Meantime brewing replaces boiler and expands capacity with babcock wanson

A Babcock Wanson BWD40 Fire Tube Boiler has been installed into Meantime Brewing’s Greenwich, London site, which is used in multiple aspects of brewery operation, from wort production through to packaging line operations. The 4 tonne BWD40 is a replacement for the existing 2.5 tonne boiler, which had come to the end of its working life.

Established in 1999, and based in Greenwich, London, Meantime Brewing Company is part of Asahi UK and has earnt a reputation as a modern pioneer of craft beer in the UK. It has an exciting line-up of core beers such as London Lager and Anytime IPA and innovative collaborations and seasonal beer releases throughout the year.

In a recent refurbishment of its Greenwich site, to both increase capacity and reduce its carbon footprint, Meantime Brewery appointed industrial process heating specialist Babcock Wanson to undertake the boiler replacement works. This included supplying the BWD40 Fire Tube Boiler and carrying out all the mechanical and electrical works as part of a turnkey solution. Babcock Wanson developed the plans in close consultation with chief engineers from across parent company, Asahi UK, and ensured the site meets BG01 Guidance on the Safe Operation of Boilers. BG01 advises on boiler control technology and how to achieve the safety standards laid out in the HSE’s ‘Safe management of industrial steam and hot water boilers’ document (INDG436).

The Babcock Wanson BWD40 Fire Tube Boiler was chosen as the process heat source for this site due to its high efficiency, long life and low cost maintenance. Efficiency comes as a result of the optimised matching of the boiler shell and the burner, along with advanced burner head geometry which provides stable combustion with near constant efficiency throughout the complete burner modulating range.

Longevity and reduced maintenance requirements are a direct result of the three pass design and use of a coaxially located furnace tube providing optimum distribution of mechanical stress in operation. This is an important feature for boilers that operate under variable steam load, such as at Meantime Brewing, and ensures long equipment life.

Further benefits of the BWD40 are lower total exhaust emissions. Using Babcock Wanson’s latest Optimo burner, the BWD40 has emission rates of less than 100mg/Nm3 NOx throughout the firing range when burning natural gas, making it one of the best performing burners on the market.

The new boiler in place, with its low NOx emission rates, readily meets the Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD), which covers emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and dust pollutants to the air. Babcock Wanson assisted Meantime Brewing with the required application for a new MCPD environmental permit, working with a third party who conducted a detailed boiler house risk assessment covering all relevant aspects – including steam, electrics, operations – and produced a written report.

About Asahi UK

Asahi UK is home to an exceptional portfolio of premium beer, ale and cider brands, including category leaders in the UK. The range includes international brands Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Asahi Super Dry and Grolsch. A portfolio to be envied which also includes local heroes: Fuller’s London Pride, Meantime, Dark Star and Cornish Orchards. Asahi UK’s focus is on elevating experiences for our customers and consumers through innovation, unrivalled service and offering brands with undeniable quality and provenance. Asahi UK believes that every business has a responsibility to understand and act upon its environmental impact and we continuously work towards sharing more information with our suppliers, customers and consumers about both the footprint of our beers, and how we are working to reduce it. Our place in the local community is highly valued and we strive to ensure that we are always making a positive contribution to the communities in and around our UK Breweries.