• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • About Craft Brewing Business

Craft Brewing Business

Professional Insight, Unfiltered

  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • Newsletter

Cool pipes: Aquatherm wants to bring the benefits of polypropylene to your brewery infrastructure

October 8, 2018Keith Gribbins

The heat fusion process used to join Aquatherm pipe does not rely on glues or solvents that could potentially release chemicals into the liquids being transported.

Pipe. Maybe not the sexiest subject matter in the brewing industry, some might say, but those folks have probably never heard of polypropylene (a thermoplastic polymer and one of the most versatile plastics around).

In pipe form, polypropylene is touted for a) its durability conveying corrosive fluids, b) being light weight and c) its ability to handle extreme temperatures. In a brewery, it can be used to transport everything from glycol to potable water.

One of the sexiest brands in the polypropylene pipe industry is Aquatherm and its polypropylene-random pipe (PP-R) product. The company’s colorful green and blue pipe systems are certainly striking when you see them in a brewhouse.

“It looks really cool,” confirmed Ron Rajecki, marketing specialist with Aquatherm. “It’s also incredibly functional. It’s chemically inert. There are no VOCS. No leaching. No scaling. Its heat fusion process means leaks are virtually unheard of. It lasts for decades, and it’s recyclable. Unlike metal pipe, it has a natural insulation value. It even qualifies for LEED v4 credits, but the big headline here is it can help you craft a better brew.”

More than one hundred craft brewers are currently using Aquatherm for a variety of reasons. Aquatherm PP-R pipe is chemically inert and hydrophobic. It does not leach any chemicals into the water, glycol or other liquids that it carries. It does not corrode, erode or scale like steel or copper pipe. The flow rate when the pipe is installed will still be the flow rate decades from now. In addition, the heat fusion process used to join Aquatherm pipe does not rely on mechanical connections or use any glues or solvents that could potentially release chemicals or VOCs into the liquids being transported. Plus, polypropylene pipe has a very long lifespan (typically 60 years), and when it is ready to be replaced, the old piping is 100 percent recyclable. Double plus: polypropylene pipe is not subject to the tariffs recently imposed on imported steel and aluminum.

Arbor Brewing hits bulls-eye with Aquatherm and polypropylene geothermal system.

“In fact, the price of polypropylene pipe has remained remarkably stable and predictable over the years,” said Rajecki. “Engineers planning mechanical systems and contractors bidding on them can be assured the price of Aquatherm pipe will not fluctuate based on any tariffs or other upheavals in the commodities markets. This gives owners of craft breweries assurance that they will not either find pipe unavailable when they need it or be subjected to sticker shock when the price of their steel or copper pipe unexpectedly skyrockets.”

Let’s learn about those colorful pipe choices

Pretty.

Aquatherm is a German company. It’s been engineering polypropylene piping systems for more than four decades. For breweries, it offers three main products. Aquatherm Blue Pipe can be used for heating and cooling as well as carrying coolants such as glycol. Aquatherm Green Pipe is NSF rated for potable water and food grade applications, and Aquatherm Lilac Pipe is designed for recycled and reclaimed water systems. That “cool” Blue Pipe above is what’s really generated buzz from Aquatherm in American breweries.

“Our entry to the market really sprung from use in glycol cooling systems,” Rajecki noted. “Breweries typically run their product cooling systems at a lower temperature than would be used in many other applications. Aquatherm polypropylene-random pipe is chemically inert and has a very high resistance to the chemicals in antifreeze. In a properly designed and installed system, PP-R pipe will transport glycol for decades without any degradation in strength or performance.”

How do you measure the value of your beer brand’s distribution rights? Click!

Aquatherm has led the polypropylene pipe revolution in America. In fact, it worked with regulatory bodies to secure the necessary approvals for its use here. Beginning with Aquatherm’s arrival in North America in 2005 and the United States in 2007, the company worked with regulatory bodies and code agencies to secure the necessary approvals for polypropylene piping’s use here. These included the National Science Foundation (NSF), ASTM International (formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials), and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

The Aquatherm website features a dozen case studies from breweries across the United States using its products, including Wise Man Brewery in Winston-Salem, N.C., Smith and Lentz Brewing Co. in Nashville, Flathead Lake Brewing Co. in Big Fork, Mont., and Founders Brewing Co. in Grand Rapids, Mich. These breweries turn to Aquatherm for a variety of reasons — from chemical to food-grade applications — but also for one main reason — quality results.

“Craft brewers cannot and don’t want to compete with mega-breweries on volume. They are going to secure their place in the market through quality,” said Rajecki. “Using Aquatherm pipe is just one of many steps craft brewers can take to ensure their product is of the highest caliber. And with an expected lifespan of 60 years, considerably longer than metal pipe, it is a step that will pay off for decades to come.”

Aquatherm pipe Flathead Lake Brewing cbb crop
A pipe runs through it: An Aquatherm case study at Flathead Lake Brewing
Avondale Brewery Tap Room
Avondale Brewing banks on polypropylene-random pipe for transferring signature suds (and glycol)
Michigan_illustration_dartboard crop
Arbor Brewing hits bulls-eye with Aquatherm and polypropylene geothermal system
Aquatherm pipe Veterans Brewery
Veterans United capitalizes on Aquatherm glycol piping system

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Melissa Luelling says

    October 8, 2018 at 12:41 pm

    Aaron Luelling

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

  • Five Beers to Know This Week: Collab IPAs for Zwickelmania and a 30-year anniversary
  • A hard kombucha brand bought Ballast Point’s Scripps Ranch facility in San Diego
  • MillerCoors likes farmers
  • House Reintroduces Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act 

Sign up for our newsletter

unsubscribe from list

Most Popular Today

Recent Features

  • Joose Cannon Can LabelFive Beers to Know This Week: Collab IPAs for Zwickelmania and a 30-year anniversary
    February 15, 2019
  • Enjoy this Valentine’s yeast strain: rare cacao bean yeast captured at the source of the Amazon
    February 14, 2019
  • Safety is love: Watch this great Valentine’s safety video with BA Safety Ambassador Matt Stinchfield
    February 14, 2019
  • craft beer unionIs craft beer culture a recipe for unionization? What brewery owners need to know
    February 13, 2019
  • Bell’s Brewery pulls out of Virginia over distribution dispute; we discuss it with Larry Bell (+ other distribution news)
    February 11, 2019
  • LIC Beer canFive craft beers to know this week: Dogfish Head makes history, Breakside Brewery makes eight beers out of one
    February 8, 2019

Footer

  • Email Newsletter Sign Up
  • About Craft Brewing Business
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise on Craft Brewing Business
  • Media Kit Download
  • Privacy and Terms

© 2019 · CBB Media LLC

Continue ...

sponsored by