Customized Equipment Leads to Expanded Product Offerings

What's next? These two words carry immense impact in the brewing space, an industry that is constantly innovating and experimenting to produce the next great tasting drink for customers to enjoy. And while the flavors and trends may come and go, one thing remains constant, the commitment to creating something extraordinary.

That is why when it comes to equipment and operational procedures, breweries need customization, not something that is essentially "off the rack".

New markets lead to additional opportunities

New flavors and trends can potentially leave gaps for breweries trying to expand their offerings. A brewery will most likely always have a flagship IPA, lager, stout, etc. but what about the part of your client demographic that does not like these flavors? If an alcohol consuming customer walks through your doors, is there a possibility they look at your menu and not want anything? What about the individuals who love the taste of beer but are not looking to feel the effects of alcohol?

Raised Grain Brewing in Waukesha, WI asked themselves the same questions. They built their brand on great tasting traditional craft beers but saw the opportunity to expand their product line to make sure that everyone who walked through their door could enjoy one of their products. They turned to ProBrew's Alchemator ™. The Alchemator can pull the alcohol and water from the feed beverage creating a Hard Seltzer base. By adding carbonation and flavoring to the alcohol water base, you can easily create a crystal-clear hard seltzer or N/A beer without compromising your beverage's unique characteristics.

"If you’d asked me five years ago, as we were writing the business plan, if we were going to be brewing a clear hard seltzer, I would have laughed and told you about some IPA we wanted to do," Nick Reistad, COO at Raised Grain admits. "We want to be welcoming to everybody that chooses to come in [to our taproom], but not everybody drinks beer, and that's just the reality," Reistad explains. "Now, we’re embracing it and using it as an opportunity to reach more people with our brand."

Capitalizing on New Flavors

Dragon fruit, elderberry, prickly pear. These are all ingredients that no one pictured coming to relevance even five years ago in the brewing industry. With the growing popularity of different fruit-flavored sours, desert craft beers, and RTD-cocktails, it is now time for breweries to expand and experiment.

ProBrew developed its latest line of HTST (High-Temperature, Short-Time) Flash Pasteurizers dubbed "FlashPAS" to meet craft brewer's needs. These inline systems run 5 – 30 gallons per minute with options for up to 3 different hold times and can be easily paired with a ProCarb™ carbonation system.

During the pasteurization process, the beer passes through a heat exchanger where it is heated to 158°F–162°F (70°C–72°C) for the desired time, then glycol swiftly cools it back down enough for packaging. The beer is never exposed to oxygen, meaning the beer maintains industry-low DO levels throughout the course of pasteurization. This process eliminates unwanted, harmful microorganisms in the beverage to safeguard product quality and shelf life, guaranteeing a great tasting final product.

Case closed: Unique Brewing Calls for Customized Equipment

ProBrew believes that each craft beer reflects the hard work and long hours that each individual brewer puts in. That is why we are equally committed to providing customized equipment and solutions for what a brewery needs at this precise moment. From brewing to fermenting to carbonating and can filling, ProBrew's customizable equipment empowers breweries to expand operations at their own pace.

If you’d like to further the conversation, fill out our form and a representative will be in touch as soon as possible! Otherwise, feel free to email us at [email protected] or call 262-278-4945.