REMEMBER YOUR ROOTS
HLEADER
ello, and welcome to the latest edition of The Brewers Journal! I hope and trust this summer season has been a buoyant and brilliant one for you and your breweries.
As avid readers of our publication will hopefully know, each edition we endeavour to chart the successes and share the stories of breweries and the businesses that support them.
We also look for common threads that bind these fgures and in this issue, we see just that. Because in speaking to Gail and Phil Winters, the founders of GoodLot Farmstead Brewing Co in Ontario and Duncan Tennant, the head brewer of Banished Brewing in Newfoundland, we hear about the major decisions and leaps of faith that took them to where they are today.
We’re also reminded that when it comes or running, and starting a brewery, the course of true love never did run smooth.
“When it came to the groundwater, a consultant told us early on and very clearly that we would ‘never make beer with this water’. I found that quite distressing honestly because then you’re looking at a $100,000 water fltration system or trucking water in from another location,” recalls Phil Winters.
“But then our frst brewer who we worked with helped change our mind. They said we should lean into it and that this water is the base ingredient of the terroir of our
beer. Yes, it’s high in minerals and yes, it’s hard, which we would adjust that ever so slightly, but we agreed that the essence of the beer came from the water profle.”
And as the saying goes, they’ve looked back with thirsty patrons grateful the duo didn’t take that early advice to heart…
And in the beautiful town of Paradise, located in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Duncan Tennant plies his trade. As head brewer of the fast-growing Banished Brewing, he’s responsible for a wealth of fantastic beers that span the style spectrum. But before Banished, Tennant cut his teeth in the wonderful world of lager - a position he somewhat felt into but grasped with both hands.
“The world of beer was not necessarily something I had devoted a lot of my life towards. Before becoming a brewer I was working in the world of investment planning. And I just really wasn’t keen on the ofce lifestyle,” he recalls.
“I’m a tall guy, my back was always sore. I’ve also got a short attention span. So yeah, being glued to the screen all day wasn’t really for me. I left that and just landed on the packaging line, somewhat of out of a serendipity because my friend was dating somebody who knew of an opening at the brewery.”
To learn more about his story, please turn to page 30. We hope you reading both brewery’s stories in this edition, along with the wealth of other great content, too.
Until next time!
Tim Sheahan Editor
Expert Commentary | Keg Management Efciencies
Courtney Fromm, National Manager at Kegshare, explains that understanding how many kegs you need to efectively manage your taps is a common issue, and how to deal with it.
email: courtney.fromm@kegshare.ca, phone: 705-737-7687
Meet The Brewer | GoodLot Farmstead Brewing
Gail & Phil Winters purchased a 30-acre farm 15 years ago on Shaws Creek Road in Caledon. From their dream of working with soil and planting hops, they take us on a journey that incorporates a commitment to quality, community, and the circular economy to produce brilliant beers
Expert Commentary | Fermentation with Zinc
Zinc stimulates protein synthesis and yeast growth, improving yeast viability and overall yeast health. Chris White, President, Founder & CEO of White Labs Inc., answers all the relevant questions relating to your best fermentation with Zinc.
Focus | Sustainability
In this inaugural article for Brewers Journal Canada, Derek Davy, CEO of Econse, focuses on surviving sustainability – keeping green when the market dries up. Part one of a four part series.
Technology | Hops Traceability
Explore the benefts of beer traceability and how it simplifes quality control and consistency. Learn how implementing traceability requirements, mandated by regulations, can enhance your brewing process and customer satisfaction.
Technology | CO2 Recovery
Discover how craft breweries are advancing sustainability by investing in CO2 recovery systems as Frederik Degn Dalum from Dalum Beverage Equipment explains the benefts this technology can have on your business.
Crossing Continents | Refecting on CBCE Asia
Neil Playfoot, the Founder of Asian Beer Network, provides a hands on perspective on the beer industry across Asia and the raft of challenges, but also opportunities, it presents
and Jerry (Brewlosophy)
Neil (Asian Beer Network)
Expert Commentary | RTD Risks
Adam Gillies BESc., project consultant at LRI Engineering Inc., discusses the risks that producers of Ready-To-Drink beverages need to be aware of and how to manage those risks.
email: agillies@lrifre.com phone: 416-515-9331 ext. 352
CONTACTS
Tim Sheahan Editor tim@brewersjournal.ca +44 (0)1442 780 592
Jakub Mulik Staf photographer
Johnny Leung Canada Partnerships johnny@brewersjournal.ca
Richard Piotrowski Publisher Richard@brewersjournal.ca
Magdalena Lesiuk Graphic Design GraphMad@gmail.com
Nicholas Hendrickson Contributor
Jason Murray Contributor
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Meet The Brewer | Banished Brewing
Duncan Tennant, the head brewer at Banished Brewing located in Paradise, Newfoundland, explains how the brewery prides itself on being an open, honest, and diverse operation that strives to create a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment for patrons and staf alike
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be: reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without the express prior written consent of the publisher. The Brewers Journal Canada ISSN 2398-6948 is part of Reby Media, 42 Crouchfeld, Hemel Hempstead, Herts HP1 1PA. It is published quarterly in Canada by CFJ Media, 2275 Upper Middle Rd E #101, Oakville, ON L6H 0C3, Canada. Subscription records are maintained at CFJ Media, 2275 Upper Middle Rd E #101, Oakville, ON L6H 0C3, Canada. The Brewers Journal accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of statements or opinion given within the Journal that is not the expressly designated opinion of the Journal or its publishers. Those opinions expressed in areas other than editorial comment may not be taken as being the opinion of the Journal or its staf, and the aforementioned accept no responsibility or liability for actions that arise therefrom.
COMMENT EXPERT COMMENTARY
EFFICIENT KEG MANAGEMENT
UNDERSTANDING
HOW MANY KEGS YOU NEED TO EFFECTIVELY MANAGE YOUR TAPS IS A COMMON ISSUE. HERE, THE TEAM AT KEGSHARE EXPLAIN HOW THEY CAN HELP.
Managing kegs for your brewery can be a challenge. The number of kegs you need at any given time can quickly add up, impacting your storage, operations, and budget. Let’s break down the realities of keg management based on several key factors, and then explore how Kegshare’s innovative shared keg pool can make your life easier and your business more efcient.
The Total Keg Count
Summarizing all these elements, a brewery with 10 taps may need:
Full kegs in transit: 20
Tapped kegs: 10
Backup kegs: 10-20
Empty kegs in return: 10
Empty kegs at distributor: 20-30
Kegs being lled: 10
Kegs being cleaned: 10
Full kegs in inventory: 30
THE COMPLEXITIES OF MANAGING YOUR OWN KEGS
Full Kegs in Transit Per Delivery Day
Each delivery day, you need a certain number of full kegs in transit to ensure your licensee customers are consistently stocked. This number depends on your delivery frequency and your consumption rate. For instance, if you have two delivery days per week and each day you need ten kegs, that’s 20 kegs just for transit.
Number of Kegs Tapped
The number of kegs you have tapped at any given time is crucial for maintaining service. If you have secured 10 taps spread across several locations, you need at least ten kegs actively tapped, assuming one keg per tap.
Number of Kegs Full as Back-up at Each Location
Courtney Fromm, National Manager at Kegshare.
To avoid running out during busy times, having backup kegs is essential. A reasonable estimate might be one to two backup kegs for each tap. For ten taps, that’s an additional 10-20 kegs.
Empty Kegs at All Accounts or in Transit Return
After kegs are emptied, they must be returned to the distributor or brewery. If you return kegs weekly and empty ten kegs a week, that’s ten empty kegs either at your location or in transit at any given time.
Empty Kegs at Distributor Each Week
Distributors also need to manage empty kegs before they’re sent back to the brewery. If your distributor handles kegs from several locations, they might hold 20-30 empty kegs weekly, depending on their operation scale.
Why Kegshare is the Smarter Solution
Increased Return Rates: Our shared pool means multiple businesses use the same kegs, incentivizing rapid turnover. Empty kegs are quickly picked up and returned, reducing the number of kegs sitting idle at any stage.
Optimized Inventory: You don’t need to maintain a large inventory of kegs. With Kegshare, you only need enough to meet your immediate needs, as our system ensures a steady supply of kegs.
