{"id":10235,"date":"2016-03-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insulation.org\/io\/articles\/insulation-helps-produce-award-winning-beer-at-a-northern-virginia-brewery-2\/"},"modified":"2017-03-30T18:21:26","modified_gmt":"2017-03-30T18:21:26","slug":"insulation-helps-produce-award-winning-beer-at-a-northern-virginia-brewery-2","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/insulation.org\/io\/articles\/insulation-helps-produce-award-winning-beer-at-a-northern-virginia-brewery-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Insulation Helps Produce Award-Winning Beer At a Northern Virginia Brewery"},"content":{"rendered":"

In March of 2015, Coast Guard veteran Casey Jones opened Fair Winds Brewing Company with one goal in mind: to create exceptional craft beers for flavor-conscious customers. One year later, Mr. Jones is proud to say that Fair Winds has made a name for itself in the craft brewing world. They have already won a regional award, a national award, and became the first large-scale packaging brewery in Fairfax County, Virginia. The first batch of their Howling Gale IPA won the distinction of being named the best IPA in Northern Virginia by Northern Virginia Magazine, and they also won a gold medal for their Siren\u2019s Lure Saison at the prestigious Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver, Colorado. GABF, founded in 1982, is the premier beer festival and competition in the United States, and its public tasting event and private competition comprise the largest collection of American beer ever served. This year, GABF offers attendees the option to try more than 3,500 beers from more than 700 of the country\u2019s best breweries. Winning the best Saison category is an impressive accomplishment for any brewery, let alone a small, independent brewery in its first year.<\/p>\n

\"IO160301_01\"<\/div>\n

Building an Award-Winning Brewery<\/h2>\n

Both of these award-winning beers are available at Fair Winds\u2019 facility in Lorton, Virginia, which houses both the brewery and a commercial taproom for tastings. The construction of Fair Winds was unique to their vision for operating an exceptional brewery. Brewing the beer\u2014or rather, preparing the wort solution for the yeast to ferment into beer\u2014is a multifaceted process that requires precise temperature control, which relies in part on properly insulated equipment. Brewing requires both cold and hot temperatures and therefore different insulations were used throughout the facility, including fiber glass with traditional all-service jacket (ASJ), fiber glass with PVC jackets, PVC elbows and fittings, elastomeric, and mastics on the valves. Correctly specifying insulation in a brewery is crucial to ensuring that the brewer is able to precisely control each aspect of the process\u2014leading to an exceptional and consistent final product.<\/p>\n

To build the brewery, Jones enlisted the Russell Gage Corporation, a general contractor with experience building breweries and distilleries. The owner, Russell Gage, has constructed several breweries and distilleries in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Gage, who calls his company, \u201cthe brewers of breweries,\u201d commented on how this process requires careful coordination between the equipment, heating and cooling systems, plumbing and insulation, water supply, drainage, and electrical infrastructure. Gage added, \u201cThe success of a brewery begins with the architect and general contractors fully understanding how a brewery operates on a daily basis.\u201d Jones and Gage looked toward the future when designing the systems, and added plumbing and piping for future tank growth. They expected it would take a 5 or 10 years to use all of their capacity, but due to their beer\u2019s popularity, they have already added new tanks and are set to begin local grocery store distribution.<\/p>\n

\"IO160301_02\"<\/div>\n

To ensure the insulation required in the brewery was correctly installed, Gage subcontracted with Wayne Insulation Co., an insulation contractor and National Insulation Association (NIA) member company located in Alexandria, Virginia. Breweries need to maintain an exceptionally clean and controlled environment and frequently wash down their systems, which makes the proper selection of insulation extremely important. Delisa M. LeHew-Martz, Project Manager for Wayne Insulation Co. Inc., said, \u201cBreweries and food-processing facilities have unique needs, and we enjoyed creating a quality insulation system that met these needs and will save them energy and water and help them be a greener company.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"IO160301_03\"<\/div>\n
\"IO160301_04\"<\/div>\n

Brewing Beer: Bubbles, Giggles, and Heat<\/h2>\n

The process of brewing begins with the grains being crushed in a grist mill, and then steeped for approximately 2 hours between 140\u00b0F and 160\u00b0F in the mash tun, where temperature is managed by introducing hot water into the mash to extract the starch\u2014the most important fundamental building block for creating the wort. Once the starch is extracted, the next step is to convert that solution into the simplest sugar possible, which is called wort. To accomplish this, the starch is put into a brewer\u2019s kettle, where it is boiled for about 90 minutes. All the lines that carry steam to the kettle are insulated in order to protect personnel from high temperatures, and also for increased efficiency\u2014uninsulated lines have to work harder to maintain temperature, lessening the system\u2019s efficiency. The kettle also has steam jackets on the bottom, sides, and center to transfer steam heat to the wort. Once the solution is broken down into sugar, it is \u201cwhirlpooled\u201d to remove extra particulates and make it a clean solution for the yeast.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Then, a heat exchanger, which uses insulated lines, is used to \u201ccold crash\u201d the solution by dropping the temperature from approximately 212\u00b0F to 70\u00b0F as quickly as possible. The heat exchanger uses clean water to allow the brewery to control the temperature by exchanging the heat, then the water is transferred via insulated lines to a holding tank to be recycled as cleaning water, thereby reducing the brewery\u2019s water-use footprint. At this point, the process is shifted from the hot-house side of production to the cold-house side, also known as the \u201ckitchen\u201d or \u201ccellar\u201d side. This is where yeast is introduced and beer will be made. As with the former process, temperature control is critical on the cold side, as temperature affects the ending flavor of the beer.<\/p>\n

