How MicroStar uses technology to help breweries like Port City operate more efficiently

MicroStar’s investments in technology, including the addition of new brewery management software integration tools, is helping leading brewers operate more efficiently in today’s dynamic beer industry. These technology enhancements have been rolled out to benefit a range of world-class brewers including Port City Brewing, winner of the 2015 GABF Small Brewer of the Year award.

“When people see and enjoy a perfect pint of our Monumental IPA, what they don’t see are all of the moving pieces behind the scenes that make that beer possible,” said Bill Butcher, Port City’s Founder. “We trust MicroStar to manage the keg logistics portion of our operation and when MicroStar teamed up with ekos_brewmaster to integrate with our brewery software, it was a game changer. The way data is exchanged between ekos_ and MicroStar is seamless which ensures data integrity and saves our team time so they can focus on their passion… making great beer.”

Founded in 1996 and based in the heart of Denver, MicroStar Logistics is the leading diversified keg solutions provider. MicroStar’s Keg Management division leverages two pools of kegs — KegCraft-branded kegs for midsize, regional brewers and MicroStar-branded kegs for large, national brewers — to deliver cost-effective outsourced keg solutions. MicroStar’s Quality Services division is the leading keg repair and maintenance operation helping to maintain the quality and lengthen the lifespans of some of the largest keg fleets in the world.

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“The keg supply chain is more complicated than people realize and our business was born from the idea of simplifying it for brewers,” said MicroStar’s Director of Technology, Tom Evanoff. “We worked with the team at ekos_ to take the data that already lives in Port City’s brewery management system and, in real time, plug that into our proprietary TAP system to make things like reporting keg movements a snap. The team at ekos_ was terrific to work with… it’s an example of the collaboration that makes the craft beer community special.”

“We knew MicroStar was a leader in keg management, what we didn’t expect was their strength in technology,” said Josh McKinney, ekos_’ CEO. “One out of every six brewers use the ekos_brewmaster platform, making the overlap between the MicroStar and ekos_ customer bases significant. We were impressed with how quickly MicroStar implemented the integration tool and we are now rolling it out to benefit more brewers across the country.”