By Andrew Starke
Australia’s oldest brewery has switched over to natural gas, thanks to an extension of the natural gas network in Hobart.
The Cascade Brewery has installed three boilers to run on natural gas from Bass Strait. Boilers, along with refrigeration, are the significant energy users in a brewery.
At Cascade the boilers produce steam used in its brew house kettles, packaging pasteurisers, fruit processing, and malt kiln as well as for a range of other uses.
Cascade Brewery general manager production, Max Burslem, said the introduction of natural gas will cut the site’s carbon emissions by half and reduce its total energy use by a third.
“We have moved to natural gas at our earliest opportunity following the extension of the gas network in Hobart. Moving to natural gas was the next step in our drive to further develop the brewery’s sustainability,” Burslem said.
The Cascade site which includes brewery, beverages plant and maltings, has had a sustainability program for more than a decade and since 2000 has reduced water use by 30 percent and energy use by 16 percent per unit of production.
Cascade’s drive to improve its sustainability has earned awards and recognition over the past few years.