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08/05/2015

Keg technology ensures market success

- Low oxygen values convince the craft brewery - Optimum prerequisite for growth in the market and consistent product quality

• Low oxygen values convince the craft brewery
• Optimum prerequisite for growth in the market and consistent product quality

Frank Hollmann* Kurt Hofmann** Rainer Deutschmann*** With an annual production of around 180,000 hectoliters, Gage Roads Brewing Company in Fremantle, near Perth, is number four among Australia's breweries after Lion Nathan, SABMiller and Coopers. As well as producing its own brand beers the company has built up a strong 'side line' in contract filling for other breweries.  Says Aaron Heary, the COO of Gage Roads, "We're planning on further growth in both areas of business. And in doing so we want to stay true to our strategy of producing quality without compromise." This has been Gage Roads' policy right from the start: to work with highly qualified individuals, to use outstanding ingredients and to deploy the best technical equipment. This is also what prompted the brewery's recent investment in KHS kegging technology – but not without extensive research prior to purchase. Heary states, "We studied all the available articles on this machine in the trade press and talked to lots of expert engineers in the brewing industry before opting for the Innokeg CombiKeg. We also carefully scrutinized the machine on show at the KHS booth at drinktec 2013. Only after this were we absolutely sure that the Innokeg CombiKeg perfectly met our requirements. We then went ahead and ordered the show exhibit." A pioneer on the Australian craft beer scene Gage Roads Brewing Company is one of the pioneers on Australia's craft brewing scene. Craft breweries began to make their mark in the USA back in the 1980s but in Australia microbreweries selling handcrafted beers only really started to become popular about five years ago. Since then their share of the Australian beer market has risen from about 1% to almost 3%, with the tendency towards further growth. Heary tells us more. "We think it feasible that craft beers could account for around 10% of Australian beer sales in the medium to long term and that the current situation in America will then be echoed here down under." *  Manager of Market Zone Asia Pacific, KHS GmbH, Bad Kreuznach, Germany. Phone: +49 671 852 2888    **   Manager of KHS Pacific PTY LTD, Tullamarine, Australia. Phone: +61 393 351331   ***  Director of Kegging Global Product Account Management, KHS GmbH, Bad Kreuznach, Germany. Phone: +49 671 852 2977 It all started with a single idea The brewery owners came up with the idea for Gage Roads as far back as in 2002. Master brewers Bill Hoedemaker and Peter Nolin, one of Australia's highly awarded teams of expert brewers then working for Fremantle's Sail and Anchor Pub Brewery, sat down after a day at work and began discussing how they could set up their own brewery. The more they talked about it, the more logical their idea seemed. After a while they were absolutely determined to tackle the project together with Bill's brother John, an experienced businessman, and to this end they rented an old butter factory in Fremantle. The first brand beer to hit the market was Pure Malt Lager (Gage Premium Lager), followed by Midstrength Pils (Gage Pils) and India Pale Ale (Sleeping Giant IPA). By 2009, however, the success they had hoped for had not yet materialized – despite their brilliant beer quality and countless awards. One of the main reasons for this was that the Australian dollar rose in value, resulting in imported beers being sold at very low prices on a generally declining beer market. At the time craft beers also had no particular standing in the country. As a result, sales in the first four years of Gage Roads Brewing Company stagnated at around 3,000 hectoliters per annum.  Almost phenomenal growth since 2009 In 2009 the situation suddenly changed. Australia's big retailer Woolworths Limited became a shareholder in Gage Roads, opening up new channels of distribution for the brewery. At the same time Gage Roads started brewing under license and developed two more own brands in Wahoo Premium Ale and Atomic Pale Ale. Production figures then underwent an almost phenomenal growth. In 2010 Gage Roads produced 80,000 hectoliters, with 125,000 hectoliters leaving the brewery in 2012 and 180,000 in 2014. In 2014 about 150,000 hectoliters were brewed under license, with the remaining 30,000 hectoliters house brand beers. Five own brands and Atomic Pale Ale as the star product With a share of 40% in this segment the main own brand today is Atomic Pale Ale, which is now the