Brewery upgrades advance PWB’s quality goals

At Pacific Western Brewing, the quest for quality is ongoing and recent technological upgrades at our Prince George brewery have enhanced our ability to deliver products that taste better and stay fresh longer.

Cindy Hartford, PWB’s Quality Assurance Team Leader, monitors the new Krones volumetric can filler ensuring precise fill volumes for each and every can.

PWB General Manager Scott Rattee says: “in 2018 the brewery invested $4 million in technological upgrades earlier this year. At PWB, quality has always been Job #1, and these upgrades reflect our commitment to continuous improvement.

“Our dedication to the production of quality product, has been a long-standing corporate goal that was first highlighted in 1996 when we became the inaugural brewery in North American to adopt the certified ISO 9002 quality assurance standard.

“Our beer tastes just as fresh in the can as the beer in the tanks. And, our new packaging technology does just that, without the use of preservatives. It’s simple really … pure beer made from the finest ingredients using our brewery’s pure spring water.“Sadly, our long-time owner, Kazuko Komatsu, passed away in July, but she left behind a legacy anchored in constant quality improvement and innovation. Our improvements to the brewing process this year reflect that legacy,” Rattee says.

The new high speed can filler is enclosed in a hygienic environment to ensure that the quality is retained in each and every can.

Specifically, the upgrades include: A new state of the art can filler that has reduced TPO (total particulates of Oxygen) from 500ppm to 9 ppb (that’s million to billion). Please note that the reduction of oxygen in the beer will keep the beer fresh without the use of preservatives. And, a new pasteurizer that uses the latest technology to ensure that all cans of beer are pasteurized just enough but not too much. This offers fresher tasting beer for longer.

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