The Smell of Brewing Success:
Trust Your Nose to Check Your Hose

You may be thinking, 'these beer hoses look just like any other hose', but in the hospitality industry where the quality of food and drink is paramount - especially in brewing - the materials and the manufacturing processes can drastically impact your end product. In fact, those of you in the brewing industry have nowhere to hide when it comes to the consumer, you can pull a pint, but you can’t pull the wool over their eyes.

The cost of poor choices

When you discover that strange odours appear to be tainting your beer, you'll very likely find that those issues can be traced back to using inappropriate materials in the process. A prime example of an inappropriate material is Nitrile Butadiene Rubber (NBR) which is suitably engineered for fatty foods and dairy applications, but it is not ideal for your precious brewery, as over time, the liner naturally degrades.

Technical explanation

If you're wondering why it all sounds so complex, the reason lies in the properties of different hose compounds, which play a vital role in brewing. NBR works perfectly for oils and fatty liquid-based products, but often not the best for beer, as its unique composition reacts differently to this liquid. While choosing something that appears practical and, on the surface, appears to be a less expensive option, you'll actually find over time, that the liner in NBR hoses can break down and filter through unwanted elements into a brew, negatively impacting taste, smell and the overall finished quality.

Unfortunately, it’s not just the lining material that'll do your brewing a disjustice, the manufacturing process is equally important in influencing brewery hose quality. Did you know that some manufacturers cut costs by using industrial-grade steel mandrels instead of stainless steel to form so-called food-safe hoses? Believe it or not, in some cases, these mandrels are not sufficiently cleaned between production runs, leading to contamination from oils, dirt, or even foreign bodies such as insects. Reports have even documented debris or imprints of insects on the hose liner itself. Watch out for initial signs such as greasy, dirty liners, strange odours, or premature cracking as lower-quality materials begin to break down.

Fillers and releasing agents

We've found that some manufacturers add fillers, such as chalk, talc, calcium carbonate and others to the base material, just so that they can save a bit of money! While this might well reduce cost, it also impacts the reliability of the hose. The degradation caused by fillers is not immediately visible, but over time, if your hoses contain these additives, they may develop micro-cracks, decay more quickly, and release unpleasant odours into your beer.

To produce mandrel-built rubber hoses, its critical for a manufacturer to use releasing agents to prevent sticking during the removal from the 40m long mandrel and ensure a smooth hose liner finish. However, if your manufacturer uses a non-FDA-approved releasing agent, it can filtrate into the hose liner and seep into your beer. Even though it may be slow, the contamination can produce subtle ‘off-flavours’ and smells in your final product. As you'll know consistency and quality are paramount when it comes to brewing, and if you are greeted with spoiled brews, disruption in your production line, and a waste of ingredients, its going to become a large and costly issue very quickly.

Understanding the value of quality

“But isn’t a hose just a hose, with different price tags attached?” No. Just as two beers are never the same, this also applies to hoses in that not all are created equal.

Choosing the right hose (or pint!) is not about price; it’s about ensuring quality. Why would you choose great ingredients and ruin them with inferior equipment? The focus should be on delivering excellence in every batch of beer produced, over cost.

If you invest in high-quality hoses designed specifically for brewing, you'll be safeguarding the taste and aroma of your beer as well as your brand reputation. You may think that cutting corners is more cost-effective upfront, but the long-term consequences such as contamination, unpleasant odours, and premature degradation that you'll meet along the way, can be far more expensive. As the old saying goes, “Buy cheap, buy twice.”

To save your sanity and ensure peace of mind, listen to the experts who say you should always choose a Butyl (BllR) lined hose like those in the Genuine Brewflex® range, over NBR, Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) or a plastic hose.

The bottom of the glass

A very simple way to assess the quality of your brewery hoses to preserve the craftsmanship and quality of your beer is to check your hose with your nose. Why? Because if your hose has a strong chemical, rubbery or musty smell, it could mean that low-quality materials or fillers were used in its production, or it could be very nearing the end of its lifespan. If a hose smells off, your brew might too.

An easy way to check is to take a new hose and smell the interior, then compare that odour to that of the current installation. The ideal aroma should be neutral or barely noticeable. Don't let your brew take on unwanted flavours or unpleasant odours from faulty or ageing hoses. If something smells 'off', it’s possibly time to replace it.

So, don’t ever think, “Screw it, just brew it” - give your hose a sniff before you start your next batch of beer and avoid compromising the quality. The last thing you want is to spoil the craft you’ve worked so hard to perfect. A simple check could protect your product and reputation while saving you from a brewing and financial disaster.