Walk into any well-run brewery and one thing is consistent: the brewer knows their temperatures. Not roughly but precisely. The difference between an ale fermented at 68°F and one that crept up to 75°F isn’t just a number on a gauge. It’s the difference between the beer they intended to make and one that’s off-flavor, over-fermented, or just…not right.

This is why brewery cooling isn’t something you can cobble together with general HVAC equipment or a walk-in cooler borrowed from a restaurant supply company. Brewing is a precision process, and the refrigeration system that supports it needs to be purpose-built for what the process actually demands. 

Let’s take a look at why brewery cooling systems are different and what the right systems look like for operations across the Pacific Northwest.
Brewing Has Multiple Cooling Needs Happening at Once
One of the first things that surprises people outside the brewing industry is how many separate cooling applications are happening in a single production cycle. It’s not just “keep the beer cold.” It’s a series of distinct temperature requirements, often running simultaneously, each with its own precision demands—something even the ENERGY STAR program highlights when discussing energy-saving strategies for breweries.

Wort cooling. After the kettle boils, wort (sugary solution) needs to be cooled rapidly to pitching temperature before yeast is added. If it’s too slow, you risk bacterial contamination. The typical target is getting wort down to fermentation temperature quickly, often using a plate heat exchanger.
Active fermentation control. Ales typically ferment in the range of 65°F to 72°F, while lagers require a cooler 45°F to 55°F. Yeast produces heat during fermentation, so the system has to actively remove that heat to hold the target temperature steady.
Crash cooling. After fermentation, beer is often rapidly chilled to near-freezing temperatures to encourage yeast and proteins to drop out of suspension, improving clarity before packaging.
Brite tank and serving temperature. Finished beer needs to be held at cold but not freezing temperatures in brite tanks before packaging, and at serving temperatures in taproom draft systems.

Each of these stages has a different temperature target and a different heat load profile. A cooling system that handles one well but not the others is a problem waiting to happen in a production environment.
Why a Glycol Chiller System Is the Industry Standard
The glycol chiller system is the backbone of commercial brewery cooling, and for good reason. Here’s the basic concept: a central chiller unit cools a reservoir of water mixed with food-grade propylene glycol (typically a 35% glycol to 65% water solution) down to a working range of around 25°F to 27°F. That chilled glycol then circulates through insulated piping to jacketed fermentation tanks, brite tanks, and other cooling points throughout the brewery.

Propylene glycol is the right choice for food environments specifically because it’s food-grade. Ethylene glycol, on the other hand, is the antifreeze in your car and not something you want near consumables. USP-grade propylene glycol is the industry standard for brewery applications.

The glycol system’s key advantages for brewery use:

Single chiller serves multiple tanks simultaneously
Each tank can be controlled to its own temperature independently through dedicated solenoid valves and temperature controllers
Scalable, with the option for additional capacity to be added as the brewery grows
Works at the low temperatures breweries need without freezing the lines

Cold Room and Cellar Cooling for Finished Product
Beyond the fermentation process itself, breweries need refrigerated space for finished product, whether that’s packaged cans and bottles, kegs waiting for distribution, or raw ingredients that need to stay cold. This is where cold room design and conventional commercial refrigeration comes back into play.

A well-designed brewery cellar or cold storage space needs to handle the thermal load of product coming in and out regularly, maintain consistent temperatures despite door traffic, and work efficiently year-round. In Washington, where summer temperatures can push well above 90°F, the cooling load on a beer storage space during peak season is substantially different than in winter. A system sized only for average conditions is going to struggle when it matters most.

For breweries with taproom operations, draft line cooling is also a consideration. One option is through glycol-cooled draft systems that run chilled lines from the cooler to the taps, while the other is through properly refrigerated walk-in setups that keep keg temperatures stable throughout service.
Redundancy and Reliability: Don’t Learn This the Hard Way 
Here’s something every brewer who’s lost a batch to a chiller failure knows: when the cooling system goes down, so does your ability to control what’s happening in every tank. If you’re mid-fermentation on three vessels and the glycol chiller fails on a hot summer day, you have a very limited window before those fermentations run warm and the beer is compromised.

Redundancy planning is worth thinking about during the system design phase, not after the first emergency. Remote temperature monitoring with alarm notification is the most straightforward addition, giving brewers real-time visibility into their batches. Other options include backup cooling capacity or refrigerator contractors who can respond quickly. 
We Know Brewery Refrigeration in the Pacific Northwest
At Central Washington Refrigeration, we’ve designed and installed glycol systems, cold rooms, and cellar refrigeration for breweries across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. We understand the demands of a production environment, the precision a brewer needs, and the regional conditions that affect how a system needs to be built.

Whether you’re building out a new brewery, expanding an existing system, or troubleshooting a cooling issue that’s affecting your product, we’re glad to talk through what you’re dealing with. Contact CWR today at 509-248-4600 to discuss your brewery cooling needs with our team. 

