Top 10 of 2023 – No. 6: Filler, Seamer Lets Contract Brewer Keep D.O. Low

To contract craft brewer The Brutalist and its owner King State Beer, dissolved oxygen is four-letter word. A new filler and seamer combo keeps D.O. low and the beer quality high, while paperboard multipacks help to make an impact on the shelf.

From left, Aric Parker and Pete Lewis of King State and The Brutalist, Tegan Foster and Amanda King of Hawthorne Bottle Shoppe, and Vinny Giusto of King State and the Brutalist.
From left, Aric Parker and Pete Lewis of King State and The Brutalist, Tegan Foster and Amanda King of Hawthorne Bottle Shoppe, and Vinny Giusto of King State and the Brutalist.

The Brutalist is a 3,500-barrel/year collaborative contract brewing facility in St. Petersburg, Fla., headed by Aric Parker of King State Beer. The Brutalist has its own line of branded of brews that it sells out of its taproom, Temple of Beer. And as a contract brewer, it sells brewing and packaging capacity to high-end craft brewers looking to scale with the help of higher-volume professional equipment. Meanwhile, King State Beer—the beer-brewing arm of a King State operation that’s also known as a coffee roaster, coffee cold-brewer, and breakfast and cocktail bar—owns The Brutalist Brewery and in a sense is its own biggest customer with its line of branded King State Beer varieties. Perhaps this unique arrangement makes for a tangled web of stakeholders, but it’s hard to complain when the result is innovative, artisanal craft brew under an evolving variety of banners, brands, and titles.

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