About the Client
Hasta Pronto Brewing Co., a Santiago-based brewery, opened its doors in 2015 intending to create high-quality beers inspired by international brews. They are known for their incredible IPAs and hazy brews. Hasta Pronto values research, study, creative processes, and experimentation to create authentic beers.
We were introduced to the Hasta Pronto team via our friends at Tamango Brebajes who have been a Bespoke client since practically day one. This recommendation really made the Hasta Pronto team feel confident about our products and services.
The Challenges
Inefficient Equipment
The Hasta Pronto team started on a 6/7hL home-brewing setup on steroids and their brewing process at that time proved to be very labor intensive. With their old equipment, brewing was stressful; they would work long days, skip breaks, and feel like they were always rushing to produce their beers.
Tomas knew Hasta Pronto was ready to expand and grow, but wanted scalability without having to add more employees, as there is a lack of brewing education in his area and therefore hard to find brewers to add to their team.
Their goal was to upgrade their equipment to something more modern, that had more volume, and that would reduce their labor load while increasing efficiency.
The main issue with their smaller kit, besides not being able to keep up with demand, was that it was inefficient in both heating and the brewing process as a whole. This meant long days and subsequent hours for the brew team leading to higher costs per liter of beer.
Brewhouse Piping
Another issue we ran into during this process was finding a skilled welder and pipe fitter who could integrate the pipework between the brewhouse liquor tanks and the heat exchanger, as well as the more intricate steam and condensate piping and components. The price to have someone do this locally in Chile was easily 5 times more expensive than what BBS quoted. Sanitary welders are hard to find!
The Solutions
Upgraded Equipment
As with each client, we begin our partnership by thoroughly understanding their challenges and goals so that we can utilize our expertise to craft a Bespoke solution for them.
Through this process, a 4-vessel, steam-heated system was decided on to help with their volume requirements, brewing process, and efficiency goals. This included an HLT and CLT along with dedicated heating and cooling HEX for both.
Layout
Hasta Pronto was undergoing renovations at the time that we were working together so we took advantage of the opportunity to work with the HP team to redesign the flow of the brewer, especially with how the new hot side would fit in with the other equipment like boiler and packaging line. This is the extra mile we go for our clients so they can have a complete view of what will be in the brewery even if not all from us.
As this was the first time Hasta Pronto was replacing their equipment and redoing the brewery, the 3D models we used really helped Tomas envision how everything would come together to create his dream brewery. Starting off with the P&ID we worked with their team to identify any special requirements compared to our standard and capture them. From there we pass on to our in-house 3D team to get the model going and tweak this via Zoom calls until everything has been captured.
This is my first like big change in the brewery because we always worked with the old equipment, so at first it was not so easy to look and realize how it would work, but with the 3D [drawings] and Johns's expertise, it was easier to just understand what we were going to have. And I think that was the next level thing we were needing.
Hop Extraction
With HP being known for their IPAs and known their hazies, hop extraction efficiency is super important which is why we installed a tubular HEX between the kettle and whirlpool to help reduce the temperature as you are transferring to the kettle and starting your whirlpool. This gives the hops a better environment to work their magic.
Brewhouse Piping
When the equipment arrived, the brewhouse was already fully piped for liquor, steam, and condensate so there was a single connection for each in the pipework to feed the entire brewhouse. This not only saved the team costs as mentioned above, but easily weeks of installation time for local trades to be done. Also aesthetically everything is done in stainless steel so it looks like a million bucks, without that type of price tag.
The Results
Tomas explained that now, the team can brew 4/5 times more than what they used to brew in a day and they even have free days to focus on other tasks around the brewery – such as quality control, canning, and even having a day dedicated to cleaning. Tomas feels that his team has been able to step it up and create a more professional brewing environment. They still have a team of only 3 people, but with our equipment, they are achieving more in less time than before.
There is a team of three on the floor, 4 with me, and we are achieving more in the same time, or less time. So now we have like a complete day to clean on Fridays that we didn't have before… Before these changes that was unthinkable.
We had an amazing time helping the Hasta Pronto team bring their craft beer project to life! We wish them continued success in their endeavors.
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