Reduced Costs: Managing your own keg eet can be costly. By sharing kegs, you lower your capital expenditure on keg purchases and maintenance, freeing up resources for other parts of your business.
Environmental Bene ts: Our shared model reduces the carbon footprint by minimizing the number of new kegs produced and maximizing the use of each keg, supporting your sustainability goals.
Streamlined Operations: With Kegshare handling the logistics, you save time and e ort on tracking, cleaning, and managing keg returns, allowing you to focus more on serving your customers and less on keg management.
Kegs Being Filled at Brewery Each Week
The brewery needs to fll a steady stream of kegs to meet demand. If you use ten kegs weekly, and the brewery takes a week to fll them, then they need to have ten kegs being flled each week specifcally for your needs.
Kegs Empty at Brewery Being Cleaned
Cleaning is a vital step to maintain quality. The brewery must clean all returned kegs before they can be reflled. If this process takes a week and you return ten kegs weekly, they need ten kegs in the cleaning stage.
Full Kegs in Inventory (3-Week Brewing Frequency)
Brewing cycles also afect your keg inventory. If a particular beer takes three weeks to brew and you need ten kegs weekly, the brewery must have 30 kegs (three weeks’ worth) in inventory to meet ongoing demand.
Using Kegshare means you need fewer kegs, have lower costs, and experience greater efciency. Let us handle the kegs, so you can pour with confdence and focus on what you do best—running a successful brewery. Join Kegshare today and transform your keg feet for the better.
EXPERT COMMENTARY
BREWS TO BEVERAGES
tion are fammable and therefore pose fre and explosion risks that brewers may not be familiar with. Managing these risks in conjunction with local building codes and fre codes can prove challenging for smaller operations, as the codes tend to be written with large industrial operations in mind, not a local brewery.
It’s important to manage these risks for a number of reasons: to keep employees and customers safe, to protect your operation from downtime associated with an accident or noncompliance, to satisfy your insurer, and to get acceptance from your local building and fre departments for any renovations associated with the expansion into RTDs.
FOCUS
With the increasing popularity of readyto-drink (RTD) beverages, many breweries are looking to expand their lineup beyond beer. The production of RTD beverages involve ingredients that have a higher alcohol content than beer.
Due to their high alcohol content, many of the ingredients used in RTD produc-
Here’s a little background on why many RTD ingredients pose additional fre and explosion risks. Aqueous solutions (i.e. a solution involving water) of alcohol are generally considered not to be fammable or combustible when the concentration of alcohol is at or below 20% alcohol by volume (ABV). Studies have shown that as the concentration of a solution of alcohol is reduced below 20% ABV, the fre point and fash point of the liquid increase rapidly.
From a safety perspective, a higher fash point and higher fre point are desirable as less (or no) fammable vapours will be available to sustain a fre or cause an explosion. This 20% ABV cutof is recognized in codes throughout Canada.
Exceeding this cutof in a production facility can have signifcant implications in terms of the design of your facility. While beer is typically well below this threshold, many of the ingredients used in the product of RTD beverages are not.
For instance, one common ingredient in RTD production is grain neutral spirits (GNS). Grain neutral spirits are often shipped in alcohol concentrations up to 95% ABV, making them highly fammable.
The two main risks associated with these ingredients are fire and explosion. Fire is self-explanatory, explosion may not be. Flammable liquids produce flammable vapours as they evaporate. If these flammable vapours are not managed correctly, they can accumulate within a facility or vessel. At that point, ignition from any number of sources can cause an explosion. The fire and explosion risks associated with
RTD production need to managed in a way that is suited to the scale of the facility’s operations and the actual operating procedures.
Adherence to local building codes and fre codes will help manage these risks, however, the resulting design of your facility may not be feasible or operationally practical. These codes tend to be written with large-scale industrial facilities in mind, not your local brewery.
For example, the Ontario Fire Code (OFC) states that any facility producing, concentrating or otherwise processing alcoholic beverages more than 20% ABV is considered a distillery and is therefore considered a high-hazard industrial occupancy, regardless of the quantity of liquid. High-hazard industrial occupancies are prohibited by the Ontario Building Code (OBC) from being located in the same building as assembly occupancies.
This means that an RTD production facility would not be permitted to be located in any building containing a tasting room or a restaurant, regardless of the size of either occupancy, the production scale, and whether or not the two are fre-separated. High-hazard industrial occupancies require more egress doorways than other occupancies and are required to have much shorter travel distances to exits. These are difcult to incorporate into the design of a building, especially in an existing building.
Fire codes also have many requirements that are particular to the storage, handling, and use of fammable liquids. The requirements include things like explosion-proof electrical equipment, explosion venting and damage-limiting construction, mechanical ventilation for fammable vapours, spill control and drainage, limits on the location and quantity of storage, the list goes on. Many of these can be difcult
The fre and explosion risks associated with RTD production need to managed in a way that is suited to the scale of the facility’s operations and the actual operating procedures,” Adam Gillies, LRI Engineering Inc.
to retroft in an existing building and are costly in any type of building.
In applying these requirements and managing the fre and explosion risks of RTD production, it’s important to look for opportunities to tailor the design to the actual scale and operations of your facility. This can help reduce installation, operating, and maintenance costs for equipment that doesn’t signifcantly contribute to the safety of your building.
For example, the OFC requires mechanical ventilation for rooms where fammable liquids are dispensed. In a combination brewery/RTD production facility with an open foor area, this means the ventilation system would have to be provided throughout the foor area. If your RTD production area is only located in the corner of your brewery, it may not make sense to provide such a large ventilation system.
It may be possible to show through engineering analysis that providing a local ventilation system only where the mixing of fammable liquids is actually taking place accomplishes the same goal. Another thing to consider is whether or not the distillery and high-hazard industrial classifcations in the fre code are actually appropriate for your operations.
Perhaps your RTD operation will only involve small quantities of alcohol. In that case, analysis of the combustible contents of your facility and the risks of your operations may show that a medium- or low-hazard industrial classifcation is more appropriate, thus avoiding some of the more onerous building and fre code requirements.
It’s best to start considering fre and explosion risk mitigation at the earliest stages of the design process, when you have the most fexibility in the design. There are often simple solutions to reduce the number of changes required to your building.
As an example, if you’re considering adding RTD production to your brewery, it may be possible to store the high-proof alcohol outdoors and dilute it to less than 20% ABV before it enters your building. This would reduce the fre and explosion risks by not allowing fammable liquids to enter the building. It would also limit the extent to which high-hazard industrial occupancy requirements and many of the fre code requirements mentioned above would be applicable to your building.
Of course, there will still be risks associated with the outdoor storage that need to be managed, but most requirements for the inside of your facility, such as mechanical ventilation and explosion venting, can often be eliminated.
Don’t let all of the building code and fre code requirements scare you away from expanding and diversifying into RTD production but don’t underestimate the risks posed by introducing fammable liquids to your facility. There are practical and cost-efective solutions to mitigate the fre and explosion hazards posed by RTD ingredients, and to comply with the requirements of building and fre codes. Some forethought and some help from experts will save you a lot of trouble down the road.
The Fire Point
The fre point is the temperature at which a liquid will produce sufcient vapour to sustain a fame.
The Flash Point
The fash point is the temperature at which a liquid will produce suffcient vapour to produce a momentary fash when exposed to an ignition source.
GOODLOT FARMSTEAD BREWING CO.
SOME 15 YEARS AGO, GAIL AND PHIL WINTERS PURCHASED THE 30 ACRE PINKNEY FARM ON SHAWS CREEK RD IN CALEDON, ONTARIO. WHAT STARTED AS DREAM OF WORKING WITH SOIL WAS FULFILLED WITH THE PLANTING OF HOPS. A JOURNEY THAT HAS TAKEN THEM INTO BREWING THEIR OWN BRILLIANT BEER, TOO. HERE, THEY TELL US HOW A COMMITMENT TO QUALITY, COMMUNITY AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IS WHAT CONTINUES TO DRIVE THEM EACH AND EVERY DAY.
THE STORY OF SUSTAINABLE BREWING
To make a positive impact on our surroundings and those that inhabit it, is one of the biggest achievement anyone of us can hope to accomplish in life. And for Gail and Phil Winters, and their beer business GoodLot Farmstead Brewing Co, they are doing just that.
