The document analyzes utility usage data collected from Odd13 Brewing Company over two years. It compares Odd13's electricity, gas, and water usage to Brewers Association benchmarks and other local breweries. The document finds that Odd13's utility usage has increased as production has grown. It recommends installing skylights to reduce electricity costs and implementing water conservation techniques like leak detection and using glycol in the heat exchanger to reduce water usage, especially in summer months.

1. Justin Alexander
Ryan Holroyd
Mike Kamnikar
Kyle Lenane
John Schnettler
Odd13 Brewing Inc. Brewers Association Benchmarking Report
For the sustainability project this semester we worked with Eric Larkin of Odd13
Brewing Company Located in Lafayette Colorado. We collected data from Eric regarding
the gas, electric, and water usage of the brewery. With the numbers, we were able to
create graphics to compare Odd13’s utility usage to other local breweries that our peers
worked with and the Brewers Association averages. lastly we have come up with some
recommendations that could make Odd13 Brewing company a more sustainable
organization without breaking the bank.
The Graph to the right illustrates the water usage over the course of two years. As you
can see the water usage is generally higher in the warmer months, a phenomenon that
is most likely attributed to warmer groundwater temperatures. Because Odd13 uses
groundwater to cool the beer during knockout, it would make sense that the time needed
to cool the beer would increase, thereby increasing the volume of water needed.
The Graph to the right illustrates electric usage over the course of 2013 and 2014. From
the graph it is apparent that electric cost are significantly higher during the hottest
months of the year. We attribute this spike in usage for the increased need to cool the
facility, most specifically the walk in cooler that houses the beer, but also to air condition

2. the taproom and other areas of the brewery.
The final graph illustrates gas usage from December 2013 - November 2015. The gas
usage is inversely related to the electric usage and is most heavily used in the colder
months. We attribute this phenomenon to the heating of the brewery during the fall and
winter months when the air temperature is colder. Also there is a significantly higher rate
of gas usage the second year (December 2014 - November 2015), than the first year.
This is most likely due to the fact that production, in terms of volume of beer produced,
increased in the second year of Odd13’s existence.

3. From December 2013 to November 2015, Odd13’s usage in all categories has
increased. This fact can be attributed to their rate of growth and increase in production
over that time. The following comparisons are based on data collected by Odd13
brewing and the Brewer’s Association’s 2014 Benchmarking information that has been
provided to our group. Over the specified dates, Odd13 has used a total of 248,948 kWh
in electrical for a total of $19,217, 8,059 therms of gas for a total of $6,432, and 474,000
gallons of water for a total of $7,432.32. After careful calculation, our team was able to
determine that Odd13 is producing beer at a rate of 142.8 kWh/BBL, 4.6 therms/BBL,
and 8.63 BBL of water/BBL. For benchmarking purposes, the Brewer’s Association has
provided a range of data that allows breweries to determine what percentile their
production and sustainability practices fall within, depending on their production size
(less that 1,000 BBLs/year or 1,000-10,000 BBLs/year). The usage of electricity in kWh
has a range of 49-89 for the top 25%, 89.1-183 for the middle 50%, and 183.1-623 for
the bottom 25%. Odd13’s electrical usage is 142.8 kWh/BBL, which places them in the
middle 50%, slightly above the median of 140 kWh/BBL. The usage of gas in therms has
a range of 3-4 for the top 25%, 4.1-18 for the middle 50%, and 18.1-38 for the bottom
25%. Odd13’s gas usage is 4.6 therms/BBL, placing them slightly above the top 25%.
The usage of water in BBLs has a range of 0-9 for the top 25%, 9.1-20 for the middle
50%, and 20.1-40 for the bottom 25%. Odd13 uses 8.63 BBL/BBL, placing them in the
top 25%.
The bills indicate that Odd13’s greatest production and operation expense is
electricity which costs more than gas and water combined. Therefore, one logical
recommendation for the brewery would be to utilize skylights in their production areas as
well as in the taproom to reduce electricity by no longer needing the lights on during the
day. In Denver, there is on average 115 sunny days and 130 partly sunny days a year,
with an average of 8.5 hours of sunlight a day. When lighting is one of the greatest
contributors to electricity costs, using skylights as a means of bringing natural light into
production and the taproom with so much available sunlight in Colorado could save
significant electricity despite an initial investment in equipment and installation.
The company Velux offers a 21 in. x 45-3/4 in. Fixed Deck-Mount Skylight with
Tempered Low-E3 Glass which costs $234 a unit and is great for new installations
because you don’t need to build a new curb. Furthermore, although the unit can be
installed relatively easy in several hours according to customers who’ve never done
such an installation before, you will also need to purchase a flashing kit for
installation. The flashing kit needed is the D06 Metal Roof Flashing Kit with Adhesive
Underlayment for Deck Mount Skylight, which costs $311.42 a kit. Therefore, to install a
skylight unit would cost a total of $545.42 not including the time of labor. However, in
order to self install each unit, you would need to hire a roofing specialist to cut a proper
hole in the roof and reshingle it properly. This would cost an estimated $150 at least per
skylight. In a smaller brewery such as Odd13, it is assumable that the taproom area
would need at least four skylights installed, the brewhouse would need at least two
skylights installed, the materials and barrel-aging room would need at least two skylights
installed, and the cooler would need at least two skylights installed. Therefore, the cost
of installing ten skylights would be at least $6,954.20 for materials and
installation. Although this may be a substantial financial and time investment, in the long
run over several years this could save a tremendous amount of electricity and money.
Behind electricity, water was the second highest expense for the brewery.In
order to reduce water usage we believe it would be ideal to reccommend a series of low
to no cost water saving techniques. First, water savings can be attributed to something
as simple as monitoring for leaks. Checking for leaks may seem arbitrary but it can
waste a significant amount of water and be the source of high costs. For a growing

4. company trying to save money this can be done by simply using a leak detection
checklist. Additionally, it may be ideal to reduce waste by collecting trub and residual
wort for sale to local farmers. This would eliminate a source of effluent waste while
subsequently providing additional income for the brewery. Another simple modification
the brewery could make is adding fine mesh baskets to the drains. This would ensure
that spent grains are not being washed down the drain, therefore eliminating another
source of effluent waste and avoiding clogged drains. These screens would be easy to
install and come at a low price.
It is evident that a great deal of water use come from cleaning processes. There
are a number of techniques that could be implemented to save water during cleaning.
For example, when running a CIP cycle, the run times for the rinse cycles could be
reduced to the minimum time needed. In addition, when cleaning kegs the rinse water
could be recovered for subsequent rinsing (“Water and Wastewater: Treatment/Volume
Reduction Manual”) . Furthermore, according to data, the most water is used during the
summer months. A large increase in water use is most likely attributed to utilizing city
water in the plate frame heat exchanger. During the summer months it takes longer for
the water to cool the wort to sufficient temperatures for fermentation. Instead of using
water, it would be ideal to circulate glycol through the plate frame heat exchanger.
Implementing glycol presents an initial expense but could make up for some of the
money lost from excessive water use. Additionally, there is not many materials needed
to hook glycol to the heat exchanger because the brewhouse is already equipped with a
glycol chiller. The expenses would mostly be attributed to an increased supply of glycol
and additional piping and insulation. It is hard to determine the exact amount of water
that can be saved from procedural changes but small amounts will certainly add up to
reduce waste and save money.
References:
"Water and Wastewater: Treatment/volume Reduction Manual." Brewersassociation.org.
Brewers Association, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2015.
<https://www.brewersassociation.org/attachments/0001/1517/Sustainability_-
_Water_Wastewater.pdf>.