Author: Henry Chen Publish Time: 2026-08-24 Origin: Cassman
Some projects stay with you. Not because they were the most complicated, or the largest — but because of the person on the other end of the conversation, and what they were building toward.
This is one of those projects.
It was the spring of 2025 when Henry Chen, our export sales manager at Jinan Cassman Machinery Co., Ltd., received an inquiry through our website from a man named Thomas Lefèvre.
Thomas was based in Lyon, France — a city with a deep culinary culture and a fast-growing appetite for quality craft beer. He had spent the previous three years working as a head brewer at a regional craft brewery, learning the process from the inside out. Now, at 38, he was ready to do it himself.
His plan: open Brasserie Lefèvre, a production-focused craft brewery targeting Lyon's independent bar and restaurant scene. He had secured a 300㎡ industrial space in the city's 7th arrondissement, lined up his first wholesale accounts, and had a clear recipe portfolio ready to go.
What he didn't have yet was the equipment.
Thomas's opening message was direct:
"I've been researching brewery equipment suppliers for six months. I keep coming back to Cassman. But I have a lot of questions before I can commit to anything."
Henry forwarded the inquiry to our engineering team, and within 24 hours, we had scheduled a video call. On that first call, Thomas walked us through his space, his production goals, and — most importantly — his concerns.
He had three major ones:
1. CE certification — non-negotiable
France, as an EU member state, requires all pressure vessels and food-contact equipment to meet strict CE-PED standards. Thomas had seen other Chinese suppliers offer "CE-compatible" equipment that didn't hold up under scrutiny. He needed documented, verifiable certification — not a promise.
2. Electric heating — the right choice for his space
His brewery space was in a converted urban industrial building. Installing a gas line or steam boiler room was not permitted by the building's landlord. Electric heating was the only viable option — but he had heard concerns about whether electric could handle 1000L at a commercial production pace.
3. After-sales support — what happens when something goes wrong?
Thomas had seen a colleague's brewery go dark for three weeks because a critical component failed and the Chinese supplier took two weeks just to respond. He wasn't willing to take that risk with his business.
These weren't unreasonable concerns. They were the right concerns. And we had real answers for every one of them.
Over the following six weeks, Henry worked closely with Thomas and our lead engineer, David Zhang, to design a system that fit his space, his production schedule, and his budget.
We didn't send him a standard quote. We sent him a preliminary layout drawing of his brewery floor, showing exactly how the equipment would be positioned, where the drainage points would fall, and how the workflow would move from grain intake to fermentation.
That drawing changed the conversation entirely.
"When I saw the layout, I realized this wasn't just a sales process. These people actually understood what I was trying to build."
After three rounds of revisions and one additional video call with David to walk through the technical specs, Thomas confirmed the order. Here's what we built for him:
Mash/Lauter Tun — 1000L
Fully insulated SS304 vessel
VFD-controlled motor with rake system for efficient, consistent lautering
Precision-milled false bottom — critical for Thomas's wheat-heavy Belgian-style recipes
Sight glass for real-time monitoring during mashing
Kettle/Whirlpool Tun — 1000L
Insulated construction for energy efficiency
Tangential inlet for effective whirlpool separation
Vorlauf port for wort recirculation and clarity
Hot Liquor Tank (HLT) — 2000L
Oversized at 2000L — double the brewhouse batch size
Allows Thomas to prepare strike water for a second batch while the first is still fermenting
Multiple heating element groups with staged control
This was the technical point Thomas was most skeptical about. Could electric heating really drive a 1000L commercial system reliably?
The answer is yes — and the engineering behind it matters.
Rather than a single large heating element that creates power spikes and uneven heat distribution, our system uses multiple groups of heating elements in both the kettle and HLT. Each group can be activated independently, allowing the brewer to:
Stagger power draw to stay within the building's electrical capacity
Maintain vigorous, even heating throughout the vessel
Reduce the risk of localized scorching on delicate wort
For Thomas's Lyon facility, we confirmed his building's 3-phase 380V/50Hz supply was fully compatible — no electrical upgrades required.
Thomas brews Belgian-style ales and German wheat beers — styles that demand precise, multi-step mash temperature profiles. A single-infusion system wasn't going to cut it.
We integrated the HERMS (Heat Exchange Recirculating Mash System) option: a dedicated stainless steel coil running through the HLT hot liquor pipeline. Wort recirculates gently through this coil, picking up or maintaining heat without direct contact with heating elements.
The result: mash temperature held within ±0.5°C across the entire vessel, for as long as needed. For a brewer whose recipes depend on precise protein rests and saccharification steps, this is not a luxury — it's a requirement.
