Craft Brew Supplement 2023

PRESENTS

CRAFT BREW

PACKAGING & PROCESSING INNOVATION

AUTOMATION BREEDS SOPHISTICATION for Craft Brew

MARCH 2023

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FEATURES

4 Canning Line Upgrade Keeps Franchisees Fed

Voodoo Brewing Co.’s unique franchise model promises exponential growth. Packaging operations needed an automated shot in the arm to keep up.

10

Automated CIP System Improves Cleaning Efficiency, Chemical Handling for Four Corners Brewing

Though shaving an hour and a half off cleaning tanks every day is great, this craft brewer has been particularly happy with how CSI’s cleaning system reduces employee exposure to chemicals.

16

Filler, Seamer Lets Contract Brewer Keep D.O. Low

To contract craft brewer The Brutalist and its owner King State Beer, dissolved oxygen is four-letter word. A new filler and seamer combo keeps D.O. low and the beer quality high, while paperboard multipacks help to make an impact on the shelf.

20

Format Mix Shift Precipitates Speedier Canning Automation

Retail-friendly cans were already trending up in craft brew when pandemic-related venue closures accelerated the trend. Dust Bowl Brewing Co.’s increased, sustained reliance on this container format convinced management to double down on canning automation.

Brightstock cans are depalletized overhead on a high-trim Ska Can-i-Bus, then single-filed and lowered through a twist rinser on the way to the filler and seamer.

Canning Line Upgrade Keeps Franchisees Fed

Voodoo Brewing Co.’s unique franchise model promises exponential growth. Packaging operations needed an automated shot in the arm to keep up.

By Matt Reynolds, Chief Editor

Founded in Meadville, Pa. in 2005, Voodoo Brewing Co. represents an impressive comeback story. Despite award-wining craft beer offerings, the brewery narrowly survived the Great Recession of 2008-2009. But it emerged in 2010 under new ownership with a new lease on life. After brothers Matteo (CEO) and Curtis (brewmaster) Rachocki took the reins, Voodoo quickly assumed a growth trajectory. The first local taproom opened in 2012. A second opened in Pittsburgh in 2015, followed by another in Erie, Pa. in 2016, and yet another was soon to land in State College, Pa. During this flurry of growth, the company recognized the need to produce in larger volume.

So, in early 2017, Voodoo Brewing Co. opened its

production facility with practically unlimited room for expansion. The sweeping 10-acre space currently pumps out about 6,000 barrels a year. Given the newfound production capability and rapid expansion, an entirely new business model swam into view.

Franchising precipitates pack format changes

“During that time, we put together a model on how to build streamlined, efficient, cost-effective [brew pub-style] restaurants,” Matteo Rachocki says. “We documented it, put together our first operations and Franchise Disclosure Documentation (FDD), and decided to roll out a franchise program.”

This new direction led Voodoo to recalibrate its packaging mix. Like most breweries, Voodoo packages product in a mix of kegs, cans, and bottles. Kegs, of course, are aimed drafts at taprooms or restaurants. On the bottling front, formats include classic 12-oz bottles for volume brews, a 500-mL format for limited release beers, and a barrel aging program uses both 12- and 22-oz bottles. But if you’re following craft brew at all, you know that cans are king these days. Plus, they are quite adept at retail distribution, and are often the best bet for the volumes required of a franchise network.

“When the franchise model started to take off, it really ramped up the need for packaged product,” he says. “That’s because we don’t just service our retail locations. We’re also servicing the greater distribution territory surrounding those wholesalers. That was a major catapult for us to expand our capability on the canning line.”

Previously, the brewery had been using a mobile canning line that it transported back and forth between the original brewery and the new production facility. Speeds were low on the self-engineered canning line, maybe only two cases or 50 cans/min. To help “catapult” canning into high gear, Rachocki first zeroed in on a couple pieces of equipment that he knew he wanted. The first was a ProBrew ProFill filler/seamer combo that runs up to 200 cans/min.

“We looked at a bunch of different options. Almost everybody we talked to had a reason why they didn’t like what they had. But the few people we know that have worked with the ProBrew fillers love their machines,” Rachocki says. “We love the fact that was made in the U.S., near Milwaukee. Our industry friends told us that this is the only machine consistently canning at under 30 parts per billion on DO [dissolve oxygen]. It’s all solid stainless; there’s nothing plastic on the thing. It wasn’t the cheapest machine, but when you add in the [favorables around] parts, accessibility, repairs, and downtime, it just made a lot of sense.”

Rachocki was also keen on the classic Pack Leader USA 501

labeler. With those two anchor pieces selected, the brothers then turned to Ska Fabricating for the front of the line.

“Every single friend of ours in the brewing community that has a Ska depall[etizer] says they love it. We might have shopped for another option just for a price comparison, but our minds were already made up. We didn’t even really shop elsewhere,” Rachocki says.

