The George Brewery
PREMIUM CRAFT BEER, ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY
The George Brewery resides in a beautifully restored hotel & bar built in 1845 and located in historic Newmarket, a tourist friendly town just north of Toronto, Canada. The brewery produces an eclectic variety of premium handcrafted ales, lagers and sours.
All breweries require large volumes of water to process and brew beer. It can take as much as four barrels of water to produce one barrel of beer. This estimate does not include the additional water used to grow the hops and various grains that are required. Consequently, The George is committed to sustainable, environmentally-friendly practices in the operation of its brewery.
The George is actively engaged in their community as a steward of the environment. For example, the organic matter that results from the brewing process is distributed to local farmers for use as cattle feed and compost. Furthermore, every effort is made to use best practices to reduce the use of chemicals in the effluent which in turn reduces the load on the local municipal wastewater treatment plant. The George also strives to conserve and re-use water in every aspect of the brewing process.
“95% of beer is water so water chemistry is critical.” states Steven Herold, The George Head Brewer. Steve is a graduate of Niagara College’s Brewmaster & Brewery Operations Management program, and has degrees in both biochemistry and microbiology. He is continually striving to improve product quality using the most environmentally conscious brewing practices that reduce their use of water and chemicals.
Client Needs
Safe, Chemical-Free and Environmentally Friendly
Superior Disinfection and Sanitizing Capabilities
Compliance With All Government Regulations
Prevention of Build Up and Biofilms on Equipment
Easily Retrofitted with Existing Equipment
Modular, Within the Existing Footprint
Reduction of Costs
Fast Facts
CLIENT: The George
LOCATION: Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
DATE: October 2019
TREATMENT PURPOSE:
Disinfection/Sanitation of equipment; bacteria, virus, cysts; yeasts and organics; metals such as zinc and iron; removal of residual odour, colour, taste
OZONE USE:
Incoming Municipal Water for Restaurant, Beer Brewing, CIP Sanitation
FLOW RATE:
10 Gallons per Minute
“At The George We Are Always Striving To Make The Best Quality Beer in the Most Environmentally Conscious Way”
Previous to joining The George, Head Brewer Steven had worked in several other craft breweries where reverse osmosis was used to treat incoming water for brewing and Peroxyacetic Acid (PAA) was used for cleaning and sanitation.
In 2019, The George was looking for an environmentally friendly and cost-effective disinfection technology to treat its water. Steve was knowledgeable about ozone, its use in the beer and wine-making sectors, and reached out to Aclarus for its expertise in ozone water treatment solutions. Specifically, they needed a solution to treat incoming water, outgoing waste water, as well as provide premium brewing water and CIP sanitation. Another key requirement was a solution with a relatively small footprint that could be installed within the existing historic hotel infrastructure. Aclarus’ modular, scalable system design was ideal.
“At The George we are always striving to make the best quality beer in the most environmentally conscious way. Our mandate is to use the very best water, AND the least amount of water to produce our premium craft beers.”
THE ACLARUS SOLUTION
The Aclarus team worked with the brewery to determine key factors like the water quality, potential solutions, flow rate and ultimately determined the required ozone “dose” and system design for treatment success and maximum ROI. The Aclarus system was designed to meet all of the brewery’s needs for treatment of incoming water for brewing, CIP and sanitation purposes.
The George treats its incoming municipal water source prior to brewing.Source water is treated to remove contaminants that affect the quality of the water (and the beer) – such as chlorine, iron, zinc, sulphur and manganese – among others. The Aclarus ozone system works on-demand, without chemicals to disinfect and also removes colour, taste and odour. After the initial ozone treatment, the water goes through a carbon filter to capture matter such as microplastics as well as any residual ozone. This process produces premium brewing water for as little as 5cents/1000L.
The George’s AOWT-8 Aclarus Ozone System meets the most stringent global standards criteria for materials and water quality assurance. Another advantage of the Aclarus ozone system is its ability to effectively manage fluctuations in chlorine content and other contaminants of the incoming municipal water. The treated incoming water is consistently treated to meet bottled water standards.
