The Client, a Top 10 craft brewer, was evaluating how far its existing brewery infrastructure could support future growth. While the brewhouses had sufficient capacity to increase production from approximately 549,000 packaged barrels to more than 800,000 packaged barrels annually, leadership needed to determine whether refrigeration systems could reliably support higher peak-month volumes, additional cellar capacity, and future process improvements without creating operational constraints.
First Key conducted a detailed refrigeration capacity assessment combining site observations, equipment validation, production analysis, and future-state load modeling. The team evaluated existing refrigeration assets, process cooling requirements, projected cellar expansion needs, and seasonal operating demands to determine the system’s ability to support future production objectives. The analysis quantified available cooling capacity, identified future bottlenecks, and developed practical expansion strategies that balanced capital cost, operational flexibility, reliability, and long-term scalability.
The resulting roadmap provided leadership with a clear understanding of infrastructure constraints, future cooling requirements, and the investments needed to support long-term production growth while maintaining operational reliability and flexibility.
Results
- Defined a growth pathway from approximately 549,000 to 812,000 packaged barrels annually, representing nearly ~50% additional packaged volume capacity.
- Confirmed that existing refrigeration infrastructure could reliably support approximately 550,000 barrels per year under worst-case summer operating conditions, while identifying reduced flexibility as production approached 800,000 barrels annually.
- Quantified future refrigeration requirements at 723 TR peak load and 615 TR diversified capacity, identifying an estimated 115 TR ammonia compression shortfall under end-of-plan conditions.
- Developed a centralized refrigeration expansion strategy, including replacement of an existing ammonia/glycol chiller with a 210 TR system, supported by a preliminary capital estimate of approximately $1.6 million.
- Identified future cellar requirements, including 15 additional 400-bbl dry-hop tanks and 12 additional 800-bbl cylindroconical fermenters, to support projected peak-month production volumes.
- Provided a phased infrastructure roadmap aligning utility investments with future production requirements, helping reduce execution risk and avoid capacity-related growth constraints.
