Presenter: Chad Yakobson, Crooked Stave Artisan Beer, Denver, CO
The ability to segregate processes that could pose potential
hazards for contamination has always been crucial in the
brewery setting. In large breweries that could mean physical
separation via different levels of production or storage spaces
that are adequately confined. To many medium-large to smaller
brewers, introducing wild yeast and bacteria poses a threat
that is not always visible, and the segregation of equipment
can be tedious. Building and operating a secondary off-site
location is commonplace when it comes to cold storage of the
finished product. The off-site model poses a solution for the
conscious brewery looking to separate wild and sour beers from
production beers. The dramatic increase in wild and sour beer
production is evident in every size brewery, and the secondary
location model poses a solution for breweries looking to branch
out and maintain consistency, while still having the ability
to not tie-up production space with barrels and wild yeast.
This presentation covers the considerations for running an
off-site barrel warehouse from initial start-up and equipment
considerations to daily operations and considerations for
transport and scheduling.
Chad Yakobson is the owner and director of operations of
Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project in Denver, CO. After
initially studying winemaking in New Zealand, Chad switched
his focus to the brewing industry, concentrating on various
microorganisms present during barrel aging of sour beer.
In 2010 Chad completed his master’s thesis, “Primary
Fermentation Characteristics of Brettanomyces Yeast Species
and Their Use in the Brewing Industry,” and was awarded
an M.S. degree in brewing and distilling from Heriot-Watt
University and the International Centre for Brewing and
Distilling in Edinburgh, Scotland.
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