“We called them to buy a depalletizer but came to find out they offer other solutions and could help with the engineering or do some of the conveyance. I think we ended up redesigning the conveyance on that about four times before we had a solution that I was comfortable with. Our

The ProBrew ProFill filler (above) and seamer (below) are capable of 200 cans/min speeds. At Voodoo, cruising speed is currently closer to 120 cans/min, but the brewery is gradually ramping up throughput.

facility’s footprint is substantial, but I want to use all of it. I wanted to be able to expand later and not break the bank now. Drew and KG at Ska got that. … Their design team was great to work with and didn’t try to sell us something we didn’t need. They really got a sense of what we were looking for, and then they worked backward from there.”

The finished packaging line

Finished in August 2022, the canning line at Voodoo begins with a Ska high-trim Can-i-Bus depalletizer. The Can-iBus is the original of a range of Ska depalletizing equipment, which includes the even higher production Magic Bus. But this high-trim, mezzanine-level Can-i-Bus model depalletizer was the center of the bullseye for Voodoo’s Rachocki, easily meeting desired production speeds with plenty of runway left for speeding up the line in the future. Ska and MCE Conveyance equipment then single file depalletized cans overhead, and they descend toward the filler via an A&E Conveyor Systems Inc. twist rinser. Cans are inverted, rinsed by an ionized air rinser, then twisted upright into a transfer plate to be presented to the filler.

At the heart of the line, cans are counter-pressure gravity filled on the continuous-motion, 24-valve, rotary ProBrew ProFill filler, then seamed on a continuous motion ProBrew seamer, all within a single monoblock enclosure. The canning line makes a 90-deg turn to the left exiting the filler and entering the seamer, then turns another 90 deg in the same direction exiting the seamer. That equates to a full 180-deg line horseshoe, and cans continue downstream in parallel to

the upstream empty cans as they approach the filler.

Filled cans then get two sets of rinses, followed by an efficient Republic Manufacturing air knife dryer, prior to passing through a Filtec low fill-level reject system.

Coding and marking comes next, and ink is applied via a Markem Imaje CIJ 9450 date coder, the core component of Ska’s D.I.C.S. (Date Inline Coding System). Coded cans on the line make another 90-deg turn to the right this time to enter a large accumulation table by MCE.

“We added an oversized accumulation table because, especially if you’re not using printed cans, you’ve got to do label changes. Also, if we’re running two tandem packoff lines eventually, it’ll be nice if you can have transfers between the two pack-off lines,” Rachocki says. “We did go overboard on the accumulation side, but I’m glad we did because once the machine is on, it needs to stay on. You don’t want to stop that machine for anying. Accumulation is great because it buys you a lot of time. If you have a hiccup somewhere on the line, you have a chance to fix it.”

The line then makes a final 90-deg turn to the right to be once again parallel with the filler infeed and seamer outfeed, representing a second horseshoe on the line. There, cans receive a p-s label on the Pack Leader 501, which Rachocki affectionately calls “a beast.” Finally, PakTech can handles are applied on an American Canning can-handle applicator, and the contiguous line ends in a manual pack-off station, where 4- and 6-packs of 12- and 16-oz labeled brighstock cans are loaded into pop-up corrugated trays and moved offline for palletization.

Rachocki has considered cartoning and tray-erecting equipment, but the operation hasn’t quite maxed out the 200 can/minute potential that could benefit from cartoning automation. Voodoo

Filled and seamed cans get a fill-level check via Filtec equipment prior to date coding, accumulation, and labeling.

A large accumulation table ahead of labeling, can handle application, and packoff lets the filler keep filling, even as downstream fixes or changeovers happen.

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tends to run closer to 120 cans/min at this point, and with operators already on-hand to attend to the line, manual packoff into trays is sufficient. Palletization is mostly manual, with pallet wrapping equipment finishing the line.

“Once we tune this thing up and we’re running at full speed, we’ll add have a second, mirrored pack-off line

that will resemble the one we have now. We’ll also add a small diverter to make sure you’re diverting the cans to the appropriate station of the two,” Rachocki says. “That’s just how Voodoo has always done stuff. We bought a brew house too big for our britches, we figured we might as well buy a canning line that’s too big for our britches, make sure it will run well at 100 cans a minute, so we know it’ll also run well at 200 when we need it.”

Other than the eventual mirrored pack-off station, next up for the new packaging line will be a new can size, 19.2 oz cans for two of the brewery’s offerings. Voodoo has a new twist rinser on order that will be able to be swapped in and out to accommodate the larger can format.