Established in 2009 with the aim to grow organic hops for Ontario craft brewers they would go on to diversify their hop farm to become the frst farm-to-barrel brewery in the Greenbelt. Bonded by a passion for using local ingredients to demonstrate the terroir of local beer while supporting other local farms like theirs, the team of
Regenerative Practices at GoodLot
Organic farming (no pesticides, no herbicides, only organic certi ed amendments)
Increasing organic matter % to support soil biology with compost & manures
Rotational livestock grazing
Cover cropping / green manure
No till strategies & water management
Supporting biodiversity
regenerative organic farmers, produce a range of beers that always use 100% Ontario hops, brewed in an eco-renovated converted barn, powered by solar energy.
But while the brewery, in operation since 2017, continues to make its mark with excellent beverages. Owning and running a brewing business wasn’t part of the initial plan for Gail and Phil.
“First and foremost, the whole premise of what we do is based on organic farming,” explains Phil. “When we were starting out there was a real gold rush in craft beer. But instead of searching for gold we thought we could be the ones to supply others with the pickaxe.”
In establishing GoodLot Farm in 2009, the duo would become part of the hop-growing landscape. One that, at the time, was characterised by a global shortage of hops. Brewers were using increasingly large amounts of hops in the beers they were producing and the combination of bad weather coupled with events such as warehouse fres resulted in bad yields with price of hops spiking as a result.
Early conversations with brewers were positive and the duos foray into farming was proving to be the right decision. But like anything in life, it’s a learning curve and a series of decisions such as farming by hand without investment in equipment, and a poor orientation of the hop yard for natural water fow presented a number of challenges for the farm.
“Even today, we’re a relatively small hop farm in the grand scheme of things
Our purpose is to build and play together so that our community is connected to each other and to the land,” Phil Winters
with two and a half acres under cultivation. But back then, speaking with brewers, there was a real desire for local hops. The 100-mile diet mentality was growing and a modern hop farm community in Ontario fed into that,” says Phil.
“But looking back maybe some of our produce wasn’t to the standard we would have liked. A desire for a greater understanding of hop cultivation was one of the main reasons we co-founded the Ontario Hop Growers Association. We wanted to learn more and also support other emerging hop farmers.”
Gail adds: “Much has changed with the standards of what we do, and what wasn’t necessarily there at the start. But as we’ve grown as farmers, and as people, we’ve refned our packaging, refned our processes and we are very proud of what we produce.”
In the years that followed, the team undertook a major expansion planting 1500 more hop plants (Cascade and Nugget) in 2013 and in 2016, they began investigating the terroir of our hops and creating specific recipes around their flavours.
While GoodLot’s hop-growing operation would continue to develop, in 2017 the team would also make the decision to diversify their farm operation due to climate change uncertainties in the field.
“There was no crop insurance,” says Phil. “And we knew we couldn’t put all of our eggs in once basket, so instead of adding 10 more acres of hops we made the decision to open a brewery of our own.”
He adds: “The growth of the craft beer industry has simultaneously mirrored much of the growth of the craft hop growing industry where there’s been this bell curve efect.
“But there’s a couple of reasons for that, and hop farming is much more difcult than most
people would give credit for. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, who we work with very closely will tell you, organic hop production is the hardest crop to grow in Ontario as conditions are not ideal in this province.
“However, in starting our own brewery it was a way for us to take matters into our own hands and demonstrate that we can make amazing beers exclusively using hops grown in Ontario.”
While the team has been vindicated by their decision, Gail harboured some initial concerns about the venture. “When the idea was proposed to me that we should diversify and open a brewery I wasn’t fully sold on it.
“But what convinced me me and still does to this day, is that I get to grow the ingredients and I know exactly how and what I treated my plants with. I have traceability of the crops, which is a game-changer for me. I know that what I’m going to be drinking will not be full of contaminants.
However, the brewery brakes were nearly put on the duo’s plans at a very early stage.
“When it came to the groundwater, a consultant told us early on and very clearly that we would ‘never make beer with this water’. I found that quite distressing honestly because then you’re looking at a $100,000 water fltration system or trucking water in from another location.
We are part of a much bigger picture,”
Gail Winters
“But then our frst brewer who we worked with helped change our mind. They said we should lean into it and that this water is the base ingredient of the terroir of our beer. Yes, it’s high in minerals and yes, it’s hard, which we would adjust that ever so slightly, but we agreed that the essence of the beer came from the water profle.
“Whether that’s hard water in the the north of England or soft water in the Pilsen region of the Czech Republic, the styles brewed there have developed because of that water profle. And so we leant into it, and we’re now making beer with our groundwater and our hops!”
With only two and a half acres of hops, GoodLot knew they would have to work with partner growers such as Bighead
Hops. But as such businesses would, sadly, call it a day, they would fnd new partners in the form of Hayhoe Hops in beautiful Elgin county and also The Tavistock Hop Company. Around 40% of the hops used in the beers brewed at GoodLot come from their own farm with the remainder from those two partners.
“Losing those early partners was traumatic to us because our mandate is using Ontario hops but we were very lucky we could turn to great businesses in the form of Hayhoe Hops and The Tavistock Hop Company, for which we are grateful!” says Phil.
“They are planting varieties of hops that we need here knowing we’re going to have a long term partnership and fngers crossed, that they will stay in business as long as we are in existence, which is hopefully the next 100 years.”
Striving for longevity stems from the duo’s mantra that they are farm-frst in everything they do. From 1st April until August 31st at harvest, the farm takes up approximately 75% of Gail’s time with Phil’s split 50/50 at that time of year. And then in the winter, they are “much more focused” on the brewery from a business perspective. “We have to as on the revenue side, the farm generates almost no revenue compared to the brewery,” he explains.
Circular Economy
Local procurement means a strong local economy
A O Wilson - brewery supplies – 5.9 km
Escarpment Labs – yeast – 33 km
BSG - Grains, malts, yeast – 39 km
Northern – cans, labels – 39 km
HDP – brewing equipment – 53 km
Local hop suppliers in 100% of their brews:
GoodLot Farm (Caledon) – 0 km
Can-Aussie Hops (Elora) - 33 km
Tavistock Hops (Tavistock) – 86 km
Hayhoe Hops (Aylmer) - 144 km
Responsibility for the beers that are brewed at GoodLot falls to head brew Mike Brooks. And perhaps the beers the business are most known for are those like Sesh - a 4% crushable, low alcohol, Ontario-hopped IPA. There is also Yonder - a 5.8% deep orange, clean Cali-Ale
IPA with crisp West-Coast hop bitterness and piney, lemony aroma and favour. You also have brews such as Farmstead Ale. At 6.2%, it’s a smooth pale ale with mellow notes of fresh stone fruit showcasing the subtle tropicality of Ontario-farmed Nugget and Cascade hops while Bighead is known as a west-coast red ale featuring piney citrusy Ontario-farmed “Big C” hops and a balanced caramel malt body.
And the duo are full of praise for head brewer Mike and his brewing prowess. It takes the right kind of person to be willing to take on that challenge of limiting the hops they can work with,” says Gail. “Only shopping within the province would be enough for many to walk away but not Mike. He’s very impressive.
Another beer Mike demonstrated his brewing skills on was Tree Hug - a Wilder Sap Ale. In collaboration with Credit Valley Conservation and Wilder Climate Solutions, the brewery produced a beer with Maple sap in lieu of water.
This unique partnership combined environmental stewardship, sustainable practices, and delicious craft brewing to create a beverage that celebrates the natural beauty of our forests. Drawing inspiration from the lush maple groves of Ontario, ‘Tree Hug’ is a testament to the rich heritage of the region and a commitment to environmental conservation.
By utilizing locally sourced maple sap, GoodLot created a one-of-a-kind beer that captures the essence of the Canadian wilderness while supporting sustainable forestry practices.
“Not only does this beer ofer a distinctively refreshing taste, but it also represents our collective efort to promote environmental sustainability. By partnering with Credit Valley Conservation and Wilder Climate Solutions, we took a signifcant step towards fostering a more eco-conscious brewing industry. As such, 100% of the proceeds from this beer were donated to the Credit Valley Conservation Foundation,” says Phil.
