Why design a brewery layout?

Believe it or not - designing a brewery layout is an art that requires real skill and experience.

It's a delicate dance between incorporating as much space as possible while optimizing a smooth brewing process.

Getting the brewery layout right at the start of the project is the key to success.

So how do you make sure it's perfect?

Good news - you don't have to! That's our job.

Start your brewery layout

In these early stages of planning a brewery, we ask you three very important questions. The answers will guide us in recommending a brewing system that meets your needs.

• The size of your location - how much space do we have to use?

• Your monthly and annual production - what are your goals?

• Your budget - how much do we have to deal with?

We will then calculate all the important things like recommended mashing room and cellar vessel sizes, equipment costs and floor space.

DEGONG micro brewery equipment

Work brewery equipment into the space

Armed with all this information, we're getting to the serious part - the big game of Tetris.

Who doesn't love a good Tetris session?

Our first goal is to get a 2D CAD drawing of the space from the designer/architect or landlord. This drawing is critical - if we are dealing with an inaccurate drawing it can lead to huge and costly complications.

At this stage, we determine the dimensions of each piece of equipment and their dry and wet weights.

We encourage sharing this information with all stakeholders involved in your project, especially designers/architects and general contractors. This is the first major gate inspection to ensure the space is suitable for the planned equipment and to handle the load - as the weight is rapidly increasing! This includes all auxiliary equipment such as steam boilers, glycol coolers, water filters, packaging equipment, etc.

Why Accuracy Is Important

Underestimating weight can lead to foundation cracking. We also need to factor in trench drainage, which can take away the structural integrity of the slab if there’s too much weight and decrease height clearances if the need to add to the slab.

The dimensions of the equipment and the location need to be spot on. We’re not saying this to be pedantic! We are saying this because if they are off, by even one millimeter, we could have a serious problem on our hands.

If it gets to unloading day and a piece of equipment doesn’t fit into the space – the entire design is thrown off, and can lead to a domino effect of issues!