When yeast consumes sugar, it aspirates 3 primary things: bubbles (carbon dioxide), giggles (alcohol), and heat. The temperature must be carefully controlled on the tanks to balance the desired level of bubbles, giggles, and heat. Brewers use different temperatures to achieve different flavors and craft different beer styles. If the tanks become too hot during fermentation, it can drive fruity flavors, including banana, into the beer\u2014which may or may not be desirable depending on the type of beer that is being produced. To control the fermentation process, which can take anywhere from 7 to 21 days, glycol wraps are used. The tank is structured to be an outer vessel and inner vessel with glycol running in between to control temperature; all the piping that runs the fluid to the tanks and chiller are insulated to help maintain temperature and protect personnel from potential injury. The glycol lines are covered with elastomeric insulation, which is able to withstand moisture. In addition to the glycol, each tank has a solenoid that controls temperature.<\/p>\n

Insulating for Equipment and Personnel Protection<\/h2>\n

In addition to the need for a highly controlled temperature process, there is another factor that requires breweries to carefully specify appropriate insulation and jacketing: frequent hot wash downs with caustic solutions. The sugar involved in the brewing process can present the risk of mold growth, which can contaminate the beer and lead to severe production issues. To mitigate this issue, the equipment needs to be washed down using a caustic solution that can be as hot as 190\u00b0F. Additionally, the high humidity inside the brewery makes water-vapor transmission\u2014which can get the insulation wet and endanger the equipment\u2014an ongoing concern.<\/p>\n

Insulation in these conditions also serves an important role in providing freeze and burn protection. Cold lines carrying coolants can be as cold as -28\u00b0F. They must be insulated in order to prevent ice from forming on the pipe exteriors, which can rob the system of energy and thus efficiency. Uninsulated lines also present a personnel safety issue, as they can possibly freeze skin if left bare. Similarly, hot piping\u2014including all the lines that carry steam from the boiler to the boil kettle\u2014can be a personnel safety issue if left uninsulated. Without the proper insulation, the system will also have to work harder to maintain the appropriate temperature, lessening the system\u2019s efficiency. For these reasons, all of the hot and cold lines in the brewery are insulated. Properly specified and installed insulation is critical to the processes that enable Fair Winds to produce its products and maintain a safe working environment.<\/p>\n

The End Result: Perfectly Balanced Beer<\/h2>\n

Craft beer has elevated the average consumer\u2019s understanding of hops and malts, but many of those customers may not be aware of the role that properly insulated equipment plays in creating the perfectly balanced beer. Without the temperature control that insulation offers, the head brewer, Charlie Buettner, would not be able to pick and choose flavors to craft everything from hoppy farmhouse ales to dark, robust stouts. Fair Winds Brewing Company offers kolsch, IPAs, ambers, stouts, and their golden colored, gold award-winning Saison: Siren\u2019s Lure. The knowledge and expertise of craft brewers such as Buettner is crucial in brewing outstanding beer\u2014but temperature and insulation also play an important role in creating humanity\u2019s favorite beverage.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Copyright Statement<\/strong><\/p>\n

This article was published in the March 2016 issue of Insulation Outlook magazine. Copyright\u00a0\u00a9 2016 National Insulation Association. All rights reserved. The contents of this website and Insulation Outlook magazine may not be reproduced in any means, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of the publisher and NIA. Any unauthorized\u00a0duplication is strictly prohibited and would violate NIA\u2019s copyright and may violate other copyright agreements that NIA has with authors and partners. Contact publisher@insulation.org<\/a> to reprint or reproduce this content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In March of 2015, Coast Guard veteran Casey Jones opened Fair Winds Brewing Company with one goal in mind: to create exceptional craft beers for flavor-conscious customers. One year later, Mr. Jones is proud to say that Fair Winds has made a name for itself in the craft brewing world. They have already won a regional award, a national award, and became the first large-scale packaging brewery in Fairfax County, Virginia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":[255],"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[301],"class_list":["post-10235","articles","type-articles","status-publish","hentry","category-design","author-caitlyn-freitas"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nInsulation Helps Produce Award-Winning Beer At a Northern Virginia Brewery - Insulation Outlook Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/insulation.org\/io\/articles\/insulation-helps-produce-award-winning-beer-at-a-northern-virginia-brewery-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Insulation Helps Produce Award-Winning Beer At a Northern Virginia Brewery\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In March of 2015, Coast Guard veteran Casey Jones opened Fair Winds Brewing Company with one goal in mind: to create exceptional craft beers for flavor-conscious customers. 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