He adds: “It’s unique on a global level, I’ve seen very few references to people using tree water to make beer but we’ve been promoting it here in Ontario for at least fve if not six years. There’s legitimately zero water in the beer and instead it’s 100% sap!”
Beers such as Tree Hug arguably represent a distillation of the ethos at GoodLot Farmstead Brewing Co. Producing something innovative and delicious in a sustainable fashion that also benefts a range of parties. And it’s this connection to the community, and to the land that continues to drive Gail, Phil and the team as their venture enjoys its 15th year in operation.
“From day one, I’ve always been trying to create a playbook in this industry regarding how we move into a sustainable future for the brewing industry. So to create a product that people enjoy while minimising our impact on the environment is so important to us. We’re fortunate enough to bring people together, to provide employment and to hopefully do good by others in the process,” says Phil.
Gail adds: “I’ve come to realise that over the last seven years that we make great beer here. It’s taken us time to get here but now I feel that the beer is almost a byproduct of everything else we have going on here. It’s certainly the focus, and we are fortunate to be part of a brilliant team but at the same time, we and the things we produce are part of a much bigger picture.”
EXPERT COMMENTARY
YOUR BEST FERMENTATION WITH ZINC
lead to yeast stress and inhibition of fermentation leading to of-favors in the beer.
HOW HAVE BREWERS BEEN ADDING ZINC?
Zinc is important in the cell cycle (reproduction) and is a cofactor for alcohol dehydrogenase, the enzyme responsible for alcohol production. Other metal ions cannot be substituted for zinc. Zinc promotes proper fermentation speed, attenuation, yeast health at the end of fermentation, and yeast’s ability to perform faster hop creep. It also improves the uptake of diacetyl and reduces acetaldehyde production.
LABS
The zinc requirement in beer fermentation can vary depending on the yeast strain, the type of beer being produced, and the composition of the wort. A typical requirement for yeast growth during beer fermentation is between 0.15 to 0.5 mg/L(ppm) of zinc.
If the zinc levels are too low, yeast growth and fermentation can be negatively impacted, resulting in slower fermentation, incomplete attenuation, and undesirable favor compounds. On the other hand, excessive levels of zinc can
Brewers have either not added zinc or added zinc salts to the hot side, typically at the end of the boil. There are lots of old-time stories, such as adding pennies to the boil. The problem is that zinc chelates to proteins, which creates a strong covalent bond. If added too early on the hot side, they can bind to trub and chelate or drop out of solution.
Even when metals successfully enter yeast cells, they can be chelated within the cytoplasm. This is actually a natural defense mechanism for yeast, and is helpful for brewers to keep toxic metals from hurting fermentations. The whirlpool removes a lot of protein in the trub, which is where most added mineral zinc is found.
Products like Servomyces, which is a yeast culture grown in the process of very high zinc then inactivated, are ideal for zinc supplementation. When added to the end of the
boil, the yeast cells protect the zinc ions, and they are taken up by the live cells pitched into the cold wort. Servomyces works great — but a lot of brewers don’t use it. Now there are alternatives that brewers can use as effectively as Servomyces, on the cold-side.
WHY ADD ZINC TO THE COLD SIDE?
Zinc Buddy™, a product we developed from brewer feedback, is a ready-to-use
solution that takes the guesswork out of cold-side zinc additions. It is a mineral zinc solution that is sterilized and acidifed to ensure maximum solubility, which is key in promoting proper uptake by yeast in fermentation.
Adding zinc on the cold side ensures a much more efcient method of zinc getting inside the yeast cell and contributing to the metabolism of the wort carbohydrates.
By adding to the cold side, the proper and precise concentration can be adjusted and added without worrying about hot side losses and a lower-than-ideal concentration of zinc. A lot of enzymes inside the yeast cell are zinc-dependent, so zinc needs to be there right at the active site when it’s taking substrate to a product.
WHY NOT JUST ADD ZINC?
Zinc salts can be toxic if not added at the right concentration (around 1ppm). Some zinc products, if added directly, can be very harmful and detrimental to yeast health. Creating your own zinc solution can be done, but ensure sterilization and acidifcation for the zinc salts be soluble and prevent potential contamination post-wort boil.
WHAT CONCENTRATION TO TARGET WITH COLD-SIDE ZINC?
A good rule of thumb is to target 0.3 ppm zinc. Wort is generally assumed to maintain ~0.1 ppm zinc, so adding an additional 0.2 ppm zinc in cold wort is ideal. This is the same target rate for ales and lagers in every batch.
DOSAGE FOR WHITE LABS ZINC BUDDY
For decades, brewing scientists have known that zinc stimulates protein synthesis and yeast growth, improving yeast viability and overall yeast health. Today, brewers are rediscovering the benefts of zinc in beer production, allowing for more robust yeast for repitching, better fermentations, and overall better beer.
Chris White - President, Founder and CEO, White Labs Inc.
BANISHED BREWING
WELCOME TO PARADISE
AT BANISHED, THEY PRIDE THEMSELVES ON BEING AN OPEN, HONEST, AND DIVERSE OPERATION THAT STRIVES TO CREATE A SAFE, INCLUSIVE, AND WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT FOR PATRONS AND STAFF ALIKE. THEY DO THIS, AND MUCH MORE BESIDES. AND SINCE STARTING OUT IN 2022, THE TEAM HAVE ALSO MADE THEIR NAME FROM THE PRODUCTION OF A RAFT OF FANTASTIC BEER WITH A COMPLETE FOCUS ON QUALITY - WHILE ALSO AIMING TO HAVE AS MUCH FUN AS POSSIBLE ALONG THE WAY. HERE IN HIS OWN WORDS DUNCAN TENNANT, THE HEAD BREWER AT THE PARADISE, NEWFOUNDLAND BUSINESS EXPLAINS HOW THEY DO JUST THAT.
Ioriginally got into the brewing world back in 2019. I started working at a brewery in Dartmouth called Spindrift Brewing Company. First, I started on the packaging line, like many do, and before long I was promoted to assistant brewer. A year or two passed before I took on the position of lead production brewer and that’s where I really cut my teeth.
Spindrift, as it was called then (now known as Burnside Brewing) is primarily a lager brewery with sort of a macro sort bent to things. They used to make a lot of small-scale beers but once they hit their stride with American Lagers, there was really no going back.
By the time I joined the team we were primarily brewing lager five days a week, two to three batches a day. So over the two years I was there, I probably brewed one to two million litres of lager. A fair amount!
The world of beer was not necessarily something I had devoted a lot of my life towards. Before becoming a brewer I was working in the world of investment planning. And I just really wasn’t keen on the ofce lifestyle.
I’m a tall guy, my back was always sore. I’ve also got a short attention span. So yeah, being glued to the screen all day wasn’t really for me. I left that and just landed on the packaging line, somewhat of out of a serendipity because my friend was dating somebody who knew of an opening at the brewery.
LEARNINGS IN LAGER
I got hired on the packaging line to basically pay the bills. And before long, the assistant brewer there departed and they needed somebody. I guess they saw something in me? I was certainly more than happy to bump up from the packaging line to the production side as it was a lot more interesting.
But prior to that, I had maybe done one to two home brews in my life in my friend’s kitchen. As a result, my real introduction to brewing was this sort of large-scale production operation, which I think in terms of working in this industry may be considered a blessing.
Because when you come in at from a homebrewing angle, the production side in a real brewery is somewhat diferent and you’re probably going to learn that a lot of what you think is right, isn’t….
I think the size of the brewery was perfect for an introduction. It was big enough
that I was fully immersed in the production-scale brewing. I learned how to do things in a regimented, but correct, way.
ENTER BANISHED BREWING
The head brewer at the time, Kyle, brought me on and he basically taught me everything that I knew up until that point in brewing. But after about two
years or so he departed. He moved up to Newfoundland to become the head brewer at Dildo Brewing Company. He was also moonlighting as an equipment rep for a company called Jenrey and that’s kind of where Banished Brewing comes into play because three gentlemen called Craig farewell, Tom Williamson and Jamie Clark had an idea to start a brewery…
During this time they were liaising with Kyle and it became clear that they needed a head brewer. And around June 2021, Kyle kindly put me in touch.
