Areas for Improvement

Though the brewing process has been around for thousands of years, it continues to evolve in response to changes in consumer tastes, new technology, and market competition. Due to growing demand for the unique and premium beer produced in microbreweries, many new breweries have recently entered the market. This has increased the competitiveness of an industry that already operates at a high capacity. While outside the brewery competition remains strong, inside we have found most breweries have an extremely laid-back culture. This schism in environments has proven to be a source of significant process risk to many breweries, and thus is an area for improvement.

In several breweries visited for research purposes, we found they had two risky attributes in common. First, they have very laid-back atmospheres, and second, the easy availability of “E” beer, or beer that is unfit for sale. While these attributes are relatively harmless individually, when paired, they can indicate a source of employee error. Consumption of the product while on the job was a major source of error in the bottling process for Oskar Blues brewery in Longmont,

CO, since employees became complacent after a few too many “E” beers. This led to error in bottling machine settings, which could cause under or over-filling, or timing errors. Additionally, complacency could be a significant risk to the sanitation process. The necessity for significant attention to detail, and the adherence to strict sanitation procedures ensures that a batch is not lost to contamination. Any lapse of responsibility due to indiscretion could potentially result in the loss of a batch since sanitation is a significant issue throughout the entire process.

Simply by limiting access to the “E” beer, managers can control this problem easily and inexpensively. Either through keeping an updated inventory of the “E” beer, securing it during work hours, or disposing of “E” beer completely, managers can ensure that beer is being safely consumed after hours only.