In craft beer, you have to push the limits to continue to engage customers. One way to do this is through new beers. But not every new beer is a winner; so breweries use smaller brewing system to test out new recipes. These pilot brewing systems are one of the ways they are able to drive new products into the market and continue to create buzz about their brewery.
While “flagship” beers pay the bills, the special/limited release beers often get more attention. So investing in producing small batches of unique beers is a great way to create hype, gain recognition, and sell more beer.
What Is A Pilot Brewing System
Every brewery has a brewing system (aka brewhouse). It’s what makes it a brewery in the first place. A brewing system can vary in size, features, etc based on the needs, goals, size, and financial resources of a brewery.
This main system is where the vast majority of their beer will be produced.
Pilot brewing systems are the secondary systems used by breweries. Typically, they produce a fraction of the beer compared to the main system. Just like the main system, pilot brewing systems vary in size.
These smaller systems often lack some of the features of the the main system. Brewing on these pilot brewing systems is more labor intensive.
The goal of a pilot brewing system is to make smaller batches of beer that are used to supplement their flagship beers, experiment with new recipes, and create limited/special release beers.
Why Breweries Have Pilot Brewing Systems
Brewing a small or large batch of beer takes about the same amount of time and effort. So from the outside, it seems ineffective to have a pilot system.
Why not brew everything in larger quantities on the main system?
There’s two factors: risk and sales volume.
In many cases, an experimental beer is being made on the pilot brewing system. If the beer doesn’t go well, they’d rather dispose of a smaller amount of beer. This minimizes the financial risk.
And even if the beer does turn out as expected, it doesn’t mean there is a demand for that specific style or flavor. So producing small amounts of beer is often ideal to limit quantity.
The larger brewing system does not allow for this kind of volume or risk control.
And this thought process holds true for all breweries. Pilot systems are valuable to every brewery, regardless of their size.
For example, as a brewery grows, they often need more brewing capacity than their system can handle. A brewery in this situation can’t waste time brewing experimental beers on their main system. All of their brewing capacity must be focused on making their flagship beers.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, a brewery with a brand new system (either at the time of opening or after an expantion), may find their additional brewing capacity is just too much to risk on a test batch of a new recipe.
So in both situations, these breweries have a need to test out new recipes without interrupting their normal brewing schedule. And they both want options to limit their risk if the new beer doesn’t meet their flavor or quality standards.
Types Of Pilot Brewing Systems
As mentioned earlier, the size of a pilot brewing system is relational to the main brewing system. Some are as small as a home brewing system while others are larger than the main brewhouse at other breweries..
The challenge is balancing a system that provides an amount of beer that the brewery can sell quickly while still providing a quality product.
The goal of the brewery must also be considered. For those just looking to test new recipes, they will want to frequently produce small batches.
Other breweries will use their pilot brewing systems for producing special release beers. These will need to be very high quality but have limited quantities.
MadTree Brewing’s Pilot Brewing System
If you follow my site or Cincinnati beer then you know about MadTree Brewing. They are one of the larger craft breweries in the area.
After moving into a new facility in early 2017, they began brewing most of their beer on their huge 100bbl brewing system. This was a huge upgrade from their 15bbl system at their original location.
Brewing on this new system was amazing but they knew that having a pilot brewing system was critical so in early 2018, they had a 15bbl pilot brewing system installed.
Yes, that’s correct. Their pilot system is the same size as their original main brewing system.
I was treated to an up close tour of this new system and it’s impressive. It sits right next to the larger system and is connected to all of the automation, controls and high tech gear as the large system. Just like their main system, it’s a 3 vessel brewing system which means they have the same control, efficiency and tools on both systems.
The automation alone that runs these two systems is ridiculous. Craft beer and automation may seem like opposites but for breweries the size of MadTree, it is key to producing consistent, high quality beer.
MadTree has invested heavily in a brewing system that will drive quality and flavor. And with the pilot system being identical in just about every way to the large system, they can scale recipes quickly. This opens up new opportunities to be creative as well as produce small batch beers for their taproom and special bottle releases.
Braxton Brewing And Braxton Labs
While most breweries have their pilot brewing system at the same location as their primary system, Braxton Brewing of Covington, Kentucky has done something unique.
They’ve taken their secondary system offsite.
This setup is a product of their fast growth. Opening up in early 2015, Braxton quickly became one of the fastest growing breweries in the Greater Cincinnati area. As they grew, they began to swap out small fermenting tanks for larger ones.
Soon their brewery was full of large tanks that stretched to the ceiling. And while this seems like the ideal situation, they found themselves without any small fermenters. Which means they couldn’t produce small batches of experimental beers..
Braxton knew that this wasn’t good for growing their beer and brand. So they purchased a brewery that was closing (previously Ei8ht Ball Brewing) which was just a few miles away.
Their main brewing system has an oversized 20bbl brewhouse while the new, secondary location, Braxton Labs, has a 15bbl system.
In addition to being at two different locations, it’s also unique because the brewing systems are so close in size. This gives them a lot more brewery capacity. This secondary location is dedicated to innovation and illustrates the vision for their company.
Final Thoughts
So what does all of this mean to you and me; the craft beer drinkers?
For many, this is just industry details that are kinda boring. But for many, understanding the philosophies and processes of brewing helps us better understand our favorite drink.
The brewing process is just as much art as it is science. The pilot brewing systems are the blank canvas that brewers get to use to develop and create. While the main systems are reserved for utilizing science to make consistently great beer.
Both are needed and both have value.
Next time you are at a brewery, ask them about their brewing system. Then ask them about their pilot brewing system and how they use it. I think they’ll more to say about how they use the smaller system to create and drive the future of their beer.
2 thoughts on “Investing In Innovation: Why Pilot Brewing Systems Are Critical For Future Success”
Thanks for explaining that pilot systems are important to breweries of any size, since the smaller amount minimizes the risk when making experimental beers. I think it’s interesting to learn about how beer is made because my husband and I view local breweries as a great way to experience a place’s culture. I’m glad I read your article because it was fun to learn about the experimental advantages that have led to the necessity of a pilot system.
When you visit a brewery, ask if they have a pilot brewing system and see if they have any beers on tap from it. It is a great way to try a beer that they don’t normally offer. Cheers!