fourth-largest pale ale in Australia. The other four Gage Roads craft beer brands account for around 15% respectively and are all among the 15 biggest Australian brand beers in their beer category. Sleeping Giant IPA even holds first place among the country's India pale ales. Present throughout Australia Gage Roads craft beers are now distributed throughout the whole of Australia, with the main focus still the west of the country. Small amounts of beer are also exported to Singapore and Japan. Heary explains. "We're very pleased to be recognized in our export countries but our aim is to continue to grow on the Australian market especially. Our new KHS keg line plays an important role in this." Kegs encourage bigger presence in the hospitality trade To date, Gage Roads chiefly filled its beers into bottles, with only around 1% of sales down to beer in kegs. This is to change. Heary states, "We're reckoning on the future growth of our own brands in particular being largely attributable to the keg. In the medium term we assume that over 40% of sales in this segment can be realized with kegs. The thinking behind this is also that we want to increase our presence in the hospitality trade, which is the distribution channel where brands are built up and expanded to a very high degree. With our new Innokeg CombiKeg we're excellently equipped for the big expansion in kegs we're planning on." Investing in the keg system also meant increasing the sales team and optimizing the marketing strategy at Gage Roads. Heary comments, "We've got our product quality, technology and personnel right in every respect. What we have to do now is promote our craft beers more strongly. We see this as one of our most crucial tasks for the future." The highly flexible Innokeg CombiKeg ... The Innokeg CombiKeg is extremely flexible and processes all shapes and sizes of returnable and non-returnable keg – from the 10-liter variant to the capacious 58-liter model.  This gives Gage Roads plenty of options for the future. At the moment, the brewery is only racking classic 50-liter steel kegs as in Australia, beer in kegs holding 48.5 liters or more is more favorably taxed.  The 50-liter size is therefore first choice for nearly all of the country's breweries. ... is also convincing with its top racking performance and extremely compact design  Gage Roads not only likes the flexibility and top-quality racking performance of the Innokeg CombiKeg but also its compact design. The infeed and discharge conveyors for the kegs are directly adjacent to one another, thus saving space and making for extreme ease of operation, as only one person is needed to load and unload the kegs. The machine operates on a rotary principle, with the interior washing stations, racking station and exterior washing station all fully integrated. The Innokeg CombiKeg also has media tanks built into the cladding which supply caustic, acid, mixed water and hot water. All of these aspects only serve to increase the compactness of the system. As the Innokeg CombiKeg fits into one container, it was delivered to the brewery ready-piped and cabled. It was thus set up, connected up and commissioned at Gage Roads within a very short time indeed. Capacity of 80 kegs per hour The line's maximum output is 80 kegs per hour. "Even with our most optimistic prognosis for future sales, this capacity is enough for all time," smiles Heary.  The own brands Gage Roads racks on the Innokeg CombiKeg at present are Atomic Pale Ale, Wahoo Premium Ale, Sleeping Giant IPA and Gage Pils. According to Heary, kegged Atomic Pale Ale and Wahoo Premium Ale are proving especially popular with the hospitality target group. Extensive keg tests prior to the first interior wash Kegs entering the Innokeg CombiKeg are first tested for leaks prior to the first interior wash. This is repeated before all subsequent interior washes and before racking. If the leak test proves unsatisfactory, the keg passes through the following stations on the machine but is not processed. Maximum product safety is a given. If no leaks are found, the keg is then inspected for residual pressure in the first interior washing station. This checks for any damage to the keg and fitting and verifies whether the keg has been manipulated or not. Any beer residue is then blown out with sterile air. The keg is then pre-sprayed with mixed water to rinse out any coarse soiling. As a sustainable company Gage Roads appreciates the fact that this mixed water is reused from the last hot water spray. This means that not only water is saved but also energy and wastewater as well. "This is another point which shows us just how much thought has gone into the Innokeg CombiKeg concept," smiles Heary. The first pulsed