Alesmith Brewery

San Diego, CA

Webster Ultra Low NOx Burner & Burnham High Efficiency Steam Boiler

Commissioned November 2014

Alesmith Brewery Expansion gets high efficiency Burnham Steam Boiler with Webster Low NOx burner

AleSmith Brewing Company is a San Diego based artisanal craft brewery that specializes in handcrafted ales inspired by the European classics. Deeply rooted in the amateur and craft brewing communities, AleSmith ales have continued to garner both national and international awards, as well as a loyal and rabid following among beer enthusiasts.

Alesmith is home to the largest brewery tasting room in San Diego and is a frequent gold medal winner at International Beer Festivals.

Steam boiler system is lifeblood of operations

The original brewery steam plant was designed and built with low quality and inefficient atmospheric watertube boilers which experienced frequent refractory failures, unreliability and high fuel bills.

Plagued with constant failures the brewery knew they wanted something better for their new expansion for such a prominent brewery where the steam system is the lifeblood of the operation.

DB Sales and Service was brought in to offer solutions and options. DB Sales helped put together payback analysis and fuel savings calculations to show the numerous advantages for using a high efficiency Burnham four pass wet-back boiler for this project.

After careful consideration and collaboration with the owner and design build contractor, the engineers from DB Sales & Service recommended the Burnham model 4S high efficiency steam boiler with Webster Combustion low NOx burners because of its proven reliability, high turndown capabilities and high efficiency and durable design.

New high efficiency boiler/burner system part of brewery expansion

In 2014 the Brewery moved quickly with their purchase and installation of the new system as part of their expansion making them one of the largest breweries in San Diego.

The new boiler/ burner packages systems were installed by the design/ build contractor and DB Sales provided start-up by our factory trained service engineers. The new project has met and exceeded the expectations of the Brewery delivering true value and reliable operation for this critical system.

 

Results:

  • New Burnham Series 4S boiler reduced gas consumption by 15% compared to atmospheric water tube boilers.
  • The new Burnham Series 4S boiler is completely water cooled, eliminating the need for refractory in the boiler design. Refractory failures are common in designs that use this technology, and is something that Alesmith had experienced before.
  • New burners easily meet the Low NOx emission standards of San Diego Air Pollution Control District.
  • Increased burner turndown ratio provides to less cycling and lower fuel bills.
  • The robust Webster JB Series burner has provided reliable service.
  • Increased uptime and reduced maintenance costs.
  • Webster’s patented Temp-a-Trim system reduces electrical consumption and allows for lower excess levels and lower fuel and electric bills.
  • Siemen’s Combustion Controls provide advanced parallel position combustion control system and precise operationl while reducing burner cycling