To meet changing demands brewers can build flexibility into their existing spaces and introduce modular approaches. Here Chris Sparrow, director of architecture at NIRAS a consultancy, engineering and delivery partner in the Food & Beverage sector, explains how.

Over recent years, sustainability has moved from being a ‘nice to have’ to becoming a de facto ‘license to operate’ for breweries.

Changing consumer demands and rapidly evolving regulations push all food and beverage manufacturers to rethink the type of product they produce, as well as the means of production itself.

In the brewing industry this has been supplemented by the rise of low- or no-alcohol beer, which is just one notable consumer change driving adaptations to existing processes.

In 2022, 650,000 hectoliters of beer with less than 3.5% alcohol were sold, but by 2023, this figure had nearly doubled to a staggering 1.3 million hectoliters. 

While this is pushing breweries to rethink their product offerings, broader consumer awareness about the importance of planet health and regulatory changes, such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), have also amplified the pressure to adopt more sustainable practices. 

To remain competitive, breweries must adapt their approach to meet the demands from both a consumer and regulatory point of view – delivering innovative products and increasing operational efficiency, all while reducing the impact of production on the environment. 

Being sustainable, having operational flexibility and remaining compliant can all go hand-in-hand, but at the centre of this is the need for breweries to retrofit exciting spaces or design new facilities that are future-proof. 

Retrofitting existing spaces 

Increasing customer demand for a broader range of brewed products is already requiring breweries to adopt different processes.

These could include anything from late hopping, extra bright beer tanks (BBT) or new filtration technologies, all of which could cause problems for breweries operating in historic and often inflexible facilities. 

For breweries with ageing assets, which are often located at the heart of communities in towns and cities, the decision of whether to build a new facility or retrofit an existing one is critical. Every business is different and these decisions must only be made via a strategic master plan.

“For breweries embarking on new builds, the importance of designing a facility with the future in mind cannot be overstated,” Chris Sparrow, NIRAS.

As I outlined in NIRAS’s ‘Building Sustainability into Brewing’ report, moving to a new purpose-built facility might not be achievable for every brewer.

Greenfield sites, for example, might offer room for expansion and modern facilities or may simply have better links to key materials and water, but transferring integrated processes and jobs to a new site is complex, especially when a brewery is the lifeblood of its community.

When considering retrofitting facilities, a master plan will help decision-makers understand where opportunities lie, identify any risks, and set out a strategy to future-proof the site for the next five to 10 years.

This process includes a full site appraisal alongside an assessment of building materials, production processes and infrastructure to guide breweries towards a sustainable, long-term solution. 

In many of these existing facilities, one frequent challenge is that original process equipment has been installed without the flexibility to adapt to modern-day demands.

We’ve seen a lot of original machinery that has been installed without careful consideration of what would happen to it in the future. 

The first challenge calls for reassessing current layouts to accommodate new equipment or processes without major structural overhauls.

For instance, breweries can integrate modular systems that allow for easier scaling and adjustments.

Through ingress and egress mapping, we can track the movements of process equipment entering the brewery, including their route to the point of installation.

This is paramount in helping us identify building elements – walls and steelwork – that may restrict equipment installations. 

With this early review, we can put together a strategic plan that incorporates and accounts for all elements of installation, as well as plan for any future demands that may need a brewery to reassess its structure. 

As new technologies come into the market – heat pumps, CO2 recovery and electrification, to name just a few – it’s essential to imagine what your brewery could look like in five to 10 years and allow space for its integration when the time is right to invest. 

This assessment goes beyond what you can see above ground. Any brewer knows that a well-considered drainage system is integral for a brewery to function effectively. 

Our teams frequently use 3D modelling alongside our client’s chosen OEMs to simulate drainage designs in order to get a complete understanding of peak loads, capacities and redundancies within the system. The depth of insight means they are prepared for any changes in case equipment is moved, buildings are extended, and capacity increases. 

Designing future-proof breweries 

For breweries embarking on new builds, the importance of designing a facility with the future in mind cannot be overstated.

The infrastructure needs to be scalable and flexible, allowing space for development as market demands expand. 

A modular design can enable easy expansion or reconfiguration. Production modules, for example, can be added or removed with minimal disruption to operations, allowing a brewery to react quickly to changes and retain a competitive advantage. 

Pre-designing for speed in operations is a key step to future-proof any retrofitting project or design of an entirely new facility. Regardless of the age, location or capacity of a facility, over time, there will always be a need to adapt existing processes to suit new technologies and growth. 

“It’s essential to imagine what your brewery could look like in five to 10 years,” Chris Sparrow, NIRAS

Keeping downtime to a minimum when these production breaks occur is vital and should be considered at the design stage.

Production areas are typically congested with limited access, but by designing universal process loading across the main building structure, we can plan for off-site modular services, which are brought in and connected in sections. 

This high-level activity limits the need for intricate and challenging working environments alongside existing installations.

The final services can then be lowered to the point of integration and connected to existing processes. The vast majority of this work can be completed before entering the production area, keeping downtime to a minimum. 

This type of collaboration with architects is crucial to ensure that new and existing brewery facilities can keep pace with sustainability goals and consumer demands.

Building strong partnerships can provide valuable insights into innovative practices and help identify areas where processes can be improved and future-proofed effectively. 

As we look toward the future, the need for sustainability in brewing will only grow stronger and the products will continue to broaden as consumers become more savvy of their habits.

By adopting flexible, scalable designs, breweries can remain agile as the market evolves. Retrofitting existing plans and building new ones with flexibility and sustainability at the forefront can help to set breweries up for long-term success.