For their part, Ska say they had a blast working with Voodoo. When asked if anything made this project unique, Hudson Grigg, senior project manager at Ska, had this to say: “What stood out was working with Matteo, he was just friendly and positive. And, you know, as stuff comes up in these projects, he was just easy to work with. He’s just that kind of guy that you’d really want to go visit his brewery and drink beer with him.”

That’s high praise for the leadership of any growing craft brewery. It’s a character trait that permeates the operation, and will keep Voodoo on a continued growth path. ●

After PakTech can handles are applied to labeled cans, operators pack cans into pop-up trays in a pack-off station that ends the contiguous line.

Automated CIP System Improves Cleaning Efficiency, Chemical Handling for Four Corners Brewing

By Aaron Hand, Editor-in-Chief, ProFood World

Since brewing its first Mr. Beer brew kit over a kitchen stove and fermenting it in a bathroom tub in 2004, Four Corners Brewing has outgrown its production environment time and time again. Officially launched as a company in 2012, the craft brewer moved from the home garage to a bigger automotive garage. In 2017, it moved to its current home—an even bigger garage—in the Cedars neighborhood just south of downtown Dallas.

With each move came a system upgrade as well. Any craft brewer trying to compete in the burgeoning market over the past decade has had to increase system efficiencies, continually striving for process improvements. Four Corners’ newest operations included adding multiple process vessels

in its cellar, including fermenters and brite tanks.

The latest move was also the first time Four Corners owned its own space rather than leasing. “We expanded into this facility and increased our production capability,” Orrell says. Once we were actually in the facility, we began to soup everything up and begin to lay the process out in more of a permanent way.”

By last year, the brewery had realized that it was going to have to reevaluate not only the efficiencies of its production systems, but also the efficiencies of its cleaning equipment. Without the ability to clean tanks and piping quickly and effectively, breweries open themselves up to product integrity issues, increased downtimes, and increased labor

Though shaving an hour and a half off cleaning tanks every day is great, this craft brewer has been particularly happy with how CSI’s cleaning system reduces employee exposure to chemicals.

Dallas-based Four Corners Brewing crafts several different beers under the slogan “Celebrando la Vida” (celebrating life).

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and could only clean one piece of equipment at a time— leading to increased downtime, longer tank turnover periods, and ineffective cleaning of vessels.

The existing CIP system had its share of limitations, according to Caton Orrell, facilities and maintenance manager at Four Corners. They were only able to run one CIP circuit at a time, creating scheduling conflicts, along with other issues.

“We were doing a lot of what you would call one-and-done type CIP processes,” he explains. “We would make up a reservoir inside of a tank and recirculate it. Then, once the allotted time was up, whether the tank was clean or not, you just open the drain and put that into your sanitary sewer. Then you do your inspection and your rinse, and your tank is going to be clean—or it’s not. There’s a possibility that you’re going to have to redo that and then put more chemical down the drain.”

This setup brought all kinds of problems with it, particularly related to chemical handling and inefficiencies. “First, our guys were having to handle a lot of non-diluted bulk chemicals, which can get you sideways with OSHA real quick,” Orrell notes. “Then, it was very laborintensive to set the whole thing up— mix the chemicals up in the tank, recirculate it, have them walk around and not really be terribly engaged in anything else while the CIP was running.” Then, he adds, the tank would have to be opened without having any confirmation about how effective the clean cycle was.

Clean-in-place 2.0

Orrell contacted Central States Industrial (CSI) to engineer, design, and build a CIP system that could not only handle the expansion in process equipment that Four Corners had taken on, but that could also provide a safer, more sustainable cleaning process.

The completed system from CSI consisted of two skids: A three-tank CIP with dual supply headers and a standalone hot water set. The CIP has a hot and cold customization

that allows operators to bypass the tank—which provides the option to perform a hot or cold rinse for anything in their process. The hot water set was engineered by CSI to meet the requirements of Four Corners’ steam availability system in the plant. Providing hot water to the CIP system and other areas of the facility, the hot water set is much more efficient and replaces an existing—and leaking—hot liquor

tank. The new system also allows the brewery to clean two pieces of equipment at once, translating to significant increases in uptime and faster tank turnover.

The new system will save considerable cost and time, Orrell notes. With two CIP supplies and two unique returns, operators no longer have to wait around for 30 minutes at the end of their shift to run a CIP cycle. Running three cleaning cycles a day, Four Corners’ operators are saving an hour and a half of downtime every day, adding up to 7.5 hours a week.

But even more important to Orrell than the time savings is the efficiency in chemical usage and the improved safety to the operators. “We’re recovering more chemicals, and we’re using less energy to heat this stuff because we’re not doing a one and done. It’s recirculated and put back into an insulated tank,” he says. “But the biggest benefit to me was

Four Corners moved into its newest facility in 2017, where it was able to expand its processing equipment and eventually its cleaning systems.

that we minimize our employees’ exposure to handling bulk undiluted chemicals.”

