The GC-28 cooling unit is a completely stainless steel plate heat exchanger. It was purchased when the Tranter PHE micro-brewery, in The Three Rivers, in Stockport, Cheshire, UK, started production in 2003 but has recently been extended to handle an increase in output at the micro-brewery. The heat exchanger cools wort or production liquor to a temperature of 18C using mains water, and simultaneously the heat recovered from the wort is retained by the mains water which then goes to make up the next brew. Wort is the liquid achieved when grains and then hops are boiled in water, and the wort has to be cooled from a high of 98C before yeast is added for fermentation. The optimum temperature for fermentation is 18C and the Tranter GC-28 heat exchanger allows the wort to be cooled to 18C. This is very close to the inlet temperature of the cooling water, which in summer can be as high as 15C.
