Bottling lines are

production line A production line is a set of sequential operations established in a factory where components are assembled to make a finished article or where materials are put through a refining process to produce an end-product that is suitable for onward c ...

s that fill a product, generally a

beverage A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies ...

, into

bottle A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal st ...

s on a large scale. Many prepared foods are also bottled, such as sauces, syrups, marinades, oils and vinegars.

Beer bottling process

Packaging of bottled beer typically involves drawing the product from a holding tank and filling it into bottles in a filling machine (''filler''), which are then capped, labeled and packed into cases or cartons. Many smaller

breweries A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of beer ...

send their bulk beer to large facilities for

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to ...

bottling—though some will bottle by hand. Virtually all

beer bottles A beer bottle is a bottle designed as a container for beer. Such designs vary greatly in size and shape, but the glass commonly is brown or green to reduce spoilage from light, especially ultraviolet. The most widely established alternatives to ...

are

glass Glass is a non-Crystallinity, crystalline, often transparency and translucency, transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most ...

. The first step in bottling beer is ''depalletising'', where the empty bottles are removed from the original

pallet A pallet (also called a skid) is a flat transport structure, which supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, a pallet jack, a front loader, a jacking device, or an erect crane. A pallet is the structural found ...

packaging delivered from the manufacturer, so that individual bottles may be handled. The bottles may then be rinsed with filtered

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

or air, and may have

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...

injected into them in attempt to reduce the level of

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as we ...

within the bottle. The bottle then enters a "filler" which fills the bottle with beer and may also inject a small amount of

inert gas An inert gas is a gas that does not readily undergo chemical reactions with other chemical substances and therefore does not readily form chemical compounds. The noble gases often do not react with many substances and were historically referred to ...

(usually carbon dioxide or

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at seve ...

) on top of the beer to disperse the oxygen, as oxygen can ruin the quality of the product via

oxidation Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a ...

. Finally, the bottles go through a "capper", which applies a

bottle cap A bottle cap or bottle top is a closure for the top opening of a bottle. A cap is sometimes colourfully decorated with the logo of the brand of contents. Plastic caps are used for plastic bottles, while metal with plastic backing is used for gl ...

, sealing the bottle. A few beers are bottled with a cork and cage. BallastPointBottling

Next the bottle enters a labelling machine ("labeller") where a label is applied. To ensure

traceability Traceability is the capability to trace something. In some cases, it is interpreted as the ability to verify the history, location, or application of an item by means of documented recorded identification. Other common definitions include the capab ...

of the product, a ''lot number'', generally the date and time of bottling, may also be printed on the bottle. The product is then packed into boxes and

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities, ...

d, ready for sale. Depending on the magnitude of the bottling endeavor, there are many different types of bottling machinery available. Liquid level machines fill bottles so they appear to be filled to the same line on every bottle, while volumetric filling machines fill each bottle with exactly the same amount of liquid. Overflow pressure fillers are the most popular machines with beverage makers, while gravity filling machines are most cost effective. In terms of automation, inline filling machines are most popular, but rotary machines are much faster albeit much more expensive.

Wine bottling process

The process for bottling

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ...

is largely similar to that for bottling beer, except

wine bottle A wine bottle is a bottle, generally a glass bottle, that is used for holding wine. Some wines are fermented in the bottle while others are bottled only after fermentation. Recently the bottle has become a standard unit of volume to describe s ...

s differ in volumes and shapes. Traditionally, a cork is used to provide closure to wine bottles. After filling, a bottle travels to a corking machine (''corker'') where a cork is compressed and pushed into the neck of the bottle. Whilst this is happening, the corker

vacuum A vacuum is a space devoid of matter. The word is derived from the Latin adjective ''vacuus'' for "vacant" or " void". An approximation to such vacuum is a region with a gaseous pressure much less than atmospheric pressure. Physicists often di ...

s the air out of the bottle to form a negative pressure ''headspace''. This removes any oxygen from the headspace, which is useful as latent oxygen can ruin the quality of the product via

. A negative pressure headspace will also counteract pressure caused by the

thermal expansion Thermal expansion is the tendency of matter to change its shape, area, volume, and density in response to a change in temperature, usually not including phase transitions. Temperature is a monotonic function of the average molecular kinetic ...

of the wine, preventing the cork from being forced from the bottle.

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

s and

sparkling wine Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne regi ...

s may further be sealed with a

muselet A ''muselet'' () is a wire cage that fits over the cork of a bottle of champagne, sparkling wine or beer to prevent the cork from emerging under the pressure of the carbonated contents. It derives its name from the French ''museler,'' to muzz ...

, which ensures the cork will not explode off in transit. Alternative wine closures such as screw caps are available. Some bottling lines incorporate a ''fill height detector'' which reject under or over-filled bottles, and also a

metal detector A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. The unit itself, consist of a control box, and an adjustable shaft, ...

. After filling and corking, a

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

or tin capsule is applied to the neck of the bottle in a ''capsular''. Next the bottle enters a ''labeller'' where a wine label is applied. The product is then packed into boxes and warehoused, ready for sale.

References

External links

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Liquid Filling Lines
{{packaging Wine packaging and storage Brewing Packaging machinery Beer vessels and serving Food storage containers Packaging Food packaging

Beer bottling process

Wine bottling process

See also

References

Further reading

External links