A pioneer on many fronts

Georg Zuzok*
Bob Pease**

Milwaukee is the largest city in the US state of Wisconsin, where big breweries Pabst, Schlitz, Stroh and Miller have earned it a reputation as the beer capital of North America. "It thus goes without saying that Milwaukee is also a good place for a craft brewery," smiles Russ Klisch, the owner of Lakefront Brewery, Inc. Klisch has more or less grown up with the brewing industry; his grandfather drove a beer delivery truck for what was the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company and often brought his father short fills home after work. Says Klisch, "At the time I thought it was a cool job if you got to bring beer home at night." Today, Klisch does indeed have a really cool job – and he thinks so, too. "My job is my hobby and I believe it's the fun we have making beer and discovering more and more new styles of beer which makes us so successful here at Lakefront."  So that Klisch can also meet the demand for his quality tipple in the future – a demand which has positively mushroomed in the last few years – he recently invested in a KHS Innofill Glass Micro filler. "We ordered the world's second machine," states Klisch, "because we knew that KHS is a leader for high-capacity fillers and offers excellent filling technology – and that KHS fully exploits its expertise in high-performance equipment to develop the Innofill Glass Micro for the lower capacity sector. We're extremely pleased with our decision. The filler's been running perfectly since its installation and our lab confirms that we're getting excellent filling results."

Two brothers try to outbrew one another 

Lakefront Brewery actually owes its existence not to Russ Klisch but to his brother Jim. In 1981 Jim asked for a book on the art of brewing for his birthday which – to Russ' surprise – "he read from cover to cover". Jim then brewed his first beer, an amber lager, which "was actually pretty good", according to brother Russ. Russ' sense of ambition was roused. He didn't just want to be as good as his brother; he wanted to do things differently – and better. He 

*Head of Market Zone Americas, KHS GmbH, Bad Kreuznach, Germany.

     Phone: +49 671 852 2202

**Head of Filling Technology, KHS USA, Inc., USA. Phone: +1 262 787 5108 

therefore also carefully studied the homebrewing book and produced a pilsner as his first offering. The Klisch brothers really enjoyed their brewing and continued to create beers together, trying out different recipes, taking part in countless regional and national homebrew competitions and winning a number of awards. 

From a disused bakery ...

By 1985 the brothers knew that they no longer wanted to make beer just for themselves and their large circle of friends and thus began making plans to set up a microbrewery. In 1987 they rented a disused bakery, converted it into a brewery and on December 2, 1987, sold their first barrel of beer to the Gordon Park Pub, the inn closest to the brewery. As both brothers were then in regular employment, they only brewed at the weekends, delivering their beer personally in the evenings during the week. Beer sales steadily increased. In 1995 Russ therefore decided to devote his energies entirely to the brewery and in 1998 sales climbed to 3,000 barrels of beer. The former bakery had now become too small. 

... to the old electricity works on the Milwaukee River

The search for a new site began. The city of Milwaukee came to the brothers' aid, selling them the old electricity works on the banks of the Milwaukee River for a symbolic amount of money. The low purchase fee was an incentive to help bring the derelict building back to life – and with it the rest of the riverside complex. Its restoration cost $200,000 but was well worth it as sales figures continued to rise. 

33,000-barrel mark hit in 2012 thanks to rising sales

By 2006 Lakefront was selling 6,000 barrels a year. Since then sales have continued to rise at a terrific rate. In 2009 the brewery sold 12,000 barrels of beer, with 17,000 leaving the premises in 2010, 23,000 in 2011 and 33,000 in 2012. Around 40,000 barrels are estimated to be offloaded in 2013. Russ Klisch, the brewery's sole owner since his brother sold him his share of the brewery in 2001, explains.  "On the one hand we owe our huge growth in sales to both our good beer quality and our pioneering spirit. On the other, consumer interest in craft beers in the USA is also increasing at almost breathtaking speed." 

Craft breweries 'in' all over the US

According to the Brewers Association sales by craft breweries have risen by 15% in 2012 alone. In doing so they account for 6.5% of all beer sales in the USA and 10.2% of North America's beer revenue. In the first half of 2013 sales figures rose by a further 13%, amounting to 7.3 million barrels. As of July 2013 there are over 2,538 breweries in the United States, of which 2,483 are craft breweries, according to the Brewers Association. This means that if we look at the number of breweries, 98% of all American breweries are craft breweries.  

Lakefront Brewery produces first government-approved, gluten-free beer ...