The full brewhouse is managed from a single PLC/PID touchscreen control panel — centralized command over every pump, motor, heating group, and temperature sensor in the system.
For Thomas, who would initially be running the brewery with just one assistant brewer, this was critical. The system reduces the cognitive load of a brew day — temperatures are monitored automatically, pumps can be triggered from the panel, and recipe parameters can be saved and recalled for consistent results batch after batch.
Component | Details |
Work Platform | Full-height platform with stairs and safety railings |
VFD-Driven Sanitary Pumps | Variable frequency drive for precise flow control |
High-Efficiency Plate Heat Exchanger | Rapid wort chilling from boil to pitching temperature |
Wort Oxygenation Assembly | Inline dissolved oxygen for healthy yeast pitching |
All Pipelines & Butterfly Valves | Complete interconnecting pipework, pre-fitted |
Tri-Clamp Connections | Sanitary, tool-free disassembly for CIP cleaning |
Before the equipment left our factory in Qihe County, Shandong Province, it went through our full pre-shipment quality control process.
Thomas requested — and we agreed — to document the entire inspection with photos and video. He received:
High-resolution images of every vessel, weld seam, and fitting
Video of the control panel powering up and running through its diagnostic sequence
Copies of all CE-PED, ISO, and TUV Rheinland certification documents
A complete packing list with dimensions and gross weights for each crate
The photo above shows the completed system in our finished goods area, fully assembled and ready for final inspection before crating — exactly as Thomas saw it in the documentation we sent him.
When he reviewed the inspection package, his response was simple:
"This is the most thorough pre-shipment documentation I've received from any supplier — Chinese or European."
The equipment shipped by sea freight from Qingdao port to Le Havre, then by truck to Thomas's brewery in Lyon. Total transit time: approximately 32 days.
Packaging was prepared for the full journey:
Export-grade wooden crating with internal foam cushioning
Steel banding on all outer crates
Moisture-barrier film on all polished stainless surfaces
Bilingual labeling (English/French) for customs handling at Le Havre
CE certification documentation ensured smooth customs clearance — no delays, no additional inspections required.
Thomas handled the installation with a local industrial plumber and electrician, guided by the detailed installation manual and wiring diagrams we provided. When questions came up — and they always do — David was available on WhatsApp to answer them, often within the hour.
Three weeks after the equipment arrived, Brasserie Lefèvre brewed its first commercial batch: a 1000L Belgian witbier, destined for five Lyon restaurants that had already committed to carrying it on tap.
The mash temperature held exactly where Thomas set it. The whirlpool cleared the wort beautifully. The plate chiller brought the wort down to pitching temperature in under 25 minutes.
"Everything worked exactly as it was supposed to. That's not always the case with new equipment. I was genuinely impressed."
If you're a craft brewer in France — or anywhere in the EU — planning your first production brewery, Thomas's experience offers some clear lessons:
1. CE certification is verifiable. Always ask for documentation.
Don't accept verbal assurances. Ask for the actual CE-PED certificate, the TUV Rheinland report, and the ISO quality management certification. Cassman provides all of these as standard.
2. Electric heating at 1000L is commercially viable — with the right engineering.
Staged group control and HERMS integration make a 1000L electric brewhouse a genuine production tool, not a compromise. For urban locations where gas or steam isn't practical, it's often the best choice.
3. A layout drawing is worth more than a spec sheet.
Before you commit to any equipment supplier, ask them to show you how the system fits your space. If they can't do that, they don't understand your project.
4. Pre-shipment inspection documentation protects your investment.
A thorough photo and video inspection record, combined with certified documentation, gives you confidence before the equipment ever leaves the factory — and leverage if anything needs to be addressed.
5. After-sales support is part of the product.
The best equipment in the world is only as good as the support behind it. At Cassman, our after-sales team is a real team — 8 dedicated service personnel — not a single overloaded inbox.
Jinan Cassman Machinery Co., Ltd. was established in 2016 and operates from a 10,000㎡ manufacturing facility in Shandong Province, China. We specialize in micro and medium-sized brewery equipment (50L–5T), distillery equipment, and custom stainless steel systems.
Our equipment carries CE-PED, ISO, and TUV Rheinland certifications and has been exported to 60+ countries, including France, Germany, the United States, Australia, Japan, and Kazakhstan. We maintain long-term cooperative relationships with brewing associations in Japan, the UK, and the United States.
With more than 80 production employees, 10+ senior engineers, and 8 dedicated after-sales service personnel, we are built to support your brewery from the first inquiry to the hundredth brew day.
Email: inquiry@cassmanbrew.com
WhatsApp/WeChat: +86 18560016154
Website: www.cassmanmachine.com
Published by Henry Chen | Jinan Cassman Machinery Co., Ltd. | August 2025
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