Saving the Beer: Facility Monitoring at Fort Collins Breweries
Taking Knives to Gun Fights
You don’t buy a growler when you need a keg and you don’t drink pale ales after the first week of September (or is that wearing white after Labor Day?).
Either way, understanding the specific needs of a given situation is the only way to customize your response to them.
This is just as true of the facility monitoring industry as it is to party throwers and beer drinkers (and, incidentally, fashionistas).
Home Town Pride
In celebration of RLE Technologies’ hometown of Fort Collins, Colorado, we decided to honor a local speciality and gather a little information at the same time.
In case you didn’t know, our little part of Colorado is home to some of the best little (and not-so-little) breweries in the country. We asked our fellow residents a few questions about the monitoring needs of the beer industry.
Here’s what we learned:
What environmental parameters and equipment do you monitor inside your facility and what systems do you use to monitor those parameters?
We monitor for CO2 in the atmosphere in the fermentation department, packaging areas & in the draught cooler. Fermentation creates a large amount of CO2 that needs to be vented outside. If that exhaust system leaks or fails, we can see toxic levels in the fermentation Cellar. We have gas detectors throughout any area that handles fermenting beer or yeast for this reason.
Sensors feed to our production program, Wonderware, where we can see a trend line of the air quality by sensor. Sensors also sound an audible alarm & flash a red light to alert occupants.
Beer in packaging & the draught cooler is handled under CO2 pressure to avoid oxidation. Air is monitored in these departments to detect supply leaks & safety.
Our safety department also regularly use wearable monitors for airborne diatomaceous earth used in filtration & for safe sound levels.
-Kevin Davis, Process Engineer
New Belgium Brewing
Water and electric usage are the largest parameters that we monitor. We use our monthly water bill compared to our beer production to monitor how much water we use per barrel of beer produced. To reduce electric usage we have digital knockouts attached to our HVAC systems, these will turn the systems off when the city thinks it is at peak usage.
-Doug Smith, Operations Manager
The Fort Collins Brewery
Is someone at your facility 24/7? If not, how do you find out about problems that happen overnight?
There is not someone at our facility 24/7. The brewers leave by 5PM and the taproom closes by 9PM. At this time, everything is basically waiting for us until the next day. If something goes wrong, i.e. the fridge breaks or something, I come in and address it in the AM.
-Jared Lyndon, Brewer
Equinox Brewing Company
No, as of now, we have an alarm system with motion detectors only.
-Steven Jones, Co-Founder / Operations / Head Brewer
Pateros Creek Brewing
Our hours are 5am to 11pm, we have sensors tied to our freezers and glycol coolant, if their temperature rises out of norm it will call our maintenance technician. We have a security system in place to handle any other issues.
-Doug Smith, Operations Manager
The Fort Collins Brewery
If your facility loses power, how long will your cooling rooms stay at optimal temperature before you risk damaging your product?
Our only cooling rooms are located in the finished beer storage at our warehouse. While the volume of beer we have in that area will keep the room cool for several days, we do allow for 2 weeks of storage at room temperature for all our packaged products.
-Kevin Davis, Process Engineer
New Belgium Brewing
This really depends on a lot of factors. Our product will generally be fine for a couple of hours if it is still fermenting. Finished beer will be fine without power for much longer.
-Jared Lyndon, Brewer
Equinox Brewing Company
Approximately 12 hours depending on ambient temperature.
-Steven Jones, Co-Founder / Operations / Head Brewer
Pateros Creek Brewing
Our warehouse for product is insulated at R-42 which will keep the temperature for at least 3 days. Our tanks are regulated with Glycol, they will rise 2º every day if they are already cold so we have a week before damage is done. For the tanks that are not cold, the temperature will rise out of spec within 12 hours.
-Doug Smith, Operations Manager
The Fort Collins Brewery
Do your plant managers have remote monitoring capability in your facility 24/7? How long does it currently take for a problem to be detected and how much does that problem typically cost your business?
We do have remote temperature control of the building. Other than that, we do not control anything remotely.
It does not take long for a problem to be detected because when something breaks there is usually someone here. If it is the power going out, we have an alarm detection company that will notify us.
-Jared Lyndon, Brewer
Equinox Brewing Company
No, we have no remote monitors. Detection can happen instantly or up to 12 hours and it usually costs between 1-10k dollars.
-Steven Jones, Co-Founder / Operations / Head Brewer
Pateros Creek Brewing
I do not have remote monitoring of most of the facility. I am able to monitor our security cameras via internet. Our problems are detected within a day and only twice in our 8 year history have we been unable to fix the problems. Typically the cost is in labor and will run around $500 per issue.
-Doug Smith, Operations Manager
The Fort Collins Brewery
Do you have a backup generator on site, and how do you control the transition to and from generator power?
We do not have a backup generator on site, if the power goes out, we either wait until the city fixes the issue, or we hire a contractor to come fix the problem if it’s on our side.
-Jared Lyndon, Brewer
Equinox Brewing Company
No backup generator.
-Steven Jones, Co-Founder / Operations / Head Brewer
Pateros Creek Brewing
We do not have a generator, we also have never lost power for more than an hour.
-Doug Smith, Operations Manager
The Fort Collins Brewery
The beer is safe
Though it’s not surprising that the facility monitoring needs vary based on the size of the brewery, we know that it comes as a great relief to all Fort Collins residents that our brews, special brews, and microbrews are being looked after.
We know that we’ll all be sleeping soundly with the knowledge that there are no beer cataclysms in the offing.
(Our thanks to New Belgium Brewing, Equinox Brewing Company, Pateros Creek Brewing, and The Fort Collins Brewery for their time and generosity in answering our questions).
Budding curiosity?
Obviously, we have an interest in breweries. What about you? Are there are any industries you’ve always wondered about? Any sneak peeks into the processing rooms that you’ve found interesting? Odd applications for monitoring equipment you’ve encountered?
Let us know.
Seriously, we’re curious, too.
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