Flooring in breweries, regardless of whether they are small, craft plants or mass production, must meet demanding conditions of use. Selecting a system for this type of investment requires considering many different factors, so it is worth using the support of experts when creating specifications.
- Floors in breweries should be durable and hard-wearing.
- To meet demanding conditions of use, their specification must consider the expected chemical, mechanical and thermal loads.
- When brewing beer, as in the entire food industry, it is crucial to maintain a high level of hygiene and microbiological safety.
Flowcrete experts in resin flooring, based on the project requirements, propose tailor-made flooring solutions adapted to individual brewery zones. Below we present the most important features of flooring systems used in such facilities and examples of implementations from the world.
- Durability in demanding conditions of use
When designing breweries, it is necessary to consider the chemical substances that may be present on the flooring surface, including malts, acids or strong detergents. If there are special requirements in this area, one can use top coats with increased chemical resistance, or chemically resistant systems, e.g. from the Flowchem group.
Another important factor against which the floor should be resistant is high or low temperature and its dynamic changes, the so-called thermal shocks, which can occur in fermentation processes or during daily cleaning routines (with warm water or steam under pressure). In such conditions, polyurethane-cementitious flooring systems from the Flowfresh group, with carefully selected, increased thickness, work well.
The specification of the flooring system should also refer to the required mechanical strength based on the expected loads. Factors such as the intensity of pedestrian and trolley traffic, point pressure from heavy machinery, vibrations of equipment during operation, and also the risk of impact and falling of various objects, e.g. bottles in the beer bottling area, should be considered.
At Bright Brewery in Australia, Flowfresh SR non-slip flooring was used in varying thicknesses, depending on local chemical and thermal stresses. Additionally, a Flowfresh Sealer topcoat in a contrasting colour Tile Red was applied to the footpaths to increase the system’s abrasion resistance and provide a hygienic finish in the more intensive traffic zone.
- High level of hygiene and antimicrobial features
In beer production, as in the entire food industry, a high level of hygiene is essential. Seamless resin floors, with surface divisions kept to a minimum, are an easy-to-clean and maintain solution. Thanks to their water impermeability, these systems are resistant to potential beer spills and leaks, and carefully designed coves at the junction of the floor and wall and the connection of the floor with drainage are also important.
In brewing and bottling areas, high-quality antimicrobial flooring systems from the Flowfresh group, certified by HACCP International, are often used. They contain the special antimicrobial additive Polygiene®, which eliminates up to 99.9% of bacteria from the floor surface.
At Devils Backbone Brewery in the United States, in a new cold store, the production, packaging and receiving areas Flowfresh SR flooring with quartz sand was applied to provide a high level of slip resistance. This chemically-resistant system is also hygienic thanks to the antimicrobial additive Polygiene®.
- The anti-slip degree adapted to a wet environment
Slip resistance is an important parameter of the floor, decreasing the risk of slipping and falling for people walking on the floor. The applicable standard PN-EN 1504-2 refers to the results from the test according to the standard PN-EN 13036-4, where the slipperiness of the floor is determined by the “pendulum” test. This test is performed on a horizontal surface and can be carried out in situ, on the finished floor in dry and wet conditions. The internal floor meets the requirements for slip resistance when the test results for the wet (class I) or dry surface (class II) are above 40.
In wet areas of breweries, it is worth using floors with an anti-slip texture, with the addition of quartz sand, e.g. Flowfresh SR or Flowfresh SRQ.
In the Brassneck Brewery in Canada, Flowfresh SRQ was applied – a flooring system with the antimicrobial Polygiene® additive in a coloured quartz sand version, which gives the floor an attractive appearance. In some places, the floor was made with increased thickness to improve its mechanical strength and resistance to thermal shocks. The top layer is a fast-curing, glossy, chemically resistant polyurea coating Flowseal Ultra.
Choosing a flooring system for a brewery requires considering many factors related to specific requirements. To ensure that the floor is adapted to the conditions of use, it is worth using the technical advice of Flowcrete resin flooring experts who provide support at every stage – from design concept, through specification, to application on site.
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