Of these American craft breweries Lakefront is one which often acts as a pioneer and innovator. Klisch considers the most important innovation in the brewery's history to be New Grist, a gluten-free beer created in 2006 and the first to be approved by the US government. There's rhyme and reason behind its development. Klisch's master brewer once happened to mention his father's gluten intolerance to Klisch, telling him that about one person in five hundred suffers from the complaint. "I thought to myself what an enormous target group that would be, if every 500th US citizen drank a gluten-free Lakefront beer," says Klisch. New Grist is therefore not brewed with malt but with rice and sorghum. This is what gives the 5.5% alc/vol beer its fruity berry taste which is a little reminiscent of cider. With 13,000 barrels sold per year, New Grist has now become Lakefront's best-selling beer. Klisch is pleased. "It's not only people with a gluten intolerance who drink this beer; sure, it's popular for its health aspect, but also simply thanks to its excellent taste."

... and is a pioneer of many other quality beers

Lakefront Brewery is also something of a trailblazer when it comes to fruit and pumpkin beers. It was the first brewery in the USA to brew a fruit beer since Prohibition and the second in the country to be bold enough to launch a pumpkin beer. Another point of interest is that in 1996 Lakefront introduced the first certified organic beer in North America to market in the form of Organic ESB or Extra Special Bitter. In 2005 the brewery persuaded local farmers to start planting hops and barley in Wisconsin again and in 2009 began producing the Local Acre brand, the first brand beer since Prohibition to be made entirely from hops and malt from Wisconsin. A further big step was taken in this direction in 2012 with the production launch of Wisconsinite, the first beer in North America that not only uses hops and malt sourced in the region but also native yeast. 

Range of over 20 different beers

All told, Lakefront Brewery now makes over 20 different styles of beer each year, including the classic beers which are permanently available, various seasonal beers, such as Oktoberfest, Pumpkin, Wisconsinite and Maibock, and specialties which are brewed only once a year. Four classic styles make up 80% of Lakefront's total beer sales, these being New Grist, Riverwest Stein amber lager, Lakefront's IPA (Indian Pale Ale) and Fixed Gear ale. Among the one-off specialty beers, ideas such as My Turn, for instance, are a big hit with consumers and employees alike, where brewery personnel can create and produce a beer of their choice. Their imagination knows no bounds; one of the most recent creations, for example, was a doppelbock infused with maple syrup! "Giving our employees the chance to brew their own beer motivates them no end," Klisch says. "The time a person's belonged to the company determines whose turn it is next."

Present in 35 US states 

With a sales share of 60% Wisconsin is still the strongest market for Lakefront Brewery, followed by Illinois and Minnesota. The brewery currently distributes to a total of 35 US states, with New Grist the main top brand outside Wisconsin. This also applies to exports; the company enjoys a good presence in Canada and also ships its quality beers to Australia, Japan and South Korea at the time of writing. 

Innofill Glass Micro for greater capacity

Klisch outlines his future plans. "Our aim is to supply all 50 US states with Lakefront beer and at the same time boost activities in our export sector. We haven't been able to do this to date as we kept growing on our regular markets and didn't have the filling capacities to meet greater demand. With the Innofill Glass Micro we've taken a major step towards extending our  capacity. The next stage will be to expand our brewhouse. We're also thinking about building another brewery close to our present site sooner or later."

Output of up to 17,000 bottles per hour

With the Innofill Glass Micro Lakefront Brewery has a filling capacity of up to 17,000 bottles per hour. It fills 12 and 22-ounce longneck bottles (the equivalent of 0.355- and 0.56-liter longnecks).  The Innofill Glass Micro can manage bottles holding between 0.1 and 3 liters of product which provides Lakefront with plenty of flexibility for the future. The filling system can fill carbonated soft drinks into glass and aluminum bottles as well.  

Monoblocked with a rinsing and crowning system and equipped with many components from the high-capacity range

At Lakefront Brewery the Innofill Glass Micro is monoblocked with a single-channel rinser and a crowner. Within this system – as in the Innofill Glass Micro generally – many components have been included which are common to KHS' high-capacity range of equipment, among them the rinsing stations, lifting elements, filling valves and crowning elements. Says Klisch, "We think that in developing this microfiller KHS has taken a right step. Lots of craft breweries now want a reliable bottling system which both ensures low oxygen filling and offers long-term stability and a long service life. We're very pleased to be the second microbrewery in the world to profit from this innovation – also because we know that KHS is a technological leader for filling and packaging technology and that the world's major breweries also rely on KHS engineering."

Proven DPG-ZMS filling system incorporated

In the Innofill Glass Micro product, gas, and CIP media are fed in through aseptic seals, membranes and expansion joints that prevent the formation of any deposits or biofilm. The computer-controlled, single-chamber DPG-ZMS filling system is incorporated into the machinery, proven in practical operation many times over.   When beer is bottled, the pressurizing process with inert gas is preceded by triple pre-evacuation and double CO2 purging. The filling process begins as soon as the pressure is equalized between the ring bowl and the bottle. The product then is directed down the inside walls of the bottle. The filling phase is completed when the beverage rising in the bottle closes the return gas tube, after which the valve seat is immediately pneumatically closed. Pre-snifting and final snifting then take place. The result is high filling quality and precise fill level accuracies. 