The founders of Banished all come from different backgrounds. Craig is a Chartered Professional Accountant by trade, Tom is a businessman and an entrepreneur, while Jamie is works in oil and gas where he works three weeks on and three weeks offshore. There were some initial discussions about the trio opening a restaurant but they would soon decide that to take the brewery route and, who knows, a restaurant element could follow later.
And while the early ideas for Banished centred about a taproom model the pandemic, and the impact that had on a company’s ability to trade directly from that site, made them reconsider with the focus turning instead to a production business with the aim for distribution outside the island and across mainland Canada.
CROSSHEAD - SETTING THE FOUNDATIONS
Since starting out in July 2022, we’ve added a few more great people to the team. And with Craig, Jamie and Tom, we have a really broad skillset that complement each other well. Although I wasn’t involved in the early specifcations of the brewery I did the install. We have a mash kettle and a lauter. So we’ll mash, transfer to the lauter, rinse out the mash and then bring it back for the boil.
We have four cutouts on the brew deck, but we only have two vessels. So the hope is that eventually we’ll be able to install a dedicated kettle and eventually a whirlpool vessel as well. But with that said, the kettle is something like 40BBL capacity maybe more like 50BBL It’s really hard to say because I can’t max it out because of the size of the lauter.
I was if I had a four vessel system on the go, then we could be doing I could be double batching in a day and then we could maybe be getting a better utilization out of the kettle but typically I do about 4000 litre batches with six fermenters of the same size in our cellar. On paper, they’re supposed to be 30BBL but I’ve managed to ft as much as 4000 liters into into one of them.
We don’t have any brite tanks. For someone from a lager background that was surprise, especially when you’re used to feeding a brew through a lenticular flter and then into a secondary tank for pack-
aging. Instead we’re fermenting and packaging out of the same tank, which was a bit of a challenge at frst just because it was something I was not used to at all, but we’ve nailed it down.
CANNING QUALITY
One thing the founders knew from the beginning was that if we had ambitions to distribute our beer then it was imperative that our packaging processes were of the highest quality. Central to this is a six-head counter pressure canner from Italian business Cimec.
While my background is in lager production, our focus at Banished often falls onto hop-forward IPAs and Sour beers. Our fagship Space Pufn is a 6% NEIPA, Space Pufing is a session variant at 4% and Interplanetary Pufn is our Double NEIPA at 8%. Other beers we produce include the 7% West Coast IPA Tall Trees, the 5% American Lager - An Elaborate Series of Mirrors, and fruited sours such as Paradise Town.
Broader distribution of these beers is important to us. Especially as the market in Newfoundland is very unique. It’s segregated from the rest of Canada not just geographically, but culturally. Newfoundland didn’t enter Confederation until halfway through the 20th century in 1949 and I feel it really does have it’s own unique culture as a result. And when it comes to beer, it can be a little behind other parts of Canada and North America. As a result, we get the whole gamut of reactions to the beers that we make.
Prior to our brewery, I don’t believe that anybody had released something like a 10% DDH Triple IPA on the island. Feedback has ranged from ‘this is amazing’ to ‘this is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever tasted’. But the people that give us these reactions are often a surprise. Some local older fshermen love our hazy beers while two general contractors that often do odd jobs for us are the biggest fans of our fruited sours!
A POINT OF PRIDE
I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved here. We started from an empty 10,000 square foot warehouse and some two years later, we have a brewery with a thriving taproom and a beer garden.
And as far as 20-odd craft breweries go on the island, we have become the second largest in terms of sales. I’m just incredibly pleased to see our beer on shelves Island-wide and when, for instance, my fancé says to somebody that
It feels that the only way from here is up,”
Duncan Tennant, Banished Brewing
‘Duncan works at Banished Brewing’ and they reply saying how much they love our beers is an incredible feeling. But yes, having our beer sold far-and-wide is incredibly rewarding.
This summer is shaping up to be our busiest yet and we are pretty much already at our maximum capacity for production so we’ll no doubt have to address that. It will be exciting and stressful in equal measure, I’m sure.
We are always incredibly proud be the ofcial beer of the 2025 Canada games. We will not only produce a special limited-edition beer but also serve as a craft beer provider at select events throughout the Games next August.
When the opportunity arose to partner with the 2025 Canada Games Host Society, it felt like a perfect ft. It was clear that our visions aligned, and together, we could create something truly special.
At Banished Brewing, we are passionate about giving back to our community and are dedicated to ensuring that everyone involved in August 2025 has an unforgettable experience. We can’t wait to raise a glass to Canadian sport and our incredible province!
A MOVE THAT WAS MEANT TO BE
Before joining Banished Brewing I was at a turning point in my career. After being the production brewer at Spindrift I wasn’t sure where else I could go and I wasn’t convinced that I was ready to be in charge of an entire brewery. But joining this business has made my career. It has taken me in a completely different direction. Especially as five years ago I wasn’t even a brewer. Instead I’m now part of a fantastic team making beer that people enjoy and it feels that the only way from here is up!
BREWING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE A GUIDE TO WATER MANAGEMENT
DURING THIS SERIES OF FOUR ARTICLES ECONSE WILL DISCUSS A BROAD RANGE OF TOPICS, INCLUDING HOW BREWERIES CAN MANAGE THEIR MOST PRECIOUS RESOURCE AND EVEN WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE “SUSTAINABLE” ANYWAYS? THESE TOPICS ARE DESIGNED TO GIVE BREWERY OWNERS AND STAFF THE INFORMATION THEY NEED TO KNOW REGARDING: SUSTAINABILITY, LEADERSHIP, POLLUTION URBAN MYTHS, AND BEST AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, BREWERS WILL COME AWAY WITH ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS THAT CRAFT BREWERIES CAN IMPLEMENT TO GROW SUSTAINABLY. IN THIS FIRST ARTICLE, ECONSE CEO DEREK DAVY FOCUSES ON SURVIVING SUSTAINABILITY - KEEPING GREEN WHEN THE MARKET DRIES UP.
FFOCUS
or decades, North Americans seemed to have an insatiable thirst for local, independently produced beers. Craft brewing enjoyed impressive year-overyear growth, fueling innovations in both favors and production processes. During this golden age, it was easy to focus on— and allocate resources toward—corporate values including diversity, sustainability, and community engagement.
But the last few years have seen a maturing market and a slowing economy, factors that have led many brewers to closely examine all aspects of their business. From operations to marketing to location, every opportunity to trim ex-
penses and eliminate inefciencies is being explored. Often times, sustainability initiatives and eforts are the frst to be scaled-back or eliminated in the quest to minimize expenses.
WHY SUSTAINABILITY MATTERS
Letting sustainability slide can result in long-term damages to your business and bottom line. While eco-friendly business practices might not directly connect to profts, it is still critically important to maintain these eforts even in a dry market. There are a multitude of reasons that all lead to preserving and even improving revenue.
GREEN-MINDED CONSUMERS
It’s no secret that sustainability factors into the buying decisions of today’s consumers. In fact, according to a recent survey by McKinsey & Company1, 66% of all respondents say that they consider sustainability when they make a purchase. That number jumps to 75% when looking at millennial respondents. Ofering a great product may be the frst step to sales, but it’s certainly not the last. When you integrate sustainable values into your business—before you’ve been required to—you have an edge in today’s green-minded marketplace.
HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES
Small and mid-size businesses are often tightly integrated within the communities they serve. Not only is it where their consumers live, it is frequently where employees live as well. Protecting the community’s natural resources is benefcial to everyone involved. Whether it’s reducing energy use, recycling, or more efciently managing your wastewater, the changes you make can help everyone within the community thrive.
CIRCULAR SYSTEMS
How can you more efectively reduce usage or reuse resources? For example, the more water that goes down the drain, the more new water that’s required to grow crops, craft beer, or wash equipment. Compact, on-site water treatment solutions remove excessive nutrients and pollutants from wastewater, allowing it to meet municipal water system standards and even be repurposed for watering crops. Solids that are sidestreamed can be sold as feed or compost. So these types of systems not only help you meet regulations, they also deliver additional benefts that further reduce costs and increase revenue.
WHERE DO YOU START?
The last thing you want to do is jump into sustainability eforts without carefully analyzing what’s right for your business. With a plan, you can appropriately prioritize what your eforts will look like. Will you focus on recycling? Water? Energy? Once you understand what your eco-friendly initiatives will look like, you can follow a strategic road map to implement them in the smartest way.
STEP ONE: GET A PLAN
Talk to a professional to get the right information and fgure out the gaps between where you are and where you need to be. This will save you money in the long run.
STEP TWO: INITIATE THE FIRST ACTIONS
These are the “low hanging fruit.” For instance, in wastewater management, this can include side streaming, balancing tanks, and pH correction. Make sure you are using the proper design, and invest in something modular for growth. You don’t have to completely retool your operations to start making a positive impact. Look for areas where you can reduce usage. Find ways to use less electricity during the day. Explore techniques for storing ingredients that result in less spoilage. Employ technologies that use less water to clean your tanks. And, remember, the craft brewing industry is a community. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask other brewers what sort of eco-friendly practices they’ve found to be efective or not efective.
STEP THREE: IMPLEMENT MAJOR CHANGES
quickly the savings will enable you to recover the costs. The long-term proft outlook may not be as long as you think!
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Also, take a close look at your waste management. Forward-thinking companies are exploring innovative, on-site technologies that don’t just treat waste products like water, but also enhance efciency, promote reuse, and support the efectiveness of existing infrastructure. In response to regulation and consumer pressure, small to mid-size businesses in-particular are beginning to explore new solutions.
No matter how you start, the most important thing is to start now—or restart if your sustainability initiatives have gone by the wayside.
storage tanks create signifcant negative impact on the bottom line. Typically, you want a solution that has a small footprint, easily ftting into existing buildings. This means minimal disruption to space and workfow, making it easy to implement in a variety of applications.
AFFORDABLE
Large-scale sustainability solutions often come with large-scale budgets. Luckily, technology innovations have led to waste treatment solutions that cost in the thousands, not millions. Even if you previously explored sustainability solutions and didn’t fnd any afordable options, now is the time to look again. You will fnd a variety of accessible and fexible solutions that can work for your unique needs.
This is the big step, which, if you’ve planned properly, means you need this because you have growth in your business—so congratulations! Now you put in the right tool for the right job to achieve your sustainability goals. In wastewater treatment, this can include treating to meet discharge targets or implementing reuse to reduce total volumes. Some changes may take a larger up-front cost, like replacing equipment with newer, more efcient models. Depending on the age of your equipment, you may be surprised by how far efciency has come—and how
KEY FACTORS TO CONSIDER
When looking at solutions, once again it’s important to consider what works best for your business. There are a few critical factors that apply to most craft breweries.
COMPACT
For any size brewery, space equals money. Treatment solutions that have a large footprint or require massive settling ponds or
SCALABLE
As you look to grow your businesses, you’ll need a solution that will grow with you. Make sure any waste treatment solutions you choose are scalable, ensuring that environmentally friendly operations expand as your business does. Not only will scalability help your business, it ensures that the local infrastructure won’t be overwhelmed as you increase volume.
Even though the market has gotten tighter, now is not the time to eliminate sustainability from your business. In fact, now is the time to lean into eco-friendly business practices that will help you grow success, attract consumers, support your community, and protect our planet.
Econse Water Technologies is at the forefront of on-site wastewater treatment solutions. With more than a decade of experience, the company’s technology is designed to meet the unique treatment situations, sustainability values, and growth goals of the businesses they serve.
References: https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/ mckinsey/industries/retail/our%20insights/the%20state%20of%20fashion%20 2020%20navigating%20uncertainty/thestate-of-fashion-2020-fnal.pdf
NOMINATIONS OPEN
TECHNOLOGY
TRACEABILITY MAKES FOR HOPPING BREWS ADVANCED INGREDIENTS
TRACEABILITY ISN’T AS MUCH OF AN ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN AS ONE INITIALLY THINKS AND ULTIMATELY, YOUR CUSTOMERS WILL HAVE A CONSISTENT PRODUCT EACH TIME THEY CONSUME YOUR BEER AND THUS WILL BE BACK FOR MORE, EXPLAINS ROB WARREN AND DANA WILKINSON, GLENGARRY AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY INC.
In 2019, the Canadian government enacted the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations which now mandates beer traceability as does the American FDA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The idea that beer is a food product and that it should be safe for consumption is self-evident. The traceability requirements are there to ensure that, should the unlikely happen, action can be taken to prevent consumption of the product.
The importance of beer quality and food safety is not a stretch for brewers, though we will groan at the prospect of additional record keeping when what everyone really wants to do is brew beer. At the heart of the problem is that these record keeping requirements are seen at worst as sunk costs or at best as an insurance policy against accidents.
But these records, like brewing notebooks, provide a detailed view of a brewery’s operation: be it on the ingredient side or for the fnished product, traceability involves tracking what goes into the beer, where it came from, and where it went. Luckily, most of that record keeping is already partially kept in the form of brew sheets, sales and inventory records.
Properly run, a brewery is unlikely to have anything go wrong but accidents happen. Furthermore, trust in suppliers is necessary since only partial quality control of ingredients and consumables is possible. An issue may even come from a supplier’s supplier with a fault cascading down the line. Traceability is both a troubleshooting tool to track down disparate complaints and a mechanism to recall products when an issue exists.
TRACEABILITY IS A TOOL AND NOT A BURDEN
Traceability involves being able to trace where the ingredients came from within a specifc beer batch and where that
beer was distributed to. The requirement is based on reasonable efort: you do not need to trace every single pint poured in your tap room, but you should be able to track which merchants you shipped batches to and when.
None of this is additional work to be done but rather information to be communicated to retailers and consumers. Each container should be marked with a lot number representing the beer batch so that both the consumer and the merchant can check if the container was recalled. Containers should also be marked with a “date brewed” mark to ensure inventory turnover and prevent containers from older batches being served.
Similarly for ingredients, every brewery has a mystery bag of “something” in the storehouse whose age and provenance has been forgotten. It’s not only a concern that stale ingredients may eventually be used erroneously: unknown inventory represents a fnancial loss. The aggregate use of the traceability data is an advantage to the brewer who can use that data to ensure brewing quality, efciency and consistency.
STRENGTHENING
SUPPLIER
RELATIONSHIPS AND EFFICIENCIES
Being able to tie ingredients to batches and batches to sales is not only part of a safe brewing practice, it is part of an efcient brew house process. Making a good beer requires good ingredients, it also requires a knowledge of what those ingredients are and their characteristics. Variations in ingredient characteristics, such as the Lovibond degrees of a malt bag, occur from lot to lot and may require minor changes in the amounts used in a beer batch.
The lot number of the malt used within a batch can be compared to previous brew sheets to determine if the process needs to be modifed and thus time saved.
Hops can be especially fckle in their aromas from growing season to growing season. There has been evidence that the terroir on non-blended hops has more infuence on aroma than the varietal itself. Traceability lot codes enable hop suppliers to clearly convey the specifc characteristics of their hops, including both their traditional bittering qualities and unique aroma profles. This means increased predictability across beer batches when dry hopping: “Traceability has enabled me to communicate the specifc aromas of my hops to the brewer” says Jef Hansen of Happy Hour Hopyard.
This foreknowledge of brew batch behaviour is inherently built-into your relationships with your suppliers when they provide lot-based ingredient traceability and data. Mireille Allard of Houblonnière Lupuline uses traceability-enabled QR codes because “It makes a strong sales argument with breweries.
They can immediately see proof of provenance and the laboratory tests on the product.” Combined with your brew sheet records, all of this data tracks product consistency, lists which ingredients worked best, and reduces the need for time consuming test batches.
As the old adage says, maintaining a relationship with an existing customer is easier than creating a new relationship with a new customer (See Phillip E. Pfeifer 1). Consistency of beer batches is what will keep your customers coming back. In turn this means that rebuying ingredients with traceable characteristics from known suppliers will be favoured because it reduces the work in ensuring consistency.
CONCLUSION
Because it encompasses the everyday operations of a brewery, traceability isn’t
as much of an administrative burden as one initially thinks. The information needed, be it ingredient sources, production dates and the happy customers that buy your product, is already in your invoices, bills and brewing sheets.
The assignment of lot codes to your beer batches ensures compliance with the regulations by enabling you to recall your product. Combining with the traceability of your suppliers further enables you to perform quality control checks on each beer batch by isolating any variation in ingredient performance. This means that your customers will have a consistent product each time they consume your beer and thus will be back for more.
1 Pfeifer, P. The optimal ratio of acquisition and retention costs. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing 13, 179–188 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jt.5740142
TECHNOLOGYCO2 RECOVERY
WHY MORE BREWERIES ARE CAPTURING THEIR OWN CO2?
Although CO2 recovery has long been discussed in the craft brewing industry, its implementation has faced challenges due to limited available technology and financial constraints.
Releasing CO2 produced during fermentation has been a common practice of beer production, serving as the industry’ foremost source of carbon emissions. In relation to this, more craft breweries are now investing in CO2 recovery systems to reduce their carbon emissions.
By purifying, liquefying, storing, and using the CO2 in all steps of beer production that require CO2 utilization, the system creates a closed-loop process. This eliminates the cost of procuring CO2 from commercial gas suppliers and increases operational efciency.
In 2020, Dalum Beverage Equipment introduced a craft-scale CO2 recovery plant to the market. Since then, the company has sold 60 plants globally, including over 5 in the Americas, and continues to develop new products to grow their target group.
In recent times, innovative technology has gained signifcant interest among craft breweries worldwide, with many eagerly adopting it. Other suppliers have now entered the market, ofering distinctive CO2 recovery solutions tailored to craft breweries.
SUSTAINABILITY AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT
Since 2018, DALUM has collaborated closely with Ørbæk Brewery and Svaneke Brewhouse in Denmark to refne their system. This partnership pro -
vided invaluable insights into the operations of craft breweries, remarkably advancing the technology of our CO2 Recovery Plants.
These plants feature a distinctive purifcation process that efectively eliminates oxygen from the recovered CO2, thanks to the patented condenser and rectifer system. Customers using O2 analyzers from Pentair Hafmans, Anton Paar or Orbispheres typically fnd signifcantly low oxygen levels in the liquid CO2, ranging from 6 ppb to 16 ppb.
The CO2 recovery plant is equipped with state-of-the-art components, including the patented 3-stage variable speed, oil-free, stainless-steel compressors. The compressor generates a pressure of 500-650 psi, enabling liquefaction in the Dalum CO2 condenser at temperatures from –5°C to 2°C, allowing the use of conventional cooling sources like glycol, brine or ice water. This innovative approach has proven important in enhancing cost efficiency, reducing both variable electrical and capital costs.
A customer in Germany has been tracking the energy consumption and output of their CO2 plant over an extended period and found that the electric consumption was 0.18 kW/kg CO2, including what was consumed by the glycol chiller, theoretically calculated to be below 0.1 kW.
Acknowledging the importance of both environmental sustainability and economic viability, Dalum reduced the plant price by about 50% through compact proprietary technology and parts, while also decreasing energy consumption. By implementing their CO2 recovery solutions, we provide breweries with substantial environmental
and economic advantages, supporting the industry’s objectives of lowering carbon footprints while ensuring financial sustainability.
These plants come in a range of theoretical compressor displacement, from 5kg/h to 30kg/h, catering to breweries with production volumes spanning from 1,000 hL per year to 100,000 hL per year. This versatility ensures that craft breweries of varying scales can find an ideal solution tailored to their specific needs.
The plant is equipped with an advanced PLC and remote control, allowing for online service and remote troubleshooting. The latest PLC update enhances the CO2 recovery plants’ ability to autonomously detect and resolve issues, ensuring continuous operation and a smooth production flow.
We have refined their product quality procedures, particularly with the support of their large customer base, to ensure consistently high CO2 quality. This
is achieved through a comprehensive method that combines gas detection tubes, burettes, instruments, and human senses.
The purifcation system in the CO2 plants has been signifcantly improved and simplifed, making it far more powerful compared to traditional purifcation methods used in conventional CO2 plants. The DALUM purifcation system features two dehydrators containing desiccants and several sterile flters eliminating the need for carbon flters and need for consumables that require frequent replacement
INCREASED INTEREST AND LOW RISK
Dalum Beverage Equipment, along with other suppliers of craft-scale CO2 recovery systems, has noted a growing interest from craft breweries eager to achieve self-sufciency and reduce reliance on gas suppliers.
Based on extensive feedback from breweries using our CO2 recovery plants, the return on investment generally ranges from 1 to 4 years, with
approximately 90% of users becoming self-sufficient with their own supply of CO2 for their beer production. Remarkably, most breweries reach breakeven within just 2 years of installation, highlighting the substantial financial benefits of adopting this sustainable solution in the brewing industry.
As the craft brewing industry seeks to balance financial and environmental goals, Dalum’s CO2 recovery systems stand out for their impressive cost-saving and sustainability benefits. The utilization of the Dalum CO2 recovery system has already led to a significant reduction in carbon footprint, equivalent to removing approximately 4,500 cars globally.
By investing in these innovative solutions, breweries not only enhance their fnancial sustainability but also contribute to reducing their carbon footprint. Our commitment to advancing technology and delivering efcient, tailored solutions positions them as a leader in assisting breweries achieve both economic and environmental goals.
COMMENT CROSSING CONTINENTS - ASIA
Ioften get asked how the craft beer market in China is doing. Going to the Craft Beer China Conference (CBCE) in Shanghai was a good way to get some up to date answers. It took place earlier in the year and is China’s biggest craft beer gathering.
The frst thing I noticed was the size of the event. During Covid times the event was much smaller with both brewing equipment manufacturers and breweries exhibiting in one smaller hall.
This year the event was spread across two larger halls. With the breweries pouring beer in one. While equipment manufacturers and raw material suppliers were in the other hall.
equipment suppliers at their factory rather than coming to an exhibition.
The equipment and raw material hall was sparsely populated compared to the brewery one. Where breweries and beverage producers were pouring their wares to a pretty packed room of people.
BEING A SMALL INDEPENDENT BREWERY
The breweries at CBCE had to pay for their booths. The smallest booth cost 11,600 RMB (CAD 2,230 at the time of writing). All the beer poured at the event was free. So why are breweries paying to give their beer away for nothing?
MUCH TO CONSIDER. HE TELLS ALL RIGHT HERE.
Photos Courtesy of Joanna Hang & Neil Playfoot
On a second positive note, they were some people from overseas looking to buy equipment. Something you couldn’t say about the previous three years. Still, the size of CBCE this year was still not at pre-covid levels.
Where it truly felt like an international event across several halls with people from all around the world visiting. I spoke to several equipment vendors this year.
It seems they needed to be here to represent rather this event leading to a lot of business for them. A case of missing out to their competition if not appearing.
Flights to and from China are still expensive being higher than pre-covid levels. If people want to come to check on equipment. They’d much rather go to visit the
The biggest issue for small independent Chinese breweries is getting their beer into market. It was difcult before, but now compounded due to the downturn in the economy.
People are spending less; often opting to drink cheaper beers produced by the larger breweries like Tsingtao and China Resources Snow Breweries.
COMPETING AGAINST THE BIG PLAYERS
These large players have also pivoted in recent years looking to produce more expensive “premium” products. With the price of packaging often costlier than the beer inside for breweries.
Producing premium products with larger margins allows these big breweries to grow profts even if their volumes are
Jing-A Booth II
Twin Tails Booth with Poster (photo above). Group photo by 12 SQM Brewing Booth (photo below)
down. These premium products are still cheaper than those made by craft producers. Plus, they’ve the distribution networks to get their beer into people’s hands as well.
China is a vast nation with one-hundred cities with a population over a million people. For smaller independent breweries getting their beer into the hands of the nation is difcult.
They have to work with distributors in diferent provinces. All the breweries at CBCE were looking to fnd distributors or take on new clients who’d be willing to sell their beer.
This included several Hong Kong breweries like Carbon Brews and Deadman Brewing who were slinging their beers at the event. Many distributors work out of large cities like Shenzhen, Chongqing, Shanghai and Beijing.
Centers of mass population with over ten-million people inhabitants. For a small brewery to fnd a reliable distributor with good contacts and stable logistics is the holy grail. Going to CBCE which is China’s biggest craft beer event where distributors will attend is best place to fnd potential distribution partners.
I spoke to one brewer at CBCE Raphael Vetri of 12 Square Meters Brewing (12SQM). Reasons for going were threefold for Raph, an expat brewer originally from Belgium. He has slowly been growing his 12SQM brand from his base in Shanghai.
