Fremont Brewery Project in Fremont, Seattle – Because Beer Matters

“Exact Electric provided exactly what we needed!”
— Matt Lincecum, Owner Fremont Brewery

After helping the Fremont Brewery with their tasting room’s electrical needs we were given the exciting opportunity to help them with their brewing equipment. They asked Exact Electric to provide a temperature control solution that would better suit their growing needs and to transition from a badly located older design that lacked functionality to a modern design that could be easily maintained and monitored.

Exact Electric’s very own Ed Hlavacek and the talented team at the Fremont Brewery successfully collaborated to provide the brewery with just what it needed. Mr.Hlavacek who engineered and designed the temperature controls for the brewery is a journeyman electrician with a strong background in controls and automation technology and has over 16 years in the electrical industry.

Electrical Project Overview

The first step was to replace their existing system without missing out on a moment of production, which meant building an entirely new system with the existing system still in place and then transitioning from the old antiquated system to a new state of the art system seamlessly.
We planned and executed a transition to happen within hours because we were able to time and document the entire process prior to the transition with the client’s input and knowledge.

We installed a newly engineered temperature control panel that regulates the fermentation vessels flow of glycol – the liquid coolant that jackets the fermentation vessel to ensure optimal temperature regulation.

We set up RTD’s (resistance temperature detectors) at each vessel to relay accurate temperature readings to a digital micro controller that regulates the temperature for each of the vessels used for making beer. Each vessel has a specific optimal temperature that is required to produce high quality beer with a perfect finish.

Although the project was originally designed to include two separate panels we created one consolidated panel because we knew it would reduce the footprint of the controller, thereby saving space where square footage is at a premium. We also designed it to be cost efficient, accessible and convenient.

The outcome: a ladder system that was engineered to be modular and that was easy to maintain and monitor.

The system is centrally located to provide an improved flow of warehouse traffic as well as make it easy to conduct routine temperature monitoring and maintenance.

We installed 18 precision digital controllers that allow the client to monitor each vessel individually and regulate temperatures to within a 10th of a degree of a set value, all in one centralized location.

Lastly we wired a motorized system that allows the brewery’s staff to automatically fill their grain augers. So instead of physically hauling 60 pounds of grain, the auger was set up to take the grain straight from the truck to the grinder. The result: cost savings and better business efficiencies.