Previously, Orrell explains, employees were having to work with a lot of hoses in multiple locations. Four Corners has been able to incorporate more hard piping into the

also a safety standpoint, he says.

“The new system doses the chemicals itself, so operators don’t have to touch anything,” Orrell says. “By eliminating operator exposure when dosing chemicals, we’ve essentially reduced their chemical handling by 95%.”

Four Corners has also reduced overall chemical usage for CIP by 40% during standard production cycles. CSI provided custom programming for the system to meet the brewery’s sanitization process needs. Operators are able to handle the cleaning from one central

A key benefit of the CIP 2.0 system is the handling of the cleaning chemicals. The new system doses itself, reducing chemical handling by operators by 95%.

location, selecting a pre-programmed recipe that better streamlines and homogenizes the process. Rather than operators making guesses about how long they might need to run the system for a full clean, the new system automatically programs the correct titration, correct temperature, correct runtime, etc.

“In a lot of ways, it just really simplifies the whole process,” Orrell says.

The brewery has realized significant improvements in repeatability and traceability for its cleaning processes, allowing for refinement and standardization. With better control of what is sent to the wastewater system, thanks to the controlled titration of chemicals, Four Corners is also seeing a reduction in its wastewater bills with the city.

This new equipment allows Four Corners to effectively and reliably clean its separator—an essential requirement for the facility. In addition, the increased capacity of the three-tank system enables Four Corners to reuse some of the cleaning solution by storing it in the third tank, reducing chemical consumption. This will save the brewery thousands of dollars each year and help the environment, health, and safety (EHS) protocols of the plant.

Available features and lessons learned

Despite the upgrade in space, Four Corners’ new facility still had strict dimensional requirements due to the placement of the system. The limit that the brewery demanded also affected how much memory the system could have—something that Orrell now regrets. “[An integrated server] would give you a lot more flexibility on how you can program and set it up,” he says.

Another CIP feature that was available and Orrell regrets not getting was a dedicated return pump. “It would have been nice to have something that was integrated into the machine,” he says. “That would allow us to clean other areas that we’re currently not using the CIP skid to clean. And it would be a redundant failsafe for some of the return pumps on some of the machines.”

CSI offers complete CIP 2.0 skids that are fabricated in-house. The skids can be built with a variety of configuration options including tank size, the number of tanks, heating

type, valve type, chemical dosing, and dual supply.

CIP 2.0 has a uniform graphical interface for all its systems, which helps to increase familiarity with the controls and lower training costs. The operation and appearance of the controls remain the same for multiple CIP 2.0 skids, either within a plant or in different plants. ●

Filler, Seamer Lets Contract Brewer Keep D.O. Low

To contract craft brewer The Brutalist and its owner King State Beer, dissolved oxygen is four-letter word. A new filler and seamer combo keeps D.O. low and the beer quality high, while paperboard multipacks help to make an impact on the shelf.

By Matt Reynolds, Chief Editor

The Brutalist is a 3,500-barrel/year collaborative contract brewing facility in St. Petersburg, Fla., headed by Aric Parker of King State Beer. The Brutalist has its own line of branded of brews that it sells out of its taproom, Temple of Beer. And as a contract brewer, it sells brewing and packaging capacity to high-end craft brewers looking to scale with the help of higher-volume professional equipment. Meanwhile, King State Beer—the beer-brewing arm of a King State operation that’s also known as a coffee roaster, coffee cold-brewer, and breakfast and cocktail bar—owns The Brutalist Brewery and in a sense is its own biggest customer with its line of branded King State Beer varieties. Perhaps this unique arrangement makes for a tangled web of stakeholders, but it’s hard to complain when the result is innovative, artisanal craft brew under an evolving variety of banners, brands, and titles.

“King State’s lineup has our lagers and more traditional styles, with the occasional sour. The Brutalist tends toward on-trend brews like hazy IPAs or pastry stouts, and we have the freedom to take it wherever we want. And finally, our contractors are mostly smaller breweries or sophisticated home brewers that are willing to pay a premium to grow their footprint or up their production,” Parker says, disambiguating the three primary constituencies of King State, Brutalist, and contract work.

As he built out the brewery’s new canning line in June of 2022, Parker began with the filler/seamer, working backward from there. After some extensive comparison shopping, he landed him on a 50-can/min CB50C integrated counterpressure in-line filler and seamer from Pneumatic Scale Anglus (PSA), a BW Packaging company.

“I selected the PSA for the counter-pressure functionality in particular, and I think of the Angelus seamer as the industry best,” he says. “At first, I saw some other competitors’ counter-pressure fillers and I wasn’t particularly impressed. But then a friend dragged me to another brewery where I saw the PSA in action, and I met PSA at the Craft Brewers Conference soon after. By then, I definitely knew that that’s the one I wanted—especially for the price, too. We’re in the teens for dissolved oxygen [parts per billion]—usually sub-ten. PSA has been amazing. I love that line.”

