Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2023 winners
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Bioplastics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
April 04, 2014 02:00 AM

Making your own beer? Plastics make it possible

Rhoda Miel
Managing Editor
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    The Beer Machine Co.
    Makers of The Beer Machine use PET, PP, nylon and TPE in the home brewing kit.

    CHICAGO — The craft beer movement is creating new interest in home brewing, and that interest is driving sales of introductory beer making kits complete with PET brewing equipment designed to make it easy for anyone to start brewing their own beer.

    “It's no longer just for the propeller heads, if you'll excuse that description,” said Colin MacLennan, vice president of The Beer Machine Co., during an interview at the International Home + Housewares Show in Chicago March 15-18. “The machine makes it easy.”

    In an American Homebrewers Association survey of retail beer supply shops, retailers saw business grow by 26 percent in 2012 alone and 80 percent of those shops saw their biggest sales jump in beginner homebrew equipment kits.

    Home brewing was not even legal in the U.S. until the 1980s. When The Beer Machine launched 25 years ago, it aimed to keep things easy for a novice.

    Reno, Nev.-based The Beer Machine's starter kit comes with a two-gallon PET container that houses the beer during fermentation and chilling. It has integrated temperature and pressure monitors to make it easier to keep track of how the fermentation is going.

    There's also a tap to serve the beer once it's ready.

    The Beer Machine used to have its own in-house injection molding, with five presses ranging in size from 95 tons to 320 tons. MacLennan says the company was among the first to use PET in large scale injection molding, rather than in pre-forms and blow molding.

    It opted to move plastics manufacturing to a Texas-based contract manufacturer a few years ago to focus on its ingredient packets.

    “You can't really be in both the engine room and the bridge at the same time, and our forte was on the mix,” he said.

    MacLennan declined to disclose the molder's name.

    In addition to the PET barrel, The Beer Machine uses nylon for slide-on clamps and a cup and cap to house to pressure control valve. The valve itself uses a thermoplastic elastomer. The top cap, base and internal float are all made from polypropylene.

    The company's “BrewMaster” model also has six blow-molded PET bottles and caps.

    Competitor Mr. Beer of Tucson, Ariz., has a similar 2-gallon container — also made in the U.S. — as part of its starter kit along with PET bottles.

    Both companies — and the makers of other starter kits — sell a variety of packets to produce different beer styles at home, so all beginning home brewers need to do is add water and monitor the process. The Beer Machine lists 22 different styles of beers available for its users, ranging from an American ale to an Irish stout.

    Compare the ease of an enclosed PET system to the more “hands-on” approach to home brewing that the first brewers faced. People trying to make their own beer from scratch even today are looking at five hours in front of the stove just to develop the liquid wort, said Shawn Halstead, sales manager for Mr. Beer, which is owned by Australia's Coopers Brewing Ltd.

    While there are differences between the makers of starter kits, they all are based on making the entire process easy to do from the beginning, including a PET container that helps to cut down on the likelihood of a messy accident.

    And for any beer makers who feel they've outgrown the all-included PET system, it's easy to move up to a more complex system that can make more beer and give brewers more opportunities to explore different beer styles. Those ones, Halstead noted, typically use high density polyethylene containers.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Linamar buys EV battery enclosure business from Dura-Shiloh
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Treaty talks end with plans for a draft agreement, but hurdles remain
    2
    Resin Prices
    3
    Resin Prices - North America
    4
    WL Plastics building $40M MDPE pipe plant in Texas
    5
    PP recycler PureCycle sees Ohio plant as springboard for growth
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2023 winners
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Bioplastics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified