The Jabsco VeraFLEX Pump Cart™ from Xylem is aimed at craft brewers and microbreweries. The pump can be used to automate the transfer of beer and other liquids, recirculate beer during the fermentation cycle and carry out high-pressure line and tank cleaning. Consisting of a Jabsco model 52800-2105 VeraFlex flexible impeller pump (FIP) is mounted on a lightweight powder-coated steel cart with pneumatic tires. The pump includes Xylem’s proprietary FIP technology, which allows viscous fluids and soft solids to pass through the pump without emulsifying or changing consistency. This ability can save production time during spin fermentation of high-gravity beers, as the speed of the pump can be turned down to 250 rpm, enabling beer to be recirculated gently and oxygen injected during the fermentation cycle. Beer reaches its final gravity in 6 days, compared to 12 – 14 days using conventional methods. Other uses of the VeraFlex Pump Cart include transfering beer and other liquids, a task which is generally carried out manually. More viscous ingredients used in craft-manufactured high-quality beers, cider and microbrews, such as honey and molasses, can also be transferred from place to place using the pump. As it is capable of delivering up to 60 GPM, Xylem claims that it gives higher pressure clean-in-place (CIP) than centrifugal pumps for both line and tank cleaning.