The packaging line

With the filler and seamer selected, Parker turned to Ska Fabricating, which PSA had recommended for depalletization. He chose a Ska Can-i-Bus overhead depalletizer for the front of the line, and that relationship grew to Ska also working on both line layout and integration.

Depalletized brightstock cans travel through a twist rinser into a filler and seamer, prior to date coding, labeling, and paperboard multipacking.

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Depalletized cans travel through an integrated twist rinser to reach the PSA filler and seamer.

Parker was able to source a few used pieces of equipment that would fulfill downstream operations, namely two used

FLEXIBILITY

Videojet date coders and a used Pack Leader USA 501 labeler. The Brutalist and King State both stock their own p-s labels for application on the labeler, and contracting brewers supply their own rollstock to the brewery’s specifications.

Instead of multipacking beers into cartons, traditional plastic, or newer HDPE can handles, The Brutalist is one of an increasing number of breweries that have opted to shift to paperboard can handles. The brewery uses a WestRock system consisting of its paperboard CanCollar 6-pack can holders that are applied by a manual can multipack station, called the Chunk. This system includes a collapsible side table for compact footprint, supports multiple can sizes with one simple height adjustment (The Brutalist does 12- and 16-oz cans), and has an ergonomic, heightadjustable operator handle.

“We went the paperboard can handle route for a couple different reasons,” Parker says. “In particular, we did it for environmental reasons as [the system] uses 90% less plastic. Also, if we eventually decide to buy [the CanCollars] in bulk, it

A single Columbia palletizer can handle all of these products and more with ease.

The Pneumatic Scale Angelus CB50C counter-pressure filler and seamer combo (right) runs quickly and accurately with low D.O. pickup.

gives us a design advantage because we can have their tops printed any way we want. Multipacks can be branded King State, or The Brutalist, whatever we want it to be. On top of that it’s also cheaper than the high-end HDPE can handles, which is nice as well. It’s a threefold advantage for us.”

At this point, MOQs don’t allow the brewery to source printed CanCollars. Given their layflat 2D dimensions, a typical MOQ of a pallet of can handles equates to as many as 81,000 cases of beer, which is generally out of reach for contractors. The brewery itself isn’t quite there yet, either.

Brutalist’s on-trend creations, and whatever undiscovered beer varietals that smaller local breweries can dream up, this Tampa-area craft beer operation brews and cans the whole beer gamut. The new canning line with ultra-low dissolved oxygen pickup, plus a differentiating paperboard multipack, will serve it well in coming years. ●

This version of WestRock’s fiberbased CanCollar system uses a manual station called “the Chunk” to apply paperboard can handles to 12- and 16-oz 6-packs.

“Having enough volume to justify the MOQ is the only way you can get to that printed level,” Parker says. “We even have a design for King State, we’re just waiting to pull the trigger on it until it makes sense for us.”

The 6-pack multipacks are then manually packed in a 24-ct into highwalled (4 in tall wall) corrugated trays by Romanow Container

“The taller walls are better for the 16-oz beers, and they’re really nice, with handles,” Parker adds. “For our 12-cans, we use shorter trays with the WestRock can handles—we can’t do the high-walled trays with 12-oz CanCollars.”

What’s next for the brewery? Parker is eyeing a 19.2-oz can option, among other potential developments. But between King State Beer’s twist on time-honored brews, The

Format Mix Shift Precipitates Speedier Canning Automation

Retail-friendly cans were already trending up in craft brew when pandemic-related venue closures accelerated the trend. Dust Bowl Brewing Co.’s increased, sustained reliance on this container format convinced management to double down on canning automation.

By Matt Reynolds, Chief Editor

In U.S. history, the Dust Bowl describes a depression-era drought in the Midwest that forced many of its “Okie” inhabitants to migrate from their infertile farms in America’s breadbasket toward California, based on mostly unrealistic promises of employment and prosperity. In John Steinbeck’s classic novel The Grapes of Wrath, protagonist Tom Joad leaves Oklahoma on an ill-fated hero’s journey that at times is pretty dark, even by today’s standards. But it’s also a hopeful depiction of resourceful people who leaned on each other to survive hard times in search of a better life for their children.

Brett Tate is one of those Californians who traces his family’s heritage back to the Dust Bowl. When the retired teacher turned entrepreneur opened a new brewery venture in 2009 in Turlock, Calif., he named it Dust Bowl Brewing Company as an homage to this history.