The George was also seeking a CIP sanitation solution that would conserve both their use of water and final rinse chemicals. For sanitation, the stored water goes through the same process as the incoming treatment, except this water does not require the carbon filter. Ozone works with cold water eliminating the additional expense of hot water. The George’s water use was greatly reduced given Aclarus’ closed loop final rinse sanitation system which allows the water and the chemical wash to be reused instead of flushing it down the drain. Furthermore, the ozonated water that eventually goes down the drain breaks down to oxygen and helps reduce contaminants that are regulated in wastewater (BOD/COD). Chemicals such as chlorine and PAA increase contamination which can lead to costly municipal wastewater treatment overage fees.
The George estimated that without the Acalrus ozone system they would have used a large volume of Peroxyacetic acid (PAA) to sanitize. On average 60 litres of PAA would have been required per tank and this would have gone directly down the drain after use. Steven estimates that the typical brewery industry payback for water disinfection equipment is 5 years, but only 3 years with the Aclarus Ozone system. The system will have paid for itself simply from the savings from PAA alone. Furthermore, The George’s water and chemical use was greatly reduced given the closed loop final rinse sanitation system.
Technical Specifications
Aclarus System AOWT-8
Small System Footprint (~36”W x 24”L x 50”H)
4-8gr/hr Ozone Generator with Automatic Air Dryer
Mixing & Injection System, Contact Tank, Flow Switch, Degas Removal & Air Vent, Teflon Tubing
In-line Ozone Monitor & Ambient Ozone Monitor, Automatic Self-Cleaning Filter
It doesn’t make sense to use anything other than ozone for so many reasons...
the quick ROI and cost savings, the environmental benefits, not to mention premium quality beer. You can’t produce great beer without great water. Aclarus Ozone alleviates so many of the concerns with respect to water quality and makes the brewing process so much easier.” says Steve Herold.
“Ozone is by far the better way to treat water. I recommend Aclarus Ozone to everyone. They are dedicated ozone experts who are friendly, responsive and great to work with.”
Steve Herold, Head Brewer - The George.
THE BENEFITS
There is no need to purchase, transport, store and handle chlorine or other potentially harmful chemicals.
Reduced monthly costs because there is less need to purchase/store expensive chemicals; costs about 5 cents per 1000 litres of water treated, significantly less than other treatments.
Completely disinfects the water; removes colour; removes harmful metals, microplastics and other micro-organisms more effectively than other treatments.
There are no chemical residuals or by-products; increased dissolved oxygen in the water improves the health of aquatic species.
The treated wastewater meets or exceeds all environmental regulations.
The system was easily retrofitted and installed into the existing building to help keep infrastructure costs low. The system is easy to use, takes up little room and is modular for easy expansion or service.
A Superior Chemical-Free Disinfectant Effective at Treating the Most Complex Water Problems Including:
Pathogens
Bacteria (E. coli, Streptococcus, Cholera, Pseudomonas, Mycobacterium)
Viruses (Adenovirus, Legionella, Rotavirus, Salmonella, Influenza, Hepatitis, Polio)
Cysts (Giardia, Crypto, Cyclospora, E. Dispar)
Contaminants
Metals (Iron, Manganese, Sulphur, Lead, Arsenic)
Organics (Biofilm, Algae, Tannin, Colour, NOM)
Inorganics (Cyanides, COD)
Contaminants of Emerging Concern
Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Products
Hormones, Antibiotics, Medications
Estrogen, Sulfamet, Oxycodone, Ibuprofen, Triclosan
Amphetamines, Cocaine, Opioids
PFAS (per & Polyfluoroalkyl Substances - Teflon)
Micropollutants & Microplastics
We Can Help
Do you have a water challenge or want to learn more about this use case?
We’d love to discuss your water treatment needs and develop a solution that’s right for you.