caustic spray then starts and, finally, the keg is partly filled with caustic in the first interior washing station. This is to allow the caustic to take effect during the exterior wash, making a separate passive washing station superfluous. Exterior washer integrated into the system Safety doors systematically separate the exterior washer from the interior washing process, which is an excellent solution as regards hygiene. Mixed water from the last hot water spray is also reused here to wash the keg exteriors. Once the keg has been flushed off, it is rotated and a fixed nozzle holder sprays the keg down. A brush integrated into the exterior washing station, which automatically adjusts to different keg sizes, gives the keg an extra mechanical clean.  This is especially useful when cleaning very dirty kegs. System of choice for all interior keg washers: pulsed spraying The next interior wash starts with any caustic still in the keg being blown out. The keg is then given its second treatment with caustic as a pulsed spray, which is the system of choice in all of the interior washing stations as it carefully sanitizes both the interior wall of the keg and the riser pipe. In this process cleaning liquid – here, the second batch of caustic – exits the riser pipe and forms a film of liquid in the keg cup that flows over the inner surfaces of the keg bladder, collects at the keg fitting and finally flows back out through the ring channel due to the overpressure in the keg. The volume flow is restricted by an orifice plate at regular intervals. The cleaning medium then no longer floods the inner surfaces of the keg bladder but instead flows down the riser pipe as a film. This ensures that all interior surfaces of the keg exposed to the product are covered with liquid process medium. In the third interior washing station a second pulsed spray with caustic takes place, while the fourth interior washing station acid cleans the keg and gives it a final pulsed spray with hot water. Interior washing station five concludes the washing process by removing the hot water and blowing out the keg with steam. The keg is also pressurized with CO₂ and thus made ready for the racking process. DFC filling system for high product quality The DFC (Direct Flow Control) filling system racks beer quickly, gently, economically – and with low oxygen pickup. As it is sufficient to pressurize the keg to a pressure that is slightly higher than the degree of CO₂ saturation in the product, CO2 consumption is reduced by up to 40% versus conventional racking systems. The DFC filling process is extremely accurate thanks to the racking process being directly controlled by a control valve in the product infeed. Underfilling is not an issue. There is also no loss of product due to keg overfilling. The racking speed is monitored at all times and the oxygen and gas entering the product are minimized. In addition, this system has an increased capacity of about 20% compared with the classic filling process. Heary states, "Since starting our business the name Gage Roads has stood for top beer quality. With the very low-oxygen racking process we have with the Innokeg CombiKeg, we can also ensure this top quality for our beer in kegs. This is extremely important for our planned future success." After racking the kegs are placed on the discharge conveyor and palletized by a single operator. If a keg has failed the leak test, the operator is given a visual signal to remove the 'bad' keg from the process. "We made the right decision" Heary stresses, "I can only keep on emphasizing how happy we are that we really made the right decision with the Innokeg CombiKeg.  This also goes for the system's robustness. As we're pretty much at the end of the world out here in Western Australia, this is crucial.  Here, our equipment has to function first and foremost and keep on running throughout its entire life cycle. If it then also has all the other benefits of the Innokeg CombiKeg, then that's just perfect!" The success story continues By making this decision, Gage Roads has set the course in the long term for a successful future in the craft brewery market. Says Heary, "We've made an excellent name for ourselves as a reliable partner in the industry with our outstanding personnel, excellent plant equipment and wealth of brewing expertise. We can build on this. Alongside our classic contract brewing orders we could also see ourselves bottling non-Australian beer brands under license in the future. Even before we reach 2020 we're reckoning on our production figures climbing to about 300,000 hectoliters." And this growth is being promoted in part by KHS kegging technology: by quality, flexibility, reliability and powerful performance.