Out of the gate, Tate secured a local rising star in craft brew circles to be his brewmaster. He hired Don Oliver, also from Turlock, who was the winner of the 2006 Samuel Adams Longshot Homebrew competition. By 2009, the aptly named Hops of Wrath IPA, among other brews, first came to market in Dust Bowl’s brewery and taproom. Satellite Dust Bowl taprooms began opening over the next decade as the brewery and its portfolio of beers expanded, and before long a new 30,000-sq-ft production facility anchored the enterprise. The package format mix was

bottle-intensive for most of the brewery’s early history, as the groundswell of a canned beer trend hadn’t quite landed until more recently. Cans were a growing part of the mix, but a low-speed, reliable canning line remained sufficient for some time.

In this wide-angle photo of the packaging line (above), we can see an accumulation table ahead of a PakTech can handle applicator, Bevco conveyance, and a DMM case/ tray packing in the background. The cleverly named Hops of Wrath IPA (left) was the first beer produced by Dust Bowl Brewing Co., a nod to Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath, about the historical Dust Bowl.

Pandemic shakes format mix

Then, in early 2020, another mass migration—this time the pandemic-induced consumer shift away from restaurants, bars, and taprooms—shook the craft brew landscape. But production didn’t need to slow down if Dust Bowl could recalibrate its packaged product mix to accommodate a new reliance on retail. At that point the brewery’s increased focus on canned beer distribution was not just on-trend, but necessary for survival.

“We were able to switch gears and pump out more cans, but it took some work,” Oliver says. “We only had a small Codi canning line than ran at 50 cans a minute when we were running 12-oz cans. That was a great line and it did well for us, but it wasn’t going to keep up with the number of cans that we needed to produce after the onset of COVID-19. When you’re trying to drain 200-barrel brite tanks, 50 cans a minute is pretty slow.”

Trying to keep up with canning is what led Oliver to approach David Weller at Pacific Packaging Systems Inc., a line integrator specializing in craft brew, in search of faster can output. But footprint was an initial hurdle. A 30,000-sq-ft facility seems like plenty of space, but a lot of that was tied up in the brewing process and an existing bottling line.

“We were trying to squeeze all this new canning equipment into a small space, and I knew it was not something we were going to be able to achieve on our own, so we reached out to David [Weller] at Pacific,” Oliver says. “I think we went through around 18 or 20 design iterations to figure out how we were

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Filled and seamed brightstock cans get a Filtec filllevel check prior to date coding and labeling.

going to put all the equipment in. Our bottling line from CFT was taking up the entire packaging area, and we needed to canibalize some of its footprint. The bottling line had the classic horseshoe-type shape, so the idea we came up with was to chop the line at the bend, flip the horseshoe the other direction and tighten it up, and then squeeze all the new canning equipment into the space we’d freed up.”

That strategy did the trick. Armed a the new canning line that it can grow into, the brewery hopes to nearly double its production over the coming years, from 22,000 barrels in 2022, to a goal of nearer 40,000 down the road.

The new line

For the heart of the canning line, Oliver and Weller landed on a KHS Innofill CAN Compact 18-valve rotary monoblock filler with rotary seamer, capable of filling and seaming well over 200 cans/min. The system handles 12-, 16-, and 19.2-oz cans with minimal changeover.

“KHS seemed like a good fit for us for the [low lead time] timeline, for its compact size, and for the cleanliness of the machine. We heard some nightmare stories about seamer cleanliness and other issues on some others that we’ve seen,” Oliver says. “We’ve had to make a couple of programming modifications. Also, we got rid of the bubble breaker because we didn’t feel it was really helping us with dissolved oxygen, and it was more of a contamination risk. So, we eliminated that and then we saw some benefits there. Now it’s running at around 210 cans per minute at max speed for 12-oz printed cans.”

Can formats that require label application, or larger 16- or 19.2-oz cans that require can handle multipack applications instead of cartoning, are slowed to between 90 to 180 cans/min to accommodate their respective downstream operations. More on that shortly.

With that much increased filling firepower, an almost entirely new packaging line would be required. However, a few accessory items from the original line still operate today, including a CODI depalletizer and triple-twist rinse conveyance at the front of the line.

“Coming off the CODI depalletizer, we have a larger, fullsweep conveyor that was supplied by Bevco. From there, it goes to a single filer that travels back into the CODI for the twist rinse, and we place an air ionizer on whichever lane we’re using to feed the KHS monoblock filler.”

After filling and seaming, cans get a quick rinse and travel single file through a Filtec machine to confirm fill-height and reject non-conforming fill levels. A block inverter then flips cans over for bottom date and batch code on a Videojet CIJ coding and marking system.

“Once it gets the date code, it goes through another inverter, and a blower to dry off the top. The conveyor then passes through the labeler, a Pack Leader USA 501. If we’re adding labels to brightstock, we’ll set it up and slow everything down for the label job. Printed cans will run right through the unengaged labeler at full speed.”

