Why Polyethylene Tanks Are Better Than Steel in Beer & Wine Industries

The traditional choice for storing the materials in making beer and wine is stainless steel, copper, or oak casks. But breweries and wineries are beginning to see the benefits of using polyethylene storage tanks.

What’s causing beer and wine industries to make the shift? Cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) tanks are an ideal solution for breweries and wineries that would rather invest in scaling their business than sinking money into unnecessarily expensive equipment.

Breweries 

Traditionally, breweries use stainless steel for most of the components of beer making. That includes wastewater treatment and storing raw materials such as hops, barley, and yeast. While steel tanks are best for pressurized situations, XLPE vertical tanks are the better choice pre- and post-production.

If you have an open site for customers to view your process, stainless steel and copper tanks are attractive tank features. But XLPE storage tanks provide unique advantages that steel doesn’t offer.

Why are brewers choosing polyethylene storage tanks pre- and post-production?

Consider these four factors:

1. Financial cost. On average, polyethylene tanks cost 80% less than comparable stainless steel tanks.
2. Portability. Plastic tanks are lighter and easier to move. For breweries that plan to scale, XLPE tanks won’t get in your way or slow you down.
3. Rapid delivery. Polyethylene tanks can usually be ordered and delivered within 3-4 weeks. If you order a stainless steel tank, you could be waiting five months or longer.
4. Scalability. Polyethylene tanks are available in a variety of sizes, from 30-gallon to 15,500-gallon tanks. As your brewery grows, you can easily order the next size tank you need and have it quickly delivered. Lower overhead, lower costs, and quicker delivery fit a cost-effective business model.

Poly Processing is a trusted partner for many breweries who won’t trust their wastewater or raw material treatment to anyone else. Our cone-bottom tanks can be fitted with slide gates that let you easily dispense the exact quantity of hops or other raw materials that you need.

For more information about using polyethylene storage tanks in your brewery, contact a chemical storage tank expert today.

Wineries

While Poly Processing’s core business is chemical storage, we apply the same stringent demands for quality construction and fittings to our wine tanks. Our airtight lids and thick durable tank walls give you a cost-effective aging wine tank storage solution for unoaked chardonnay and red wines. After production, they’re a reliable solution for wastewater treatment in any industry.

Cross-linked polyethylene tanks are an ideal solution for storing wine during fermentation and for transporting grapes in gondolas. Our polyethylene tanks are five times less expensive than stainless steel options. They also prevent oxygen exposure better than the thin, low-grade plastic tanks provided by some big-box companies—protecting your entire vintage from turning to vinegar.

Many of Poly Processing’s wine production tanks are FDA-compliant and NSF/ANSI 61 certified. You can order various sizes, from 30 gallons to 15,500 gallons. Some wineries even use our tanks in bioreactor systems to generate electricity to run their operations. They store grape byproducts in the tanks and introduce bugs that break down the skins and create energy, which is converted to electricity and sent back to the winery.

For more information on storing wine, and storage tank recommendations, download our Wine Storage System Guide.