Major Brewhouse Renovation

Boston Beer acquired a facility from Diageo situated in Lehigh Valley, PA. The plant had primarily been used to mix and package clear malt beverages, and the brewhouse portion had fallen into disrepair after being abandoned for a decade.

As part of a master plan effort, Dennis Group conducted a facility evaluation which helped determine which assets were useable. Mold abatement and asbestos remediation were major challenge that had to be tackled immediately. 85% of the roofing had to be replaced. Major upgrades included new systems for grain handling, vacuum rail car unloading, screening, filtration and CIP.

Other upgrades including the conversion of a warehouse to accommodate additional filling and packaging lines. Packing formats included a keg filling line and a variety pack line. The new Product Release Center was 92’ high with 27 tanks that had a 2,000-barrel capacity. Since the first major upgrade, Dennis Group has continued to work with the country’s second-largest craft brewer to upgrade this facility which produces more than two-thirds of the
4.3 million barrels of product produced.