The 80,000m3 warehouse and chilled distribution centre is the continent’s first and takes the Scottish craft beer global.
Star Refrigeration has been commissioned a second time to work with Scottish multinational craft beer company BrewDog as it continues to expand. The cold storage and distribution specialists successfully delivered an eco-friendly, cost effective solution for Europe’s first fully refrigerated beer warehouse.
Having recently acquired the brand new Eurocentral warehouse in Motherwell, BrewDog commissioned Star to design and install a brand new plant capable of chilling its unique craft beers to 50 C ahead of distribution. The location offers unrivalled access to Scotland’s road network, ideal for transporting the brand’s beers to pubs and supermarkets across the world. It is also just five miles away from Star’s Bellshill branch which further strengthened the working relationship.
BrewDog were very keen to install an eco-cooling solution using natural refrigerants. Utilising CO2 not only improves environmental credentials and reduces the plant’s carbon footprint, it also avoids future regulations against harmful f-gases which could result in further costs in retrofits or replacements.
After working with BrewDog in 2017, Euan Duncan, Technical Sales Engineer at Star Refrigeration said, “We’re delighted to be working with BrewDog once again. Through the successful delivery of Europe’s first fully refrigerated beer warehouse, we’ve demonstrated how Star is committed to pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the refrigeration industry and helping our customers take their business to the next level.”
Star Refrigeration applied a cost saving focus to the project to make the large distribution centre affordable for the client. To help fulfil BrewDog’s ambition to be one of the world’s fastest growing beverage companies, CO2 was deemed the safest and most cost effective option for the new plant. It can cool the building to the necessary temperature without the hazards of other refrigerants such as ammonia, and the smaller pipe work for the application saved on steelwork and installation costs.
The end product delivered financial savings of 30% in comparison to a traditional ammonia glycol system. Thanks to the cost effective temperature controlled storage and distribution solution designed by Star, BrewDog can efficiently deliver its craft beer to consumers without losing flavour or quality.
Niall Murphie, Engineering Manager at BrewDog, said, “Star Refrigeration delivered an energy efficient, financially viable and environmentally responsible solution. This allows us to remain uniquely placed to serve the needs of beer lovers all over the country and beyond, helping to spread our passion for craft beer to every corner of the globe”.