Widmer's 1,750-Barrel Tank Installation
By D.J. Paul
As published yesterday here on Brewpublic, today is when Widmer has their first two of four new 1,750-bbl fermentation tanks installed. That is a lot of beer and the largest tanks in the Pacific Northwest.
Having found out over the weekend that the installation would begin around 8:00 a.m. this morning I arrive around 8:30 a.m. to be greeted by a nice Portland mist. I set up shop under a tree when a few others started to arrive to take on this engineering challenge. Ben Edmunds and Sam Barber from Breakside Brewing stopped by along with Alex Ganum from Upright Brewing to take it all in. Widmer brewer Doug Rehberg was also going back and forth from our location to the brewhouse making sure all was running
smoothly. There may have been a few libations consumed while waiting for the installation to begin. Good thing Kona Longboard Lager is now available in cans!
As we waited patiently across the street from the Widmer Brewhouse, Rob Widmer strolled by and provided us with a nice Widmer canopy to stand under. Once we put the canopy in place Rob proceeded to offer us up some fresh hot coffee that hit the spot while the mist eventually turned into a heavier rain. While waiting a little longer a few more Widmer employees started showing up as word spread that the installation was about to begin. Once the massive crane started lifting the first tank up off the flatbed truck there were about 30 people outside watching as the heavier rain we once were dealing with started to let up to a more enjoyable mist.
The installation of one tank took about an hour. Doug mentioned that these two newly added tanks will be up and running in a few weeks after some additional welding and electrical work takes place.
You can see all of D.J. Paul’s photos from Widmer’s initial tank installation on Flickr here.
If you missed out on the fun today, the last two tanks will be hauled here to Portland in early June for installation on June 4th.
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About The Author
Angelo
Angelo grew up in Maine and is proud to call New England his original home. Cascadia is now his home. He fell in love with great beer in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California. He has been a correspondent for the Portland Tribune's Guest on Tap column, LivePDX.com, and has been featured in publications such as Beer Northwest and PDX Magazine. Angelo also has a great interest in independent music, and has been a booker and organizer for shows around the Portland under the name Pop Tomorrow! Angelo garnered much knowledge regarding beer from his experiences homebrewing, working at Belmont Station, Pyramid Brewing, Upright Brewing, By the Bottle, Beer Revolution, Olde Depot Public House, Falling Sky Brewing, Cascade Brewing, and from many many knowledgeable, passionate, and loving people along the way. It is Angelo's mission to bring "infotainment" and "edumation" to the readers of this website. If you have any questions or comments, or would like to contribute, please contact me at angelo@brewpublic.com
Wow, that has to be quickest turn around on an event ever! Nice job team!
Thanks for posting the pictures! This is really cool to see – a true NW success story.