SEATTLE, WA — Catalyst Manufacturing, a Seattle based start-up, recently introduced its first line of new products for the winemaking industry. Dubbed IntelliTanks, these six and fifteen gallon tanks are manufactured from very high quality high density polyethylene and 304 grade stainless steel.
While developing these tanks, Catalyst found that winemakers have had to resort to very fragile glass carboys or thin plastic jugs, to contain wine that would not top up a barrel. Catalyst also came to understand some additional perks that could facilitate and enhance several aspects of winemaking if some unique features were included in the design.
Tri-Clover Fittings Systems
Catalyst developed these tanks to work with the industry standard Tri-Clover sanitary fittings and accessories. In its basic form the tanks come with a stainless steel 1.5” sanitary ferrule attached to the top of the tanks comprising the spout. By placing the spout on a slight angle near the front of the tank they were able to achieve the goal of being able to stack the tanks on shelving closely above each other and still allow access to the wine within. And by tapering the top of the tank up to the spout they virtually eliminated the detrimental issues with regards to headspace you would find with a cylindrical tank.
Topping Tanks
Many additional stainless fittings and silicone gaskets are available to complement the tanks. One such fitting is a “Ported Spout”, a Tee shaped fitting, which replaces the standard spout. The genius behind this ported spout increases the functionality of the IntelliTanks exponentially. Instead of just being an indestructible replacement for a carboy, now the tanks can be attached to inert gas or vacuum pumps to aid in filling, racking or sparging. Connect a nitrogen or argon tank to the ported spout and with a butterfly valve attached to the bottom racking outlet, the tanks become topping tanks that can be easily moved throughout the winery to top up barrels while the depleted space above the wine is protected with inert gas.
Wine-On-Tap
This functionality of attaching the gas line to the Ported Spout will also allow the winemaker to attach a faucet (much like a beer tap—and currently in development) to the racking outlet to offer an attractive and very inexpensive way to present wine on tap in tasting rooms or to offer to restaurants. The wine will stay protected for months under this protocol.
Availability
IntelliTanks and all their accessories are currently only available from the Catalyst Manufacturing online store at www.Catalyst-Manufacturing.com and are shipped the next business day after the order is placed.
