Craft brewing report released

Analysis into the craft brewing industry has been released by OFS. The quarterly Craft Brewers Benchmark Report provides some insights into the ways that data can be used to help optimise production efficiency in the sector.

The report looked at the production of millions of litres of beer by craft breweries primarily in Australia, New Zealand and the US between April and June 2022, helping to set a benchmark for what an ideal brewery looks like. The report aims to explain how knowing the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) of an operation can change a brewer’s bottom line.

For instance, the data shows that while craft brewers increased production by 7.6% compared with the previous three months, the industry average for actual production time while lines are available remains just 45%. On average, 6517 units of craft beer were produced per hour, 74.2% behind the potential output of 11,353 per hour. Additionally, unplanned downtime was found to account for 25% of the total production time.

“This is an industry that’s thriving while leaving so much potential on the table,” said OFS CEO James Magee.

“That luxury can’t last forever — we need a mindset shift in how the industry collects and leverages data to improve productivity.”

The report found that most craft brewers barely waste a drop in production with only 2% of beer made not ending up in a can or bottle. This is an improvement of nearly a third from the previous report.

Overall, the industry received an OEE score of 44% in the report.

“It’s telling that craft brewers manage product waste so well — they barely leave a drop behind,” Magee said. “Wasted time, however, is harder to view without the right tools in place, and it’s too easy to generalise and make assumptions about output, downtime and changeovers when you’re relying on a busy crew updating an Excel sheet or piece of paper.

“What we’re hoping to do with these industry snapshots is show the efficiency potential that’s there when craft brewers surface these insights. It isn’t rocket science, it is literally just an accurate real-time view of what’s happening on the line, and too few have it.”

The full report is accessible from the OFS website.

Image credit: iStock.com/xavierarnau