He goes to CBCE every year as he feels it’s likely the best event to meet fellow brewers from across China. Where he can exchange ideas and learn from others.
Over the years visiting CBCE has led to new friendships, allowed him to discover new products, brewing processes and arrange beer collaborations.
He feels like it’s a place to meet likeminded people and have interesting conversations at the event. As well as at get togethers in downtown Shanghai after the day’s proceedings have fnished.
GROWING A BRAND
Raph is of the belief consistently participating at CBCE year-on year leads to brand recognition for 12SQM. Instead of seeming like a “pop-up business”, pouring beers at the expo adds legitimacy to his brewery in the growing craft beer scene.
He said to me “I believe it’s important for the brand recognition and image when planning for the long term. To be considered a serious player here to stay, and work with”.
He went on to say, it takes time to establish yourself here in China. You need to do everything you can to make the path forward a success.
For him being at CBCE ofers momentum for 12SQM to grow. As it provides a platform to increase visibility for the brewery to a much wider audience. It’s the opportunity to attract new customers, as well as cement relationships with existing followers and clients.
His final words to me were “I’ve already booked for my spot next year. In the meantime, I’ll continue to focus on the quality of 12 Square Meters Bre wing (平 ) beers!”.
Raphael Vetri of 12 Square Meters Brewing at His Booth
IPA’s Stil Rule the Roost in Chinese Craft
BEERS ON SHOW
China craft still takes much of its inspiration from the US. When it comes to the style of beers brewed. Go into any craft beer bar and often the majority of the taps are pouring some form of IPA.
It is a common site, where taps one and two are NEIPA’s with tap 4 being a session IPA. Tap three is a Belgium strong ale, where they push the fruity aromas… speaking of fruits.
The other big trend in China is adding fruit to beers. These are often heavily fruited and sour with gose beers being prevalent. Brewers in China joke about making beer which doesn’t taste like beer. Which I’m sure many other brewers around the world can relate too.
In the picture below (left to right) the beers being poured are a mango gose, double dry-hopped west coast IPA, peach gose, American wheat, grapefruit beer, berry cider and lychee gose.
Often breweries will use the same base beer and then use diferent fruits to allow them to increase the number of SKUs they can ofer.
CHINESE INGREDIENTS
The use of “Chinese ingredients” is on the rise. We’ve seen the likes of Sichuan pepper used in wheat beers in the past.
However, the list of ingredients is expanding with Hawthorn, Longan, Mulberries
and Red Bayberries a fruit native to China being incorporated into local brews.
I’ve also been inspired to use homegrown ingredients too. I’m based in Changsha, Hunan where purple perilla is used in local dishes.
You might know it as Sisho. It’s from the mint family and pairs well with citrus fruit favors. It ofers a unique umami characteristic, which I feel works well with hops ofering tropical and citrus notes.
As Chinese craft continues to grow more confdent. I hope we’ll see Chinese styles develop using these local ingredients.
One forerunner delving deep into the use of local Chinese ingredients is Jing-A. A Beijing based brewery who’ve been keeping it real since 2012.
I spoke to Alex Acker one of the founders of the brewery. One of his favorite brews was inspired by Peking Man. The world’s “oldest known Beijinger”, a 700,000-year-old mummified man discovered a century ago.
With further research a beer called “Lao Beijing Neolithic Barleywine” was produced which has notes of pine needle, walnuts and rose, inspired by the diet of Peking Man.
Charles from Bear Pond Brewing sampling a beer (photo below). Typical Fruit Beer Brewed in China (photo above).
Carbon Brew (Hong Kong) Stickers and Merch
Neil and Derek (Bear Pond Brewing)
12 SQM Brewwing from Shanghai (below).
Random Booth Photo V.jpeg
Derek with Peachy Cider.
Larger Hall View
Twin Tails Booth (above). Chinese Brewers in Discussion (below). Chinese craft is quite inclusive, many women in attendence.
Jing-A Booth
Lots of information for beers at many booths
One of their regular seasonal beers is “Beijing Bikini Watermelon Wheat”. This beer uses watermelons from Daxing, which is just outside Beijing.
Little did I know till Alex told me, was Daxing is the largest watermelon growing region in the world! This beer has been a hit for Jing-A ever since its frst release in 2014.
Alex signed of by telling me “We’ve also worked a lot with Chinese tea, Sichuan peppercorn and other spices, all manner of fruits - the incredible wealth of interesting ingredients and culinary tradition is a huge part of the fun of brewing craft beer in China”.
CHINESE BREWING EQUIPMENT
Many people look to purchase Chinese brewing equipment due to the price compared to US and European suppliers. As a brewing consultant based in China, it’s a market I do have some insight into. As I help overseas breweries source equipment from The Middle Kingdom.
Speaking to equipment suppliers at CBCE, they said it was slow for them. People were going from booth-to-booth speaking with the diferent vendors and inspecting the equipment on display.
They didn’t feel like there was much genuine interest or solid leads which would lead to sales. This would tally with my own experiences recently. As there seems to be less people looking to buy new brewing equipment these days.
Globally many factors are making it tough for smaller independent breweries. Be it the fuctuating prices of malt with consistent supply being an issue in some regions.
The UK has always seen the tax man take a large share of any beer brewed. Now we’re seeing continued increase in tax on beer in Australia. With it reaching 90-cents on a pint of beer as of February 1st, 2024.
Yes, there are still people buying equipment, opening breweries or expanding operations. However, when you look on forums like Brewery in Planning on Facebook.
When people are looking for advice about opening a brewery. Often the reply is “don’t do it”. The current market makes successfully opening a brewery in North America much harder than fve years ago.
This has led to increased competition between brewing equipment suppliers here in China. Hence why so many were there. As I said before, some felt like they didn’t want to miss any opportunity.
If suppliers were less enthusiastic about the event. The mood in the brewery hall was jovial. The last three CBCE’s were subdued to efects of Covid. This year the brewery hall was full of people chatting and well drinking.
This was the most brewery booths I’ve ever seen at a CBCE. In the old days it was much more of an equipment and raw material supplier led event.
Craft breweries continued to open even during Covid times here in China. You’ll fnd breweries in smaller cities now. We have a tier system here in China. Shanghai would be tier one city. Harbin tier two and Hohhot a tier three city.
Brewers Get Together the Night Before CBCE 2024 in Shanghai
Beer Sampling
The Trend Was to Carry Your Cups with You.
Cider Also on Show
My wife’s hometown Leping in Jiangxi is a 5th tier city with a suburban population of around 850,000 people. It has a brewery now. I would have never dreamed of seeing one as little as five years ago.
As China is now “truly open” after Covid. There was a sense of energy in the drinking hall. A lot of great beer being poured from all over China and people were happily trying them.
This year’s trend seemed to be for people to carry all their cups from the diferent beers they’d tried around the hall with them, like this gentleman below.
The old problems of distribution and logistics within such a large country are still the biggest issues Chinese craft
brewers face. There’s also increased competition from new breweries entering the market as well.
However, in general the mood amongst brewers was positive. I spoke with Brad Kuhl from Twin Tails a brewery in Suzhou. Who recently opened their third venue.
His thought the turnout was much better than last year and getting a booth was worth the investment. He said “Often if it’s a beer festival we get less exposure to bars and distributors and it functions more as brand awareness.
After the last CBCE we got an uptick in orders from various bars. So, it remains to be seen how many orders or long-term relationships with distributors we will get out of it.”
CBCE ROUND-UP
The Craft Beer China Conference (CBCE) in Shanghai is still the main yearly event for the industry in China. The common opinion was the turnout for the event was the best since Covid.
Many brewers saw an uptick in orders last year and so paid to pour beer at this year’s event. Most of those who I spoke to did make connections with new interested parties who were looking to stock their beer.
They were more bar owners at the event than distributors. Which makes sense as there a more bars than distribution companies.
Broadly speaking most brewers like Raph from 12SQM plan to be at CBCE next year. Overall, CBCE was a well-attended exhibition this year.
With a lot of beer drank, new friends made and industry discussions had. It’s a showcase of what Chinese craft beer has to ofer. Most industry people I spoke to, left the event in good spirits with much to think about.
Hong Kong Brewery Posters (above). The Jing-A Booth at CBCE (below).
