New totes for beverage makers and brewers
Beverage plants take in concentrates, syrups and flavours by the tote and move product between steps in stainless, so they need food-contact composite totes for ingredients and stainless IBCs where the product is cleaned in place, warm, or a high-proof spirit.
What goes in the totes
Juice and soft drink concentrates, sugar and corn syrups, flavours and colours, acidulants, tea and coffee extracts, wine and spirits in bulk, and brewing adjuncts. Plants also take cleaning chemicals by the tote for their clean-in-place systems.
The tote and the rule
Ingredients go in a food-contact bottle under 21 CFR 177.1520, with food-contact gaskets and no history. High-proof spirits are flammable liquids: at bottling strength most have a flash point below 100 °F, which puts them in Class I, and plastic and composite IBCs should not hold them (IBCTanks.com on NFPA guidance). Bulk spirits belong in stainless.
Where the industry is
Beverage manufacturing employed 316,938 people in 16,316 establishments in 2025. California led with 63,604, then Texas 24,154, New York 13,802, Pennsylvania 13,207 and Florida 12,661 (BLS QCEW 2025). Kentucky had 10,105 beverage jobs and Oregon 7,137.
Stainless or composite for a beverage plant
Use composite food-contact totes for ingredients that arrive, are drawn down and leave as empties. Use stainless where the container stays in the plant, is cleaned and sanitized between batches, or carries spirits. A 350 gallon stainless IBC holds a little more than a 330 composite tote and weighs about 475 lb empty (Snyder), so it is a container to keep, not to send one-way.
Totes we would quote
Illustrative image, generated. Not a photograph of our stock or deliveries. Food-grade new IBC totes
For syrups, concentrates and flavours received by the tote.
- Bottle resin
- 21 CFR 177.1520
- Prior contents
- None
- Gaskets
- EPDM or Viton
- Sizes
- 275, 330 gal
Illustrative image, generated. Not a photograph of our stock or deliveries. 350 gallon stainless steel IBC
The common stainless size for product held between steps and for bulk spirits.
- Capacity
- 350 gal / about 1,325 L
- Tare
- about 475 lb
- Max gross
- 6,030 lb
- UN code
- 31A
-
Illustrative image, generated. Not a photograph of our stock or deliveries. Stainless steel IBC totes
Other stainless sizes, and the 304 or 316 question for acidic products.
- Steel
- 304, 10 gauge
- Finish
- 2B
- UN code
- 31A
- Sizes
- 350, 550, 793 gal
Illustrative image, generated. Not a photograph of our stock or deliveries. New 330 gallon IBC tote
For high-volume syrups where the extra 55 gallons per position saves handling.
- Capacity
- 330 gal / 1,250 L
- Footprint
- 48 x 40 in
- Height
- 53 to 54 in
- Tare
- about 155 lb
Questions from beverage buyers
- Can a tote hold a carbonated product?
- No. A tote is not a pressure vessel: it holds liquid at atmospheric pressure and breathes through the cap. Carbonate downstream, after the product leaves the tote, in equipment rated for pressure.
- Can we keep bulk spirits in a plastic tote?
- Not at bottling strength or above. Most are Class I flammable liquids, which plastic and composite IBCs should not hold. Use stainless.
- Which gasket for a citrus concentrate?
- A food-contact EPDM suits most acidic, water-based products. Confirm against the concentrate supplier’s guidance.
- Can a stainless IBC be cleaned in place?
- Most are cleaned through the top manway with a spray device and drained from the bottom valve. Ask for a CIP connection if your system needs one.
Also read: Food grade or not, Stainless or carbon steel, Flammable liquids, Food processing. All industries.
Quote totes for beverage
Say what goes in (ingredient, product or spirit, with its strength), whether the IBCs stay in the plant, the fittings and the delivery ZIP.