Brewery inception - design and consultation
As the craft beer movement continues to grow, more and more people are looking into starting a brewery and the logistics involved. It’s an exciting time to be making beer! We love seeing the passion continuing to grow in this industry. Innovation is alive and well and new ideas and concepts are emerging all the time.
We get a wide variety of people approach us wanting help designing, building, and sometimes installing their brewery. Some of our clients are experts in beer creation – they’ve been experimenting for years and are across the recipes they want to use – they just need help sourcing the best quality brewing equipment and peripheral components.
Others need a more consultative approach – with assistance from the beginning, in brewery sizing, layout and design – right through to installation. We can provide a service to meet your needs – whatever they may be. Here is what we have to offer in the steps to starting a brewery. We would be honoured to be part of your journey!
BREWERY SIZING
Let’s start at the very beginning…
The first step in the process of building your brewery is to make some decisions about sizing.
We will pose 3 questions to you:
- What is the size of your location?
- What are your monthly and annual production goals?
- What is your budget?
The answers to these will help us decide which brewing system suits your needs. There are several factors we take into account, that will impact the size of your beer brewing equipment:
- volume for each batch
- cost of equipment
- manpower resources
- floor space
- expansion capabilities
After we have covered these bases, we will get back to you with a recommended setup to achieve your goals with the resources available to you.
BREWERY LAYOUT
This is the part where we get a rough idea of where your equipment and vessels will fit into the space. The right layout can make a huge difference – to your efficiency, the quality of your beer and the vibe of your venue. There are lots of things we take into account when designing your brewery layout. Our priorities are:
Cost Reduction
There are so many measures we can put in place to reduce costs in the design of your brewhouse. This is a major benefit of a carefully-planned brewery design and process management. We can implement small things along the way that will have a cumulative effect on cost-reduction over time.
These are some of our methods:
- design a layout which flows with the brewing process to increase efficiency and avoid redundant tasks and movements
- utilize your vertical space by stretchy vessels out to maximize your brewery floor for either better flow or easier expansion
- plan for additional space ahead of time – this will preemptively save costs of having to redesign equipment layout later.
- by placing the conditioning tanks as near to the bar area as possible, less money will be spent on beer line cooling and insulation
Sustaining Quality Through Cleanliness
If you take steps to ensure your facility is clean and the brewery equipment is designed to be cleaned quickly, easily, and effectively, you will be free of contamination – ultimately saving you time and money. It will also ensure product quality.
When we are in the planning stages of your brewery design layout, we will build in easy cleaning design aspects ahead of time. We will also consider the most efficient placement of equipment in each room and the best methods of cleaning pipes and interior of tanks.
Energy Efficiency
Your brewery layout can play a pivotal role in saving energy costs. For example:
- Shortening the distances between steps means a decrease in the amount of required pumping. Less pumping, requires less energy!
- Building in heat recovery systems for reuse of heat within your floor plan.
- Placing utilities near vessels to reduce piping runs and possible energy loss.
These are just some of the steps we can take to conserve energy. When we have our consultation with you, we will take your individual circumstances and energy goals into account.
AESTHETICS
Over time, the tourism aspect of a brewhouse has become a major factor. Believe it or not, it can sometimes be as important as the quality of the beer! This has meant aesthetics have become increasingly important to brewers, with production facilities simultaneously acting as tourist attractions.
Something we take into account during this process is brand image. Craft brewers are particularly focused on this – and they want their identity to be represented in the building around them. This means we need to balance aesthetic design while meeting the needs of daily operational activity.
Things like flooring materials can make all the difference. We aim to choose materials that will support the challenges of making beer, while maintaining a pleasing, on-brand appearance.
BREWERY DESIGN
Many topics have already been discussed and taken into account by the time it gets to the design stage of your brewery. But there is also a whole new set of things to think about, when putting together the design.
Are you brewing on site? Does the physical layout of the brewery need to allow for large amounts of foot traffic? Where will you be storing manufacturing materials?
An efficient and safe design of the brewery space is crucial. As the cornerstone of the commercial space, the brewery needs to be set up to allow for materials to come in one way – and for beer to go out the other.
Other things to incorporate into the design are:
- Equipment height and width.
- Logistical necessities (the space should be designed so you can efficiently locate all pieces of equipment as well as accommodate the equipment needed to move materials, such as a forklift.)
- Anchoring platform posts and tank legs
- Brewing issues (a clean, reliable water source is a must.)
- Uniform water pressure (so that necessary rinses and mashing can be achieved.)
- A filtration treatment system
- Temperature consistency
- Contamination (one of the most prevalent problems! We generally specify high quality stainless steel, because it makes cleaning easier.)
- Proper handling of the discharge from a brewing operation
- Drains
- Flooring
- Insulation
- Future expansion
BREWHOUSE PRODUCTION
It’s time to make your equipment! This is a very exciting stage in the process. The first thing we do is grab the pencils – and start doodling.
Well, it’s a bit more sophisticated than that, but we need to get the physical dimensions of the equipment down on paper before we do anything else. We work with the factory and the customers to produce a sophisticated set of sketches which show every single piece of equipment, right down to all the smaller details.
We then use a program to insert each element into the agreed upon layout of the site. Our goal is to set up the space to achieve the most efficient process flow. The diagrams are put to scale and the end result is an extremely accurate representation of what the brewery will look like in real life.
We go back and forth with the customer, constantly checking to make sure they are happy and agree with the measurements. It can take some time, but it’s the most important part of the production process. These drawings then become the blueprints for the fabrication team.
We build from 304 stainless steel or 316 stainless steel – depending on the brewing goals and preferences of the customer.
We produce our equipment to the absolute highest standard – because the quality of equipment can really make a huge difference to your product – and overall success of your brewery. We need to ensure there are no conditions under which bacteria can grow. Cleanliness is the highest priority!
From the steel used, to the standard of the welds and polishing – you can expect the best.
EQUIPMENT INSTALLATION
This stage is highly anticipated – but it can be daunting for some clients. Which is why we are there to help every step of the way, if you need us.
The most important stage of the brewery installation process is the preparation. We do as much work as possible before the equipment arrives, working with the client and contractors to get all the utilities in place. This includes things like electricity, water, pipes, lights etc. If these are already up and running, it makes installation a lot quicker and easier for everyone.
We also ensure you have all the equipment ready that will be needed on the day – things like forklifts, trucks and cranes.
A good pre planning checklist means that when the equipment hits the site (yay!) we can unload, set it in place and set it up! It becomes more of a ‘plug and play’ process.
We want to help make installation as simple as possible, so we usually get a team member there on the day, to help unload and direct traffic. It can sometimes be a game of tetris, ensuring the right equipment goes in first, and everything else fits around it.
LET'S MAKE BEER!
At the end of the day, we know you’re itching to get started! So we strive to help get you operational as soon as possible.
And once you are making beer and it’s really all up and running – we are still available for consultation should you have any more questions.
We can even help with your recipe development!
Because your wins are our wins. Each time a client of ours succeeds, we do a happy dance.
We love seeing breweries flourish, grow and learn more.
Contact us today if you think you’d like to work with us! Or if you just want more information about our services.
We always love a chat!
Thinking About Starting a Brewery?
Leave it to us. Our experienced team will help you to customise the best solution for you.
