According to the Brewers’ Association, there were an estimated 7,346 craft breweries in the U.S. at the end of 2018, including more than 4,500 microbreweries and more than 2,500 brewpubs. It was on this seemingly unstoppable wave that Dan Peterson hatched his idea to open a craft brewery in August 2018 in the small town of Hood River located 60 miles east of Portland, Oregon.
The production of beers requires barley, water and gases! And for his gas supply, Dan built an engaging relationship with Joe Keller, Craft Applications Specialist – Airgas National Carbonation. After their first meeting a year and a half ago, Joe helped him immediately with the planning of his gas supply needs. “You just know you’re talking to a beer specialist as much as a gas specialist. We talk about the latest craft beer conferences and I like to discuss the new beers I’m planning and listen to his advice,” Dan says.
Airgas provides Dan with carbon dioxide (CO2), the imperative brewing gas which, in addition to carbonation (see diagram below), he uses to purge kegs and bottles before filling, push the beer from fermenter to keg, and propel the beer from keg to glass when it is served in the brewery’s tasting room. Ferment’s outdoor 1,000-lb CO2 tank is refilled every two or three weeks with liquid gas at - 50°F (- 45°C). Dan explains: “we use that 120 psi CO2 (unit of pressure or of stress) for production and serving from our draft cooler”. In addition to CO2, Dan buys oxygen, which he uses to develop yeasts, and nitrogen, specifically to create the recognizable “cascading” effect when serving his dry stout – think of a famous black Irish beverage, and you’ll get the picture.
With production currently standing at 800 to 1,000 barrels (or 31 gallons / 140 litres) per year, Ferment is looking confidently to the future. “We are aiming to ramp up steadily and get out into other markets,” says Dan. “We just took delivery of two 40 barrel fermenters which ought to help us double our production by the end of 2019.” With no signs of the craft beer market slowing down, there’s nothing to stop a beer fan like Dan from stepping on the gas.
Craft beer production for 2018 in the U.S.
of all barrels sold off-site
Net increase of craft beer sales in 2018
Article published on July 11, 2019