The Brewers Association, Boulder, Colo., welcomed approximately 14,000 attendees to the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) & BrewExpo America, which took place April 8-11 in Denver. CBC offered important insights for the brewing community during the State of the Industry address and 96 various seminars featuring 240 speakers.

In the State of the Industry presentation, the association highlighted that although the overall beer market is down 1 percent, craft beer and imports are up 4 percent each, respectively. Although this is a deceleration to the double-digit growth that the industry saw as recently as 2015, the market still is going strong across other avenues. For example, brewpubs volume is up 13 percent, micro-breweries volume is up 16 percent, and taproom volume increased 40.2 percent.

The event also welcomed approximately 1,000 exhibitors. The following are highlights from some of those at the expo:

Ardagh Group, Glass – North America, Chesterfield, Mo., promoted its 2019 beer bottle catalog, showcasing the 36 different styles of beer bottles it offers. With sizes ranging from 12- to 64-ounces, a choice of pry-off, twist or cork combination finishes, each size is available in a variety of styles including long neck, short neck or specialty, the company says.

Greenwood, Ind.-based Endress+Hauser Inc. promoted its Picomag, a smart plug-and-play flowmeter. The Picomag features reliable measuring and monitoring of industrial, cooling or warm water, simultaneous measurement of flow and temperature, and easy access to data via the SmartBlue app, the company says.

GEA North America, Hudson, Wis., highlighted its GEA Craft Yeast Propagator. The Craft Yeast Propagator is a hygienic solution that can be used to store yeast crop from large fermenters, removing the need for yeast storage tanks in small breweries, the company says. It is semi-automated and features a clean-in-place process that can be handled manually, it adds.

Atlanta-based Graphic Packaging International showcased its QuikFlex 10, a manual packaging system for fully enclosed cartons. Cartons are sealed as a single operator pushes packs through the patented locking system that requires no power or glue, the company says. It also is changeover-ready and supports a variety of container sizes and pack formats, it adds.

KHS USA, Waukesha, Wis., highlighted its Innofill CAN C, a compact can filler for low-capacity filling. The machine features an electromagnetic, inductive flow meter (IFM), used to measure fill volumes ensuring high-filling accuracies, the company says. The Innofill CAN C is designed to fill up to 38,000 cans an hour.

Franklin, Wis.-based Krones Inc. and its subsidiary W. M. Sprinkman Corp., Waukesha, Wis., joined forces to promote three of its brewhouses. The two brands showcased the Pub & Pilot Brewhouse, which best fits in taprooms and keg-focused breweries with an average output of as much as 1,500 barrels a year. Also showcased was the MircoCube Brewhouse, designed for small- and medium-sized breweries with limited bottling and canning capabilities and an average output of up to 15,000 barrels a year. The third brewhouse showcased was the CombiCube Brewhouse, designed for medium-sized breweries with an output of as much as 100,000 barrels a year. Sprinkman also showcased its Portable Dry Hopping Skid that is designed to improve hop flavor profile, expedite the overall process and save ingredient costs, it says.

Madison Chemical Co. Inc., Madison, Ind., promoted its MadBrew line of kettle cleaners designed for heavy beer stone buildup. The company manufactures 20-plus cleaners to ensure proper cleaning and sanitation for brewers, it says.

Lansing, Mich.-based Neogen Corp. promoted its AccuPoint Advanced sanitation program. The AccuPoint ATP system is designed for simple, rapid ATP testing with a flat-head sampler, allowing it to breakthrough biofilms for more consistent coverage, the company says. The advanced software records and tracks test results, identifies trends and problem sites and maintains records for audit compliance, it adds.

A new style of reinforced hose has been added to the new BrewSavor product line from NewAge Industries, Southampton, Pa. The butyl-lined, monofilament hose is designed to resist kinking and crushing, allowing it to maintain its shape for optimal fluid flow in brewery transfer applications, the company says.

O-I Expressions, Perrysburg, Ohio, promoted itself as a service that combines the integral benefits of glass with an agile, marketing-focus capability, the company says. With the ability to print as much as 60 bottles a minute, O-I uses organic inks that don’t impact the recyclability of the glass and allows for lower inventory, it adds.

Grandview, Mo.-based Pack Leader USA highlighted its PL-501 Wrap Around Labeling System. The PL-501 is a fully automatic labeler for round containers, designed for speed, flexibility and dependability, the company says. It is made out of 304 stainless steel and anodized aluminum and features a one-touch screen for settings adjustments, it adds.

Regal Beloit America, Inc., Florence, Ky., promoted its Nolu Plastic Parts. Nolu parts are made with Regal’s exclusive compounds of UHMW and solid lubricant/unique ingredients, the company says. The parts also provide reduced coefficients of friction while maintaining the characteristics of UHMW, it adds. Regal featured three component brands: Nolu-S, Nolu-SR and Nolu-SX.

Portland, Conn.-based Standard-Knapp, Inc., showcased its EZ Case Packer. The “little brother” of its Versatron family of case packers, the EZ Case Packer offers the same robust quality, flexibility and adaptability, while operating at speeds as fast as 28 cases a minute, the company says. The patented Snap-in Grid technology makes changeover an easy, one-man operation and the air-over-oil lift table allows operators to control the descent of the product into the case, it adds.

Synergy Flavors, Wauconda, Ill., promoted Synergy Pure Hop Essences, a water soluble hop essence that can deliver full aromatic profiles and flavor characteristics of traditional dry hopping, the company says. BI