Irwindale



Brewery History

This Southern California site was once home to the Irwindale Raceway, a 3800 foot NHRA dragstrip from 1965-‘73. In 1980, Miller Brewing Company purchased the land and built the brewery. The brewery sits on 227 acres of land and has approximately 1 million square feet under roof. It is located in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley and is a landmark for many traveling the local 210 freeway.


Brewing & Batching

In Irwindale, our computerized batching/blending room utilizes Proleit Brewmaxx program which is capable of batching and blending alcoholic, non-alcoholic, carbonated and non-carbonated beverages. We are currently batching FMB and are in the process of building neutral malt base fermentation capabilities in addition to expanding our batching capabilities. These Brewing, Fermenting and Filtration capabilities allow us to produce a full range of products including Seltzers, FMBs, spirit-based, wine-based and beer. We use high quality carbon filtered, reverse osmosed and deaerated water that allows us to batch for an exhaustive range of products.


Fermentation

  • 40 vertical, conical bottom fermentation vessels
  • 10 fermentation vessels have isomix capability

Filtration & Finishing

  • 3 Westfalia centrifuges

Batching

  • Batch size of 1900bbls
  • State-of-the-art batching flavor kitchens

Unloading/Load Out

  • Bulk truck and rail unloading stations
  • Bulk liquid, tote and drum storage
  • Refrigerated storage space available

Packaging

We are currently have two can lines in production with ability to fill 12oz, 16oz and 24oz cans. A variety pack line will be operational in June 2022.


Can Line Features

  • Bulk can depalletizers
  • H&K / KHS fillers with Continental Seamers
  • Carbonated or non-carbonated filling
  • Tunnel warming and/or pasteurization for various products

Capabilities

  • 211 diameter cans with 202 ends industry standard
  • 300 diameter cans with 206 ends / XO ends

12oz Package Configurations

  • Filler Speed: 1650 cans per minutes - IS / 1400 cpm - sleek
  • 4 / 6 / 8 / 12 / 18 / 24 suitcase / 24 cube / 30 stack / 36 stack cartons
  • 12 or 24 cans loose in shrink wrapped tray
  • Additional can line planning for 2023

16oz Package Configurations

  • Filler Speed: 1200 cans per minutes
  • 4 / 6 / 8 / 12 / 18 packs
  • 12 or 24 cans loose in shrink wrapped tray

24oz Package Configurations

  • Filler Speed: 750 cans per minute
  • 3-pack, shrink wrapped
  • 12 cans loose in shrink wrapped tray

Can Variety Pack Line

  • Package speed - 1800 cans per minute
  • 4 flavor capability

Bottle Packaging

  • Bulk glass depalletizer
  • KHS Filler speed: 1200 bottles per minute
  • Twist-off or Pry-off 26mm crowns on 12oz
  • Cold-glue labelers
  • Tunnel warming and/or pasteurization for various products
  • 12 pack / 18 pack / 20 pack end load cartoner
  • 4/6 pack or 24 loose pack

Warehouse

Our warehouse, distribution and logistics experience is extensive. AIB certified material storage. Careful handling and inspection of our finished goods in our warehouse ensures product leaves in excellent condition. Proper loading by our experienced team ensures accurate and damage-free shipments.


Warehousing and Distribution

  • 200,000 square feet of ambient warehouse space
  • 34 truck loading dock doors for outbound shipments
  • 27 truck receiving dock doors
  • 3 separate rail siding for box cars, tanker cars and grain cars used for inbound products.
  • 200 outbound shipments per day capacity
  • 24/5 loading available by appointment
  • Inter-modal and container loading
  • All product is stretch wrapped and palletized
  • Inter-modal, container and trailer cross docking system
  • 400 space drop trailer capacity
  • Spotting service available – customer driven

Logistic and Inventory

  • Warehouse Management System, including bar code scanning
  • 900,000+ case inventory capacity
  • Strict adherence to FIFO and shipping accuracy
  • Timely inventory reporting
  • Proven load patterns designs

Quality

Quality Assurance is achieved through integration of quality control, auditing, measurement method validation, and data validation. In our Production/Quality Assurance Program, quality checks by Production and QA occur at key receiving, blending, filling and finished goods locations. A state-of-the-art laboratory supports the staff with chemical, physical, sensory and microbiological testing capabilities. In addition, quality-at-source stations are strategically placed throughout the facility for immediate quality checks. AIB Certified.


Analytical Lab

  • Anton Paar Cbox
  • Thermo Scientific HPLC
  • Anton Paar Alcolyzer Beer ME
  • Anton Paar DMA 5000M

Package Lab

  • Orbisphere 6110 Package Analyzer
  • Pasteurization Monitoring
  • CMC Kuhnke Seam Equipment

Micro Lab

  • Total plate count
  • Anaerobic plating
  • Yeast and mold count
  • Yeast Propagation
  • Yeast Viability
  • Water plating
  • CIP Validation/Sanitation Monitoring
  • Microscopy

Other QA Functions

  • Plant Sanitation, GMP, HACCP and Food Safety Audits
  • HARPC Food Safety Plan and Food Defense Plan Management
  • Sanitation Program Management
  • GMP and HACCP Program Management
  • Analytical and Packaging Data Reporting
  • Retain Sample Library
  • Sensory Evaluation