Once past the labeler, 12-oz cans are diverted toward a DMM Packaging carton erector and cartoner, which sidepushes cans into a 12-pack erected carton format, applies adhesive to the flaps, and closes the cartons. Dust Bowl has the change parts for a 16-oz 8-pack, but seldom uses this format. The cartoned 12-packs receive a date and batch code of their own from another Videojet CIJ.

Larger 16- and 19.2-oz cans aren’t cartoned. Instead, they receive HDPE can handles from a PakTech machine. This

Pairs of labeled 6-pack multipacks with PakTech can handles applied are packed in high-walled 12-count trays on DMM equipment.

A TopTier two-in-one palletizer and stretch wrapper anchors Dust Bowl’s end-of-line packaging operations.

compact equipment can apply handles to 180 larger-format cans/min. Once can handles have been applied, the 4- or 6-can multipacks travel on a small conveyor that bypasses the DMM cartoning machine and ends up punching right into the inlet of another DMM machine, this time a tray former and packer. Most trayed can formats are of 24 cans in either 4- or 6-packs, with one exception.

“For the 19.2-ounce cans, we chose to go on a 12-pack format tray,” Oliver adds. “It’ll get two 6-packs of PakTech-applied multipacks pushed into a smaller 12-pack tray with a higher wall. We’ve got a good relationship with a local company out of Modesto, California called Pacific Southwest Container. They provide us with all our all our board, so all the cartons and all the trays come from them.”

End-of-line packaging

Conveyance carries the three most common pack formats—12pack cartons of 12-oz cans, 24-pack trays of larger or labeled brightstock cans, and on occasion, 12-pack trays of 19.2-oz cans—to palletizing and pallet wrapping. Both are done on a TopTier TT-L20 Low Level palletizer that comfortably handles four pallets per hour max filling speed of 210 cans/min.

“We had looked at a couple of other models, and we couldn’t find anything that was going to fit within our footprint and within our budgetary constraints, and then TopTier was able to take care of both of those issues,” Oliver says. “The footprint is really small. And pricewise, it’s incredibly competitive.”

The (almost entirely) new canning line at Dust Bowl “is enough to get us quite a ways down the road, as far as production goes,” Oliver says, adding there’s no current need to make further improvements to can filling operations. “I think this canning line is enough to get us up to that 40,000-barrels-a-year mark. We hit a little over 22,000 barrels last year, in 2022, so we still have plenty of room to grow into this line. And even though growth isn’t what

it used to be, we grew 4.5 percent last year. Any positive makes us happy considering what we’ve seen out in the market; there’s a lot of uncertainty right now. We’ll hope for the best and plan for the worst, knowing this new canning line gives us the runway and capacity to grow cans even further.” ●

Maui Brewing Ditches Plastic Rings for Paperboard Cartons

Founded in 2005, Maui Brewing Company is known for having paved the way for Hawaii’s thriving craft brew scene. Now the largest craft brewer in the state, it produces 125,000 to 130,000 barrels of craft beer, soda, seltzers, and spirits annually, 60% of which are canned, with the balance comprising draft beverages. In 2019, in response to consumer pushback against plastic and Hawaii’s lack of plastic recycling services, the brewer began the process of switching from plastic ring carriers to paperboard cartons for its multipacks.

being recycled anymore. So even though the rings are made from recycled plastic and can be recycled themselves, with Hawaii not recycling plastic any longer, those rings were then essentially single-use; we couldn’t get them back. So that’s why we elected to go in this different direction.”

The new cartons, for 4-, 6-, 12-, and 24-ct multipacks of single and mixed SKUs, were designed in-house by Maui Brewing’s marketing team, made up of Marsha Hansen and Trent Tokos. “We adapted our graphics from the cans to create the effect we were looking for with the cartons, essentially the billboard effect, if you will,” says Marrero. He adds that the greater appeal of cartons on-shelf versus multipacks in ring carriers has often been shown to drive increases in volume and velocity, which also made the move to cartons an attractive proposition for Maui Brewing.

The new packaging, supplied by Graphic Packaging International and WestRock, is made from paper sourced from sustainably managed forests in the southeast U.S. and contains 15% recycled content. The Coated Natural Craft (CNK) paperboard is fully recyclable and is designed to stand up to the rigorous packaging conditions associated with refrigerated beverage products.

equipment. The brewer timed the move to cartons to the greater

For the reasons cited above, as well as the greater shelf visibility provided by cartons, Garrett Marrero, chief executive of cer and co-founder of Maui Brewing, says the move made sense. However, he notes, replacing plastic with another packaging material, from a sustainability standpoint, is not always the best option. “I think the vast majority of the population erroneously believes that cardboard is somehow more eco-friendly than plastic,” he says. “On its face, it does sound like paper is better than plastic, but in reality, the type of plastic, where the plastic comes from, and how it’s processed, all these things have a bearing. But when you try to explain that to someone, you’ve already gone too far, and you’ve lost them.”