Planning a new cold storage facility is one of the more complex projects a food producer, distributor, or agricultural operation can take on. Unlike a standard warehouse, cold storage has to do something very specific—maintain precise temperatures reliably while product moves in and out. Get it right and you’ve got an asset that protects your product, controls your energy costs, and supports your operation for decades. Get it wrong and you’re dealing with temperature inconsistency, skyrocketing utility bills, and costly retrofits.

After years of designing, installing, and servicing commercial refrigeration systems across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, the team at Central Washington Refrigeration has seen what works and what doesn’t. Let’s take a closer look at the considerations that matter most when you’re starting from scratch.
Know the Product You’re Storing
This sounds obvious, but it’s where a surprising number of projects go sideways. The refrigeration system, insulation package, and building layout all flow from one foundational question: what are you storing and what does it need?

A facility storing fresh produce has very different temperature and humidity requirements than one handling frozen seafood or pharmaceutical products. Multi-commodity operations may need distinct temperature zones within the same building—say, a freezer section at -10°F alongside a cooler section at 34°F. Each zone has its own insulation, refrigeration, and airflow requirements, and they all have to coexist in a building that’s thermally efficient and operationally practical.

Define your product mix, your target temperatures, and your anticipated throughput before anything else. Everything downstream (refrigeration system sizing, panel specifications, door placement) depends on getting this right.
Consider Your Building Envelope
Refrigeration accounts for a significant portion of a cold storage facility’s total energy consumption, making it the largest single operating cost for many. The quality of your building envelope (the walls, roof, floor, and doors) is the main predictor of how hard your refrigeration system has to work.

Insulated metal panels (IMPs) are the industry standard because they offer excellent thermal performance and structural integrity in a single prefabricated component. For freezer applications, you’ll also need insulated flooring with under-floor heating or ventilation systems to prevent frost heave, which can buckle a concrete slab if it’s not addressed in the design phase.

Vapor barriers are another area where cutting corners costs you later. Moisture that finds its way into the insulation system degrades its performance over time and can cause structural issues that are expensive to remediate. Proper vapor barrier installation at walls, roof, and floor transitions is non-negotiable for a facility you expect to perform for 20 or 30 years.

Doors deserve more attention than they typically get in early planning conversations. Insulated dock doors, rapid roll-up doors, and air curtains all minimize the temperature exchange that happens every time a door opens. The right door configuration for your traffic patterns pays for itself in energy savings.
Select Your Refrigeration System
The refrigeration system is the heart of the facility, and choosing the right one involves more than matching BTU capacity to square footage. The refrigerant type, system configuration, and redundancy design all have long-term operational and regulatory implications.

In the Pacific Northwest, we work with a range of system types depending on facility size, product requirements, and operator preferences. Ammonia systems are our top choice, as they are highly efficient and cost-effective at scale. They do require specialized safety infrastructure and engineering, and operators must receive proper training for compliance. Other options to consider include CO2 systems and halocarbon systems, with the latter being ideal for smaller facilities.

Another thing we’d like to point out is the importance of planning for growth. A common planning mistake we see at CWR is that sizing the refrigeration system is determined by the current needs with no headroom to scale. Adding capacity to an existing refrigeration system after the fact is expensive and disruptive. If there’s any chance that your operation will grow in the next decade or so, it’s best to design for that capacity now. 
Get Electrical Infrastructure Right From Day One
Cold storage facilities are significant electrical loads, and the power infrastructure needs to be designed accordingly from the start. Refrigeration compressors, evaporator fans, lighting, monitoring systems, and dock equipment all draw extensive power.

In Washington, where many cold storage facilities serve agricultural and food processing clients, we also see a growing need to account for EV charging for refrigerated transport equipment at the dock. Getting a utility assessment and confirming your service capacity early prevents surprises that can delay a project by months.
Choose a Robust Monitoring and Control System 
Modern cold storage facilities run best with robust monitoring and control systems. At minimum, you want real-time temperature monitoring with alarm notification. Any qualified refrigeration contractor will tell you that catching a temperature deviation at 2 AM before product is lost is worth whatever the monitoring system costs. 

Many Washington-based food operations also have food safety compliance requirements that mandate documented temperature logging. This makes a capable monitoring system a regulatory necessity instead of an added perk. Additionally, programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and automated defrost scheduling can also reduce energy consumption and extend equipment life. 
Get the Planning Right—Before the First Panel Goes Up
A cold storage facility is a long-term investment, and the decisions made during planning have consequences that play out over the life of the building. The refrigeration system you specify, the insulation package you choose, the electrical infrastructure you put in place set the performance ceiling for everything that follows.

At Central Washington Refrigeration, we work with clients from the earliest planning stages through installation, commissioning, and ongoing service. Whether you’re breaking ground on a new facility in the Yakima Valley, expanding an existing operation in the Willamette Valley, or planning a new build in Southern Idaho, we bring the regional knowledge and technical depth to help you get it right the first time.

Contact the CWR team today to start a conversation about your project. You can reach us by phone at 509-248-4600 or by filling out our online contact form.