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Brewery Equipment

Using Fermentation Profiles to Improve Your Recipes with Pål Ingebrigtsen of PLAATO

posted by Craft Beer Professionals

Brewing is the perfect mix of science, creativity and craftsmanship. For many brewers, creating and improving on recipes, while maintaining a high quality product is a big part of their daily work. When brewers start to collect ongoing fermentation data across multiple batches over time, they can compare how small tweaks in the recipe or outside conditions can change the overall outcome of the fermentation.
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Choosing Brewery Equipment: Lightning Round with Kevin Weaver of Brewmation

posted by Craft Beer Professionals

When selecting your brewing equipment, there are a number decisions to make that might not be obvious. Great beer can be brewed on any virtually any system, but selecting the right equipment for your brewery is dependent on your processes, your beer, and your budget. In this webinar, we’ll cover a range of topics to consider when shopping for your brewery equipment.
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Is a Wet Mill Right for your Brewery? A Chat with Scott Shirley at Lawson’s Finest Liquids

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Wet milling remains one of those topics that brewers discuss but rarely encounter in the wild. Once solely the province of the largest craft brewers, in more recent years wet mills have become slightly more common but remain unusual to find in a smaller craft brewery.

In contrast to dry milling, wet mills steep malt in a continuous stream of warm water to allow the grain’s moisture level to rise to a set mark, usually 15 to 20 percent. When a wet mill’s rollers grind the malt, the grain’s husk remains intact and doesn’t fragment. This significantly reduces the amount of dust and debris created and allows for faster run-off time and more loading of the lauter tun. The downsides, beyond cost, include additional cleaning of the mill and its rollers along with an increase in the time required to mill the malt.

We recently spoke with Scott Shirley, the Director of Brewing Operations at Lawson’s Finest Liquids in Vermont, to learn more about his brewery’s experience with a wet mill and hear what advice he has for brewers considering one.

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Brewery Equipment Auctions Pick Up the Pace in a Summer of Opportunity

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The craft brewing industry is never static, and with breweries expanding, moving locations or in some cases closing the doors, the auction blocks are busy.

Ranging from a 250-bbl unused brewhouse to mead and cider equipment and even a turnkey brewery, a variety of auction houses are now taking bids.

In an industry in post-pandemic flux, there are opportunities. Here is a list of four active auctions:

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Korean Craft Brewing Company Shuts Down California Production Facility

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A Korean-based microbrewery with a production plant in northwest California has ceased production and will auction off all of the brewing equipment.

The Booth Brewery, based in Seoul, Korea was founded in 2013 and began production in the far northern California coastal town of Eureka in 2017 at the former location of Lost Coast Brewing.

The online auction, which began on May 21 and will close on June 17, will auction off the entire packaging line including a complete Wild Goose 16-oz. can line and labeler, an Alfa Laval centrifuge, a Sympac Bottle Filler, a York Glycol chiller and more as well as some of the brewing equipment.

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Colorado Brewing Systems Ceases Operations

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Colorado Brewing Systems, a brewing equipment manufacturer based in Wellington, Colorado announced on its web site that they have ceased “most” operations.

“Despite our best efforts, the loss of revenue from the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year as well as supply chain delays and disruption, skyrocketing material and transportation costs, and other factors beyond our control, have made our efforts to continue any longer impossible as all available resources have been exhausted,” according to the statement.

“We have been, and continue to finish and ship orders that we are able to fulfill. With very limited staff and resources, any pending order that we are able to fulfill will face delays. We are also in the process of setting up a support portal through a 3rd party company to provide support and replacement parts.”

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Merger of the Kegs: MicroStar Buys KegStar

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MicroStar Logistics, the largest independent owner of beer kegs in the world, announced that it has acquired the keg rental company Kegstar. The acquisition will grow Denver-based MicroStar’s international business by taking on Kegstar’s clients which include breweries in Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

“We have watched Kegstar closely and admired the way they have helped their customers grow by simplifying brewers’ keg supply chains,” said MicroStar’s President and CEO, Michael Hranicka. “Our cultures, geographies and capabilities are highly complementary allowing us to add strength to strength and open up significant growth opportunities in existing and future markets.”

Full press release here.

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Pack Expo Conference Goes Virtual This Week

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PACK EXPO Connects, a virtual rendition of the packaging tradeshow, will take place online today through Friday.

Packaging is now top-of-mind for craft brewers suffering from revenue drops in the on-premise business.

The online conference will feature educational sessions from suppliers and industry experts covering key packaging trends. All content will be available both as scheduled live and on demand.

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BrewBilt Will Offer Contract Brewing Service

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BrewBilt Manufacturing has announced that the company will be offering contract brewing services to new and existing craft brewers, restaurant owners or anyone else interested in a private label beer..

Jef Lewis, CEO, stated, “Our decision to create a new division of BrewBilt is based upon factors such as utilizing our own resources requesting that we offer a brewing facility, and the fact that the global craft beer market accounted for $38.18 billion in 2017, and it is expected to attain $96.12 billion by 2024. Since BrewBilt manufactures quality breweries, we will brew quality craft beer for private label customers so that they can have their own brand and we can be the co-packer for their craft beer needs.”

BrewBilt is a California-based manufacturer of brewing equipment for the craft brewing industry.

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Can Manufacturers Institute Offers Grants for Can Recycling

posted by

The Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) will make grants available in 2021 to Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) for aluminum can capture equipment, which will ensure used beverage cans (UBC) are accurately sorted, sold and recycled.  Capturing and recycling aluminum cans provides a positive environmental and economic impact as metal recycles forever and UBCs are typically made into new cans, according to the CMI press release.

