An unusual application of a Horstmann motorised central heating zone valve in an in-house brewery.
The James Street Brewery, situated in the famous Bath Brew House public house, is a six-barrel micron brewery, which is fully on show in the Brew House and which supplies beer to both the venue as well as its sister pub in Bath, ‘The Cork’.
The mash tun, liquor tank and copper are located on the ground floor with the three large fermenting vessels located on the floor above in the glass fronted Tank Room.
It is here that the three Horstmann ZonePlus Z series motorised valves are located, each controlling volumes of cooling water flowing around the jacket of the fermenting tank to ensure precise temperature control of the fermenting beers is maintained.
Head brewer at The Brew House is Anna Schwable who learned her craft in Bavaria. Anna said: “We primarily brew two featured beers – ‘Gladiator’, a 3.8% abv best bitter and ‘Emperor’, a 4.4 abv hoppy pale ale. That said we also brew seasonal ales that often feature unusual ingredients and small batches for events such as Burns Night or Halloween, so it is quite varied.
“Each is brewed to its own individual recipe, predominantly using finest English hops but importantly, each brewing process is finely tuned.
“The Horstmann ‘blue’ valves, as we call them, are directly connected to thermostats that monitor the temperature of the fermenting beer in the tanks and, being a 24/7 operation, control cooling water in the tank jackets which is regularly introduced to maintain the optimum fermenting temperatures. A simple process, but one that is all important to the quality of the finished product.”
The valves featured are Horstmann Z322 mid position diverter valves that are part of the re-designed Horstmann ZonePlus range. They feature a Hansen Class F synchron motor, industry standard fittings and wiring and an easily replaced ‘clip on’ actuator. A brass body and thermoplastic motor cover ensure long life in the warm, yet damp, environment of the tank room.
For more conventional applications in the plumbing and heating sector, ZonePlus valves are available in two and three port versions for 22mm and 28mm pipe dimensions.