UK brewery reduces filling downtime by 40 hours/year with self-cleaning filter

Windsor & Eton Brewery’s use of a Russell Finex Eco Filter has eliminated downtime for filter cleaning in its keg, can and bottle filling operation, and clarification may be next.

Previously, the brewery used a small metal filter for coarse filtration at 100 microns, removing yeast slurry and hop material from the finished beer product before filling. But this method frequently clogged and caused up to 15 minutes of downtime per hour for cleaning.

Switching to the Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter eliminated this downtime. The new filter's solids waste valve allows continuous waste removal without stopping production, processing 420,000 litres annually and saving 40 hours of downtime. Additionally, the filter cartridge has a longer operational life, saving the brewery £2,000 per year.

"At all stages of the process, through trialling of a test unit to designing and fabricating our machine, the team at Russell Finex have endeavoured to really understand our processes and needs,” says head brewer Matt Stead. “They have actively supported us with the testing and trialling of various filtration options.”

The brewery plans to look into using the same type of filter to help clarify the beer. As a result, a beer that would take 11 days to be ready for bottling can instead be ready in 8 days. By freeing up the fermentation vessel sooner for the next batch, the brewery would have the opportunity to expand its capacity by 25%. 

When the operation opened in 2010, it was almost 80 years since the last brewery in Windsor closed. It now brews over 1.2 million pints of beer annually for filling into casks, kegs, bottles, and cans. Its beers have won over 90 major international, national, and regional awards.

The brewery supplies beer to trade customers in pubs, bars, and restaurants locally, towards Reading in the west and into central London. It runs a taproom and shop on site and a pub in Eton – The George – and has collaborated with overseas breweries, too.

020 8818 2000

www.russellfinex.com