Aluminum beverage cans currently provide critical revenue to MRFs.  A CMI-funded study concluded that without the revenue from UBCs, most MRFs, which are vital to the U.S. recycling system since they sort single stream recyclables, would not be able to operate.  But, while UBCs are typically the most valuable commodity in the residential recycling stream, up to 25 percent of UBCs are missorted at a typical MRF.  These missorted cans can be captured with the right equipment, which would pay for itself with the additional revenue.

The Can Manufacturers Institute (SMI) is the national trade association of the metal can manufacturing industry and its suppliers in the United States. For more information on the grant, contact Mallory at mallory.schindler@finnpartners.com

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A Buyers Guide to Canning Lines

posted by

The pandemic has generated a new interest in canning like never before. Craft beer in cans was growing rapidly prior to March of this year, but with many taproom focused breweries now pivoting to shipping beer direct to the consumer and to off-premise sales, there is a growing interest in canning.

Craft Brewing Business has put together a buyers guide to canning lines for craft breweries looking for their first canning line or to upgrade their existing setup.

Iron Heart Mobile Canning Acquires Michigan Canning

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Iron Heart Canning Company, a mobile canning service for breweries, cideries, wineries, distilleries and non-alcoholic producers, announced today that it has acquired Michigan Mobile Canning, a mobile canning business operating out of Kalamazoo, Mich., and Indianapolis, Ind.

The acquisition will make Iron Heart the nation’s largest mobile cannery according to a company press release.

“We are extremely excited about the opportunity to bring our industry-leading canning services and expertise into the Midwest,” said Tyler Wille, founder and CEO of Iron Heart Canning. “Indiana, Michigan, and the greater Chicago area are incredible markets in the craft industry, and we are eager to begin building new partnerships within the region.”

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Keg Manufacturers Join Forces

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Blefa Kegs announced today that they have acquired a major stake in American Keg Company of Pottstown, PA. The agreement will help ensure accelerated growth in production for American Keg according to a news release

Blefa is a German manufacturer of stainless steel kegs headquartered in Kreuztal, Germany with a U.S. operation in La Vergne, TN. They employ 155 in Germany as well as 40 in Tennessee. American Keg is the only manufacturer of kegs in the U.S.

“I’m very pleased that we could work with Blefa on this investment of equity and know-how”, said Scott Bentley, owner of American Keg. “While I’m proud of establishing American Keg as the only manufacturer of kegs in the US, there is a lot we can learn from Blefa to make our production more efficient. I’m excited to see what we can achieve together.”

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Effects of Tariffs on US Brewers

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If you are planning buy equipment manufactured abroad or export beer to other countries, you should become familiar with the potential risks of price fluctuations and supply chain disruptions.

“Section 232” tariffs are focused on steel and aluminum products. Even though 98% of aluminum cans used in the United States are produced in the United States, different materials used to make the aluminum cansheet are sourced from outside the U.S. The 10% tariff on aluminum has already impacted can manufacturers and some brewers may have already or will soon experience price increases.

Companies that produce kegs or brewery equipment could also feel the impact of the 25% tariffs on steel imports if they source their stainless-steel from other countries and there may be price increases or delivery delays in the near future.

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Ss Brewtech Purchased by Middleby

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The Middleby Corporation has announced the acquisition of Ss Brewtech, a supplier of craft brewing and beverage equipment since 2013.

Ss Brewtech has annual revenues of $20 million and is based in Santa Ana, Calif. The company will operate as an autonomous business unit within Middleby.

The press release can be seen here.

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Opening on a Two-Barrel System – Will it Work?

posted by

The pace of new brewery openings is still roaring with at least 1,049 new brewery openings in 2018, according to the Brewers Association. Many of these new openings are small. Very small. Like two barrel system small. This allows people who want to dive into the industry to do so with very little capital investment. A two barrel system requires little square footage, can be purchased for under $100,000 and can get a brewer-wannabie open quickly, easily and cheaply.

But will it work? The answer is probably not.

Doing the math without the reality of owning a business or knowing the pitfalls and difficulties of operating a commercial brewery and selling direct to the consumer might “work on paper.” But as this interesting discussion on the ProBrewer Discussion forum points out, reality paints a different picture. Waste in the brewing process, waste at the taps, costs of employees, legal costs of owning a business, buying brewing ingredients in small quantities and so on all add up. Not to mention the cost of conforming to state, federal and local health department regulations, fire department codes as well as regulations from the state alcohol beverage control and other regulatory agencies. Best plan? Do your research. Carefully!

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K-Cup Cocktails? Say it Ain’t So!

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Keurig Dr Pepper has partnered with Anheuser-Busch InBev to market an automated home bar system that makes cocktails using K-cup type pods similar to home coffee machines. But instead of a wake-you-up caffeine drink, the machine will quick-produce a wide variety of alcoholic mixed drinks.

As reported in Food & Wine, the cocktail machine will roll out in Missouri, Florida, and California this year.

DME Resurfaces

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DME has announced that it will re-open its Charlottetown based manufacturing facility under new ownership. The organization, which was placed in receivership in November 2018, has been purchased by CIMC Enric Tank & Process B.V. (CETP), a subsidiary of CIMC ENRIC Holdings Ltd.

DME Process Systems Ltd. will continue to manufacture both the DME and NSI brands out of the Charlottetown location. While DME Process Systems Ltd. is a new entity, they will work with previously installed DME and NSI breweries for any parts, service or expansion needs.

CETP is based out of the Netherlands and is one of the largest suppliers of tank and process equipment for the beverage and liquid food industries.

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Hope that DME May Rise Again

posted by

According to the Canadian news outlet CBC, Diversified Metal Engineering (DME) is negotiating with a potential buyer. Canadian-based DME, which manufacturers brewing equipment, left many breweries stranded after paying deposits on DME equipment yet to be delivered. Details of the negotiations were not released, but left hope that DME may resurface.

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