E-Malt.com News article: 2777

USA: Kona Brewing Company, Hawaii's largest brewery, recently installed a bulk grain-handling system that will save the company 20 percent of its malted barley costs per year. It is expected to increase the brewery's output and storage capacity as well as reduce waste, American City Business Journals wrote on June 11.

"With the opening of our new Koko Marina Pub on Oahu, we have felt an incredible increase in demand for our pub-exclusive beers," said Rich Tucciarone, director of brewery operations. "This year, we're on track to increase our beer production by more than 16 percent over last year's double-digit growth." Two custom-designed steel silos standing 25 feet high and capable of holding 40,000 pounds of grain each were constructed on-site and installed in the brewery's "backyard."

The specialty malts that give Kona Brewing Company's ales and lagers their varied colors and flavors are still added manually. With the new system, Kona Brewing Company will send 9,000 fewer bags of malt per year to the dumpster.

Kona Brewing Company, based in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island, ranks 51st out of the nation's 1,465 breweries in terms of beer production and sales. Its beer is distributed in Hawaii, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Japan.


16 June, 2004