New Belgium fermentation vessels to arrive in Asheville

There is nothing better than new brewing equipment rolling into a brewery. That’s why we’re jazzed to hear about New Belgium Brewing’s Asheville fermentation vessels and bright beer tanks, which are scheduled to arrive at their east coast home by mid-March. Two dozen fermentation vessels and a half dozen bright beer tanks departed from Ziemann in Bürgstadt Germany in January and arrived to the Port of Charleston, S.C., in early February. New Belgium is building an east coast location with an expected capacity of 500,000 barrels. The oversized vessels require rolling road closures, N.C. Department of Transportation-approved routing and a police escort, as they arrive to New Belgium Asheville.

“We are thankful for the collaboration of our partners in this process, as well as the patience of those along the route,” said Alex Dwoinen, Asheville brewing manager. “Placing these vessels into our new home on Craven Street is another reminder that we are one large step closer to brewing in this great city and sharing our beer more widely, and that’s incredibly exciting.”

Check out this footage of a vessel coming through Texas to Fort Collins, Colo., as part of New Belgium’s 2012 tank farm expansion.

New Belgium’s 200 hectoliter brewhouse system arrived seamlessly and on schedule in January with support from NC DOT, the districts along the route, Buncombe County, the City of Asheville and the Asheville Police Department. The vessels are currently scheduled to arrive during daylight hours between March 9 and March 14, pending weather delays. They will travel in pairs with a minimum of 30 minutes between arrivals.

The two dozen fermentation vessels have varying sizes between 32 and 52 feet tall with net volumes between 547 and 1,860 hectoliters, or up to 49,000 gallons. They house the process where yeast ferments wort into beer and allow the liquid to condition and mature. The six bright beer tanks, which store beer before packaging, are approximately 55 feet tall with net volume of 2,090 hectoliters, equivalent to about 55,000 gallons.

Public hiring for the Asheville location kicked off last month, with two dozen positions filled as of February 2015. New Belgium anticipates brewing beer in Asheville by the end of 2015.