in beverage filling applications. However, silicone can embrittle and release degradation products after exposure to CIP chemicals, compromising product quality.
FEP‑lined rubber hoses offer improved chemical resistance, but adhesive‑bonded liners introduce risks of leaching, collapse and fatigue cracking, particularly in high‑flex or tight‑bend applications.
High-speed bottling requirements
As filling and packaging line speeds continue to increase, unplanned downtime has become more costly. Total cost of ownership must therefore consider far more than initial hose cost such as hose purchase and installation cost; additional non-productive CIP time; lost or out-of-specification product and utility and chemical consumption.
Hose performance also impacts more than just the brewery. When a hose fails, it is often perceived as a machine failure, directly affecting the reputation of the filling machine manufacturer. This makes hose selection important for breweries and filling machine manufacturers.
PTFE-lined hoses outperform PVC, nitrile, EPDM, chloroprene, IIR, silicone and HDPE hoses for the requirements of beverage packaging machines.
Reliable hoses to reduce dissolved oxygen
Mitigating the risk of oxygen pickup is also especially critical during the packaging process that transfers the beer to cans, bottles, or kegs. Some hoses can contribute to elevated levels of dissolved oxygen (DO), which affect the taste of the final product and reduce shelf life of the beer.
For every 10 ppb (parts per billion) of DO there is one less month of shelf life, and the flavour of the beer is compromised.
