E-Malt.com News article: USA, PA: Weyerbacher Brewing Co. installs new brewhouse

Three years ago, Weyerbacher Brewing Co. underwent a $1 million expansion.

But it wasn't enough.

To keep up with demand, the South Side Easton brewery installed a bigger, more efficient brewhouse this week at a price tag of about $650,000, lehighvalleylive.com reported on January 27.

"We'll be able to do twice the amount of beer in the same amount of time," said Weyerbacher brewmaster Chris Wilson.

Weyerbacher brewed just under 10,000 barrels the year before its expansion. Last year it produced 20,000 barrels, Wilson said.

"Our goal is to have growth every year, 10 to 15 percent," Wilson said. "There for a couple years we were experiencing large growth, 30 percent growth. We definitely like that."

The brewhouse should pass a final inspection on January 28.

"We hope to brew our first beer on the system on Friday," Wilson said.

You can buy Weyerbacher in 17 states, going as far west as Nebraska. Known for strong, flavorful beers, the company is riding the wave of popularity of craft beers across the country.

"I think there's just a growing tide of people who are giving it a try and looking for more flavor than your average American light lager can offer," Wilson said. "People desire flavor. We get a lot of people looking for local products. People are getting more educated about beer."

The brewhouse is a system of seven tanks, not a new building or addition. The new brewhouse is tailored toward Weyerbacher's high-alcohol and full-flavored selections, Wilson said.

It also makes better use of sugars in the grains. The old brewhouse was only 65 to 70 percent efficient, but a test batch on the new brewhouse used 92 percent of sugars.

"It's a much more efficient system," Wilson said. "The system we have now is 20 years old."

The tanks took about two and a half days to install and barely squeezed through an interior doorway.

The facility has enough room to brew up to 33,000 barrels a year under optimal conditions with additional fermenting tanks, Wilson said.

"We're looking to stay where we are and certainly stay within Easton," Wilson said. "It would take a lot for us to move."

There aren't any plans for new equipment any time soon. Then again, plans have a way of changing when demand is great.

"When you're growing a 15 percent a year, it's hard not to add any new equipment," Wilson said. "You never know."

Weyerbacher is one of a handful of breweries piloting a new bacteria detection system.

Philadelphia-based Invisible Sentinel is developing a new test called Veriflow brewPAL to test for pediococcus and lactobacillus, bacteria that can make beer taste sour.

Current testing methods require beer samples to incubate for 10 days, but Veriflow brewPAL cuts that time down to three hours by testing for DNA found in the bacteria, according to Chris Reilly, the quality control lab manager at Weyerbacher.

The quicker you can test the beer, the less time you need to keep it in storage and the more storage space you free up, he said.


28 January, 2015