SOP — Fermentation Management¶

FUERST WIACEK Version 1.1 | Cellar — all fermentation tanks | Frequency: throughout each batch

Purpose¶

This SOP covers the management of the Botec fermentation recipe from after knockout through to packaging readiness — including all manual action points, glycol valve swaps, dry hop advancement, and recipe completion after CIP.

Knockout and initial recipe setup are covered in the Wort Knockout SOP. Daily gravity and pH monitoring is covered in the Fermentation Monitoring SOP. Dry hopping procedure is covered in the Dry Hopping SOP.

Fermentation Recipe Steps¶

The fermentation recipe runs automatically for most of its steps. The image below shows the full step sequence.

Step	Manual action required
01 Confirm Connection	Auto
02 Filling FMT	Manual advance — enter volume, then advance to next step
03 Rising Post Filling	Auto
04 Fermentation	Auto
05 Rising	Auto
06 Fermentation, VDK	Manual advance — only after VDK pass and FG confirmed
07 Soft Crash	Auto
08 Ready for Dry Hop	Manual advance — after completing dry hop procedure
09 Dry Hop	Auto (starts counter and cooling) — West Coast: hold until hop creep VDK/FG pass
10 Soft Crash	Auto
11 Dry Hop	Auto
12 Cool Down 1st Stage	Auto
13 Swap Glycol Valves	Manual — swap jackets at ~2°C then advance
14 Cool Down 2nd Stage	Auto
15 Storage	Auto
16 Ready For Filling	Manual advance — set at end of week before packaging
17 Emptying	Auto
18 Wait For CIP	Manual — set when tank is empty after packaging
19 CIP In Process	Manual — set when CIP starts; finish recipe when CIP complete

Action Points in Detail¶

Step 02 — Filling FMT¶

After knockout:

Read the wort volume from Botec and enter it into the recipe. Botec will not activate glycol cooling until a volume is entered.
For a single brew or final wort addition: advance the recipe to Rising Post Filling.
For a double brew waiting for the second addition: hold the recipe at Filling FMT. Advance to Rising Post Filling only after the second wort is in the tank.

Step 06 — Fermentation, VDK¶

This is the key decision point in fermentation. The recipe will stay here until you manually advance it.

Before advancing:

Final gravity must be reached — two consecutive daily readings showing the same Plato, or today's reading equal to or higher than yesterday's. Refer to the Fermentation Monitoring SOP.
VDK test must pass — refer to the VDK SOP.

When both conditions are met, manually advance the recipe. Depending on the recipe, the next step will be Soft Crash, Ready for Dry Hop, or another cooling stage.

Step 08 — Ready for Dry Hop¶

The recipe reaches this step automatically when fermentation and VDK conditions are met for dry hopped beers.

Complete the dry hop procedure — refer to the Dry Hopping SOP.
Advance the recipe to Dry Hop. This starts the dry hop counter and begins automatic cooling.

West Coast IPAs — hop creep: West Coast style beers that are dry hopped warm require additional VDK and FG testing after dry hopping because dry hops can restart fermentation (hop creep). The recipe stays at the Dry Hop step. Only advance when:

VDK passes again
FG is confirmed stable again

Then advance the recipe manually and the crash begins.

Step 13 — Swap Glycol Valves¶

The recipe will reach this step automatically when the beer cools to approximately 2°C.

At this point:

Open the cone valve and the bottom jacket valve (physically on the tank and in Botec).
Close the top jacket valve (if it was open — i.e. for double brew tanks).
Advance the recipe to Cool Down 2nd Stage.

This applies regardless of whether it was a single or double brew. At 2°C, all tanks use cone + bottom.

Step 16 — Ready For Filling¶

When a beer is ready for packaging, advance it to Ready For Filling. This turns off active cooling or holds the tank at 3°C.

Typically set on the last working day of the week when the beer will be packaged the following week.

Steps 18 & 19 — Wait For CIP and CIP In Process¶

When the tank is emptied after packaging:

Close all glycol valves — on the tank and in Botec.
Set the recipe to Wait For CIP.
When the tank CIP begins, set the recipe to CIP In Process.
When the CIP is complete, finish the recipe in Botec to unload it.

Warning

A recipe must be finished before a new recipe can be started on the same tank. Always finish the previous recipe after CIP is complete.

Glycol Valve Logic¶

During Fermentation and Conditioning¶

Fill level	Jacket to open	Cone and other jackets
Single brew (18–24 hl)	Bottom	Closed
Double brew — 1st wort only (18–24 hl)	Bottom	Closed
Double brew — both worts in (36–48 hl)	Top	Bottom and Cone closed

Use only the highest jacket that still covers the wort volume. This maximises cooling efficiency.

When the second wort addition goes into a double brew tank, swap from Bottom to Top: close Bottom, open Top.

At Step 13 — Swap Glycol Valves (~2°C)¶

Regardless of fill level: open Cone + Bottom, close Top (if open).

After Packaging — Tank Empty¶

Close all glycol valves on the tank and in Botec.

Checklist — Per Recipe Cycle¶

Filling

[ ] Volume entered in Botec
[ ] Glycol valve opened (Bottom for ≤24 hl, Top for >36 hl) — tank and Botec
[ ] Recipe advanced to Rising Post Filling (or held at Filling FMT for double brew)

Fermentation monitoring (daily)

[ ] Plato, pH, temperature, spund, pressure logged in fermentation spreadsheet

Step 06 — Fermentation, VDK

[ ] FG confirmed (two identical consecutive readings, or flat/rising)
[ ] VDK pass confirmed
[ ] Recipe manually advanced

Step 08 — Ready for Dry Hop (dry hopped beers)

[ ] Dry hop procedure completed (see Dry Hopping SOP)
[ ] Recipe advanced to Dry Hop
[ ] West Coast: hop creep VDK + FG pass confirmed before advancing further

Step 13 — Swap Glycol Valves

[ ] Beer at ~2°C
[ ] Cone + Bottom opened (tank and Botec)
[ ] Top closed (if it was open)
[ ] Recipe advanced to Cool Down 2nd Stage

Step 16 — Ready For Filling

[ ] Packaging scheduled for following week
[ ] Recipe advanced to Ready For Filling on last working day

After packaging

[ ] All glycol valves closed (tank and Botec)
[ ] Recipe set to Wait For CIP
[ ] Recipe set to CIP In Process when CIP starts
[ ] Recipe finished in Botec when CIP complete

Troubleshooting¶

Issue	Likely Cause	Action
Botec will not activate glycol cooling	Volume not entered at Filling FMT step	Enter the wort volume in Botec at the Filling step.
Recipe stuck at Fermentation VDK	FG not reached or VDK not passed	Continue daily monitoring. Do not advance until both conditions are confirmed.
Cannot start new recipe on a tank	Previous recipe not finished	Finish the previous recipe (after CIP in step 19) before starting the new one.
West Coast beer FG not stable after dry hop	Hop creep still active	Continue VDK and FG monitoring. Do not advance until both pass on consecutive readings.
Glycol not cooling effectively	Wrong jacket open for current fill level	Check fill level. Ensure the highest jacket covering the wort is open.