What's Next in Sustainability Practices Within Craft Breweries?

What’s Next in Sustainability Practices Within Craft Breweries? Ken Grossman, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company Jim Spencer, New Belgium Brewing Curtis Holmes, Alaskan Brewing 2011 Craft Brewers Conference Friday, March 25, 2:40-3:40pm NEW BELGIUM BREWING COMPANY JIM SPENCER DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING SMART GRID TECHNOLOGY & PEAK ENERGY MANAGEMENT SMART GRID Smart grid is using digital technology to manage energy generation and load shedding from multiple resources to save energy, reduce cost and reduce PEAK LOAD. 28% Excess capacity for less than 7% of the year!! Power Plant #3 Power Plant #2 Power Plant #1 Load Shedding • 200 kW of dispatchable Peak Load • Energy efficient Direct-Indirect HVAC Load Shedding • Ice Bear HVAC Unit • Builds ice at night and reduces energy demand during peak Energy Storage = Chilled Water • 30% increase in chiller capacity • 150 kW reduction in Peak Demand SOLAR ARRAY • Largest privately owned array in CO • 200 kW peak output • 263,790 kWh/year Energy Storage = Methane • Methane storage allows power generation on demand ENGINES • 300 kW + 500kW Gen- Sets coordinated with smart controls, offsetting critical & expensive peak loads Smart Grid Controls Strategy Load Power shedding Generation (DR) (DG) Brewery Operations Grid supplied power BlueFin Smart Grid Controls DOE Project Site Partners: • City of Fort Collins • Engines Lab • New Belgium Brewery • Larimer County • Colorado State University Follow your folly . Smart grid controls + Renewable Power = Peak Power Reduction MEURA MASH FILTER PRESS Four different capacities Max. 55,115 pounds with up to 65 plates Max. 8,818 pounds with up to 65 plates Max. 555 pounds with up to 12 plates Max. 211 pounds with up to 12 plates 20% of all beer brewed worldwid is made using a mash filter. Hammer Milling Grist Milling Comparison (Using Pfungstadt Sieves) Lauter tun Mash Filter Sieve 1: > 1250 µm 20 % <1 % Sieves 2+3: 1250-500 µm 50 % <9 % Sieves 4+5: 500-125 µm 30 % >55 % Bottom: < 125 µm 10 % <35 % EBC extract difference between coarse and fine lab samples is 2% This is a minimum gain when using a mash filter and hammer mill FILTER MEMBRANE CLOTH GRAINING OUT = MANUAL ASSISTANCE Sustainability Benefits Based on Alaskan Brewing’s 100 bbl system @ 117,000 bbls a year • Water savings of over 1,000,000 gallons per year – Less sparging water needed due to design of filter – Thicker mash, approx 1/4 less water in mash tun – Dryer spent grain cake, the water goes back into your beer not down the drain. Dry grain of 65%-72% moisture for Mash Press compared to 78-80% for a lauter tun • Less water used means less fuel needed to heat water to sparge and mashing temperatures. Based on our average water temperature that amounts to over 7,000 gallons of fuel oil saved per year • Malt savings of 3-5% compared to our lauter tun A few quick notes • More enzymes are available in the malt due to fine milling – making for very fast mash conversions and hot fermentations. You may have to alter recipes. • 12 brews per day are advertised, but we’ve found this is only with light colored beers – in actual operation we see 8 to 9.5 brews per day mainly caused by higher dextrins blinding the filter cloths Pros • Lower spent grains moisture even though this slows down the filter cycles. A benefit for us is that it is allowing us to install a spent grain fueled boiler in April 2011. • Easily expandable to a larger size within the filter capacity range or can be duplexed. • No beer flavor issues with the new filter design • Ability to collect down to 0.5 Plato and reuse the weak wort for other needs if desired. Pros • Mash filter is less susceptible to product quality and variability issues. • More repeatable brew times because you don’t have to worry about lauter tun stuck beds. • Filtration speed can increase capacity of brewhouse without adding other equipment. • No wort recirculation needed, collect immediately Cons • Manual cleanout – operator has to be around. • Initial cost of machine can be high, but comparable to a high end Lauter Tun cost. • Wear parts – Cloth filter speeds start to slow down after ~ 2000 brews ($3,100 full set) – Membranes will crack and need replaced as needed ($32,500 full set) • Pre-heat time needed to prevent filter damage. • Limited capacity range of -20% to +10 % malt throw, can limit brew size flexibility. Cons • More difficult to CIP – has a high chemical need because the filter has to be full. A good rule of thumb is typically ½ of your brew size. • Fine grind of malt can increase particulates in rinse water and can add settling time to wastewater treatment systems. Thank you for your time! Curtis Holmes, Plant Manager Alaskan Brewing Company 5429 Shaune Drive Juneau, Alaska 99801 [email protected].

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