Top-quality beer thanks to low-oxygen filling process 

KHS’ double purging system ensures a very low-oxygen filling process and minimum CO2 consumption with just 230–250 grams per hectoliter of beer. Another beneficial design feature of the Innofill Glass Micro is twin-valve control where two filling valves have been combined to make one processing unit. This considerably reduces the level of complexity and number of filler parts without affecting the quality of the bottling. Fewer parts also mean lower operating costs and that much less effort is required for maintenance. "What is and will remain most important to us is that with the low-oxygen filling process the quality of our great beers is perfectly retained in the bottle," states Klisch. 

Over a hundred awards collected at international, national and regional competitions

The vast number of awards Lakefront has won illustrates that the brewery makes very high demands of quality. According to Klisch, Lakefront has collected "over a hundred [awards]" over the years. Whether these be at national events, such as the World Beer Cup, European Beer Star Award or Great American Beer Festival, or regional shows, like the Chicago Beer Society Tasting or Indiana State Fair Brewer’s Cup Competition, Lakefront Brewery has entered them all – and more – and won prizes for its quality brew. Its most recent distinctions, for example, include the silver medal for Fixed Gear in the American-Style Amber/Red Ale category at the Great American Beer Festival 2012, a silver for the seasonal Rendezvous at the Australian International Beer Awards in the same year and a silver for Riverwest Stein in the American-Style Amber Lager section at the Los Angeles International Commercial Beer Competition. 

Simple changeover process

With so many different beers to bottle, one very positive feature of the Innofill Glass Micro for Lakefront Brewery is that the filling parameters for a specific bottling process can be simply selected from the type memory on the operator panel. This makes changeovers quick and above all very accurate, with the filler configured for each product as if it were designed exclusively for that particular product alone. All that has to be done when switching bottle types is to change the return gas tubes. A quick-change mechanism enables production to be quickly resumed, and the height of the filler carousel is automatically adjusted to different bottle sizes. 

Hygienic design

Another thing Klisch finds exceptionally positive about the Innofill Glass Micro is its hygienic design. The system is enclosed in a glass housing which not only provides an excellent view but also affords plenty of access for cleaning and servicing. A sloped, stainless steel front table ensures that any residual product, foam, water and broken glass are transported to the floor and away from the filler’s critical hygienic areas. In the Innofill Glass Micro the bottle infeed conveyor to the feedscrew and the bottle discharge conveyor downstream of the crowner are both hygienically designed and have side openings which allow easy manual cleaning. 

All product and process gas passages can be reliably cleaned using CIP sanitizing, including the hygienically critical inside of the centering bells. The filling valves are sealed by rinsing caps which are simply slotted in underneath the filling valves. The readily accessible filling valves and smooth surfaces are ideal for exterior sanitizing. 

Convincing drive concept 

Klisch has more praise for his new machine. "The drive concept on the Innofill Glass Micro is also convincing," he says.  "Thanks to the use of servo technology we no longer need an external control ring with gearboxes, spindles and joint shafts. This not only makes for easy maintenance but also for efficient use of our energy resources."

Emphasis on sustainability

For such an environmentally-friendly company as Lakefront Brewery efficient use of energy, low water consumption through hygienic design and a minimized carbon footprint are major arguments in favor of the Innofill Glass Micro. For instance, Lakefront was the first brewery in the state and the first company in Milwaukee to be awarded the Travel Green Wisconsin certificate by the Wisconsin Department of Tourism in 2007. 

Fun brewery tours

If you want to find out more about Lakefront's policies on sustainability, you can join one of the once-a-week environmental tours led by Russ Klisch himself.  The classic tour of Lakefront Brewery draws even bigger crowds; it's famous throughout the nation and, according to Klisch', "one of the most popular brewery tours in the US". This is undoubtedly thanks to the fact that the tour is anything but dry in all senses of the word; at the start every visitor to the brewery is given a glass of beer and then embarks on a guided tour which is more of a stand-up comedy show peppered with jokes – and about as far away from boring as you can get! It thus comes as little surprise to learn that many future couples first met in this relaxed atmosphere.  "We know of ten married couples who first got together on one of our tours," smiles Klisch. 

Major growth planned for the future

For the future Klisch chiefly wants one thing: to be able to fully satisfy the growing demand for quality Lakefront beers. There are plans afoot to build a brand-new brewery and use the existing premises as a tourist magnet and specialty brewery. Once this has been achieved, Klisch thinks it perfectly feasible that in five years Lakefront Brewery could be one of the top 50 American craft breweries (it's currently rated at number 63), with sales rising to 100,000 barrels per annum, beer being supplied to all 50 US states and export activities greatly increased. Innovative KHS equipment will support these ambitious targets also in the future and, to give Klisch the final word, "will remain a major technical highlight at Lakefront Brewery".