Timberline Blog

Avery Brewery Company HVAC Design-Build & Engineering Of Steam Plant and Chiller Water Plant

Avery Brewing Company has been a client of Timberline Mechanical Systems for a number of years. In September of 2013, they approached us with a dilemma; Avery was flourishing, and their building was becoming obsolete due to these “growing pains.” At the time, they were occupying a number of suites in a building park on 55th Street and Arapahoe. When a suite would open or become vacant, Avery would claim it. This strategy worked for a time, but it clearly wasn’t going to continue to support their growth—not with what Avery had planned.

As this transition unfolded over the course of a few years, we maintained a good working relationship throughout their growth and changes. We continued to service them as clients and took care of their HVAC equipment.

Engineering Expertise

The board at Avery was familiar with our engineering expertise, and they called to discuss how to utilize us in the best possible ways. We consulted with them, as Avery presented “this is what we have to work with, and this is what we need. Can you make this happen?” So we got to work. A team was organized that included Avery’s manager, operations administrator, their chosen boiler manufacturer and Timberline. Plans for the new projected address needed to be designed, formulated and executed, all meeting city requirements. This would involve two major plants.

The Steam Plant and the Glycol (Chilled Water) Plant

Steam is what is needed to brew beer, and chilled water is what is needed to control the fermentation process. We were involved for about two to three months during this planning process. A major benefit of having an insider like Timberline involved from the beginning of the planning process was saving our client significant up front costs. Traditionally, an engineering firm would need to be hired to process and design their own mock ups and models, resulting in more fees and slower progress. In addition, being right there alongside Avery’s team when potential issues arrived, it was much easier to handle them quickly and efficiently. For example, their mechanical room that was being constructed didn’t originally meet the City of Boulder’s code requirements to store the boilers.

Intelligent Solutions Within Existing Requirements

Rather than saying we can’t do it, and we need to build an entirely new mechanical room, Timberline generated an engineering report that was used to obtain a variance from the City for the “already constructed” mechanical room. Avery benefited by having budget pricing right from the beginning during this design process. We were also able to provide top of the line Cool-Fit ABS Plus piping, which is pre-insulated and difficult to find, but becoming a more popular item.

Final pricing was presented to Avery in February, 2014 and contracts were signed two months later. Steam began in October and was completed in December. Chilled Water began in November and was finished in January.

Sustainable, Flexible Facility

Now Avery Brewery is fully functional with their own restaurant, brewery tours, gift shop and complete office space for the entire staff. Timberline enjoyed the challenge of this project and was glad to partner with Avery, once again, in the process of creating a sustainable, efficient, flexible facility that will meet Avery’s needs for decades to come.

Tags: brewery chilled water, brewery hvac, brewery hvac design, brewery hvac engineering, brewery hvac maintenance, brewery hvac/r engineering, brewery steam plant, brewery ventilation