He adds that the PakTech-supplied ring carriers previously used by Maui Brewing are arguably the most sustainable option for six-packs. “For example, in 2019, we diverted 620,000 one-gallon milk jugs from land lls in order to produce the rings for our beer,” he says. “But the problem was that here in Hawaii, where 82% of our beer is sold, plastic is not

While Maui Brewing’s switch from paper to plastic may sound like a simple swap, the project took several years to accomplish and involved signi cant capital expenditures in new cartoning and complementary equipment. The brewer timed the move to cartons to coincide with the installation of a new packaging line that includes canning equipment with faster lling speeds.

For multipack packing, Maui Brewing purchased a tray former and cartoner from WestRock and a tray packer and robotic cartoner for mixed-SKU cases from Hamrick Additionally, it added conveyors from A&E Conveyor Systems, a spiral conveyor from AmbaFlex, and a palletizer from Columbia. The new line also required the brewer to create additional space for the equipment, including a twostory mezzanine, as well as train its team on operation and maintenance of the machinery.

The rollout of the new carton was done in two phases, with 12-ct mixed-SKU cartons introduced in 2020 and the full transition taking place in 2022. The new packaging is being used for all of Maui Brewing’s beverages, including its Maui Craft Beer, Island Sodas, Maui Hard Selzer, and Kupu Spirits. The only exception is the canned craft beer produced by Modern Times Beer of San Diego, which Maui Brewing acquired in late 2022. —Anne Marie Mohan

Lagunitas’ New Pack Design Showcases Playful Terrier Mascot

The Lagunitas Brewing Company has a history of creating hop-forward and innovative craft brews, with a quirky, inclusive style. As the company’s brewmaster says, “Lagunitas is made up of all kinds and creeds; punk rockers, misfits, ivy leaguers, weirdos, Waldos, Sparkle Ponies, musicians, and everything in between … Just a pack of stray dogs that found—despite our vast and wild differences—that the love and respect for the freedom to be different is what brought us together and made it all work.”

Unfortunately, until recently, Lagunitas’ packaging artwork was variable as its followers. Originally designed 30 years ago by the brewery’s founder in a strip-mall Kinko’s, the packaging had evolved through the years without a consistent strategy. In mid-2020, the brewery set out to create a masterbrand system that would allow for a cohesive

look and feel across the portfolio. At the same time, from consumer research, it recognized that the existing packaging didn’t reflect Lagunitas’ personality or tell them much about the brews inside.

“Our packaging is arguably the most important branding and communications tool we have, so we wanted to make changes that reflect who we are and gives shoppers a sense for what they would experience if they picked up a

Lagunitas brew,” says Paige Guzman, chief marketing officer for Lagunitas.

The new package design was done in-house and was backed by consumer input every step of the way, comprising focus groups, interviews, and quantitative research. According to Guzman, the final design is reflective of the brewery’s original—and a bit offkilter—personality. It also works hard to help shoppers find the product, captures attention at shelf, and improves purchase intent. Says the company, “It gives consumers a better opportunity to explore the delicious, flavorful world of Lagunitas brews across different IPA styles, non-alcoholic portfolio, and newly launched Disorderly TeaHouse [spiked and sparkling tea].”

Central to the design is the Lagunitas dog, a spunky American Staffordshire Terrier of Little Rascals fame, that has been a fixture of the brand since its start and helps bring the playfulness that Lagunitas is known for. While it has always been a part of the brewery’s packaging, in the new design, it takes center stage.

Guzman explains the story behind the brewery’s beloved canine mascot: “The dog is very much a physical embodiment of Lagunitas—a trusty companion you can always count on and one you connect with on a whole other level. Dogs are part of Lagunitas culture. From inside the brewery offices to hanging outside the TapRoom, you’ll always find dogs of all sizes and breeds. Even our brewhouse tanks are named after past pooches. Plus, we support a variety of dog and animal rescue non-profits, including our recent national partnership with Best Friends Animal Society.”

Other aspects of the redesign were driven by distributor insight. For example, it calls out the ABV more clearly on all sides of the package. Due to these adjustments, Guzman explains, Lagunitas’ retail partners can better give the brand more space on shelf to create a billboard effect on its six- and 12- packs for cans and

bottles, its non-alcoholic portfolio, and Disorderly TeaHouse. The redesign spanned 100 pieces of packaging and includes the graphics for its cans, bottles, and cartons. The new design was introduced in 2022, receiving an “overwhelmingly positive” response from existing Lagunitas customers and craft brew enthusiasts. —Anne Marie Mohan

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