Infusion Beers Done Efficiently

The Challenge

Regarding innovation, Avery Brewing Company is at the forefront of the beer industry. From big hoppy IPAs to complex sours and barrel-aged ales, Avery sources a number of exotic ingredients for its specialty projects or beers.

The difficulty is that traditional methods of ingredient infusion are often inefficient, messy, and costly.

"In the past, when adding certain adjunct ingredients to our beer (coffee, vanilla beans, tangerine peel), we would put it in nylon bags and throw it in the tank to let it soak for 10 to 14 days. The problem was that the ingredients were all stuck in the bag and didn't get to make contact with much of the beer, so it took forever to extract the flavors! We got good results from using the nylon bags, but it was difficult to get consistent results, batch after batch with this method."

The Journey

Avery contacted Paul Mueller Company to discuss their challenges and potential solutions. Mueller had already created hop dosing vessels for both hot and cold side applications and began adapting existing designs to create a new vessel that would work for all manner of spices and botanicals.

The Mueller team then visited Avery's facility in Boulder, Colorado. Like many growing breweries, cellar space is at a premium, so Mueller designed a vessel that would fit the facility and be easy for brewers to maneuver from tank to tank.

"This is the best ROI we have seen on any vessel we have ever purchased. We are kicking ourselves for not buying one sooner."

The Solution

This new piece of equipment - called the maxxLūp - brought Avery's brewing loop full circle. They used it for a variety of different cellar and brewhouse applications. Casters were added to the legs so the maxxLūp could be moved back and forth between vessels

The Results

The maxxLūp provided Avery with time and labor savings on multiple levels. Their processing time for certain ingredient additions decreased from five employees working all day to one employee working for half a day, giving the team time to work on other projects. In addition, their steep time for several ingredients was cut dramatically, allowing Avery to free up fermentation space and get more out of the cellar space they already had. Beyond time savings, using the maxxLūp allowed Avery to decrease ingredient use and achieve the same or better sensory results. All of this added to Avery's major cost savings.

Project Details

Increase Brew Consistency
Labor Savings with maxxLūp
Cost Savings with Decreased Ingredient Usage