Dogfish Adds More Fermentation Capacity

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

This is an exciting week at Dogfish Head, with two major expansion projects coming together at the same time!

The first is our renovation and refitting of one of our original fermentation

This is an exciting week at Dogfish Head, with two major expansion projects coming together at the same time!

The first is our renovation and refitting of one of our original fermentation areas in the Milton brewery.  Our 'Bay One Project' first saw the removal of 18 tanks (yikes, that explains the temporary shortage of our beer!), removal of the old floor and drains, the pouring of a new, thicker floor, and (finally..) the installation of 15 tanks.  Yes, it is fewer tanks going back in, but they are larger and better suited to our overall production goals.  More. bigger tanks = more beer!

Related to the tank installation is a new refrigeration system that can handle all the cooling required and allow for years of further growth.  We now have a kickin' state of the art ammonia system that will be 30% more efficient than our old system.  Part of the this new system is a brewery-wide dehumidification system.  By drying the air out inside the brewery, we can reduce the growth of mold and other unwanted microbes (we want living yeast in our beer, but no other critters).  The result is a cleaner, more sanitary work environment.   This is good news for all who work here during the hot, humid summers, but is also good news for all our visitors taking the tour. Speaking of the tour... we have a whole new tour program beginning 6/25/08, come visit!

Photos at right include...

- The lineup of new tanks waiting patiently in our parking lot.

- A new tank being lowered by crane into the top of the brewery.

- One of the new tanks coming through the hole we cut in the roof to get these bad boys in!