Technical Session 15: Cleaning and Packaging Session
Jeffrey S Hutchison, Ecolab, St. Paul, MN, USA
ABSTRACT: Cleaning kegs is similar to the CIP of a bright
beer tank, only faster. Kegs are purged, cleaned, rinsed, sterilized,
and filled at simultaneous stations, each cycle typically lasting less
than one minute. To ensure beer quality in the keg, it is critical to be
able to verify that the keg cleaning program is functional and
consistent. Additionally, the keg cleaning operation must be
cost-effective. This includes chemical selection, chemical concentration
control, chemical monitoring, and proper programming for the cleaning
and rinse functions. Excessive chemical use, including caustic loss, may
be due to mechanical or programming issues. This paper will focus on
troubleshooting the performance of a keg line and keg cleaning
operations. It will discuss some real world examples of issues that can
be encountered with keg cleaning and the steps that were used to
identify the root cause of the issues. Corrective actions will be
reviewed with corresponding field results.
Jeffrey Hutchison
received degrees in both chemistry and mathematics from St. Olaf College
in Northfield, MN. He began his career with Ecolab in 2007, working in
the Food and Beverage Division. Since 2010 Jeff has worked as a senior
chemist in the Global Lubricant Development group within Ecolab’s Food
and Beverage Division. Jeff has been able to work both at the lab bench
and in field applications, developing and deploying global conveyor
lubricant solutions for the food and beverage packaging industries. His
work has led to one patent and several patent applications. Jeff has
been a member of MBAA since 2011 and enjoys skiing, traveling, and
performing music in his free time.
Hailing from rural Iowa,
Kenny Gunderman received degrees in both mathematics and philosophy
from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. He has worked at Summit Brewing
Company since 1995 as a bottler, racker, brewer, and now packaging
manager. When time allows, Kenny enjoys spending time with his wife and
two young daughters, as well as pickin’ on an old banjo and playing the
odd round of golf here and there.
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