Stony Creek Brewery: Community & Sustainability at the Core

Nestled in an old industrial area on the banks of the Branford River sits the Stony Creek Brewery. A state-of-the-art manufacturing operation, the Connecticut brewery is a mainstay for locals and a destination for craft beer enthusiasts.

Though the brewery only opened in 2015, it has already brewed over 266 batches of beer, putting them three years into a multi-year business plan. Andy Schwartz, brew master for Stony Creek Brewery, attributes that success to the company’s mindset.

“There are a lot of ways to build a brewery,” Schwartz said. “From the start we decided to go with the best of everything. We’re blessed to have ownership that believes in doing things the right way, the way things should be done.”

At Stony Creek Brewery, the way things should be done is simple: operations should be locally responsible and environmentally efficient.

“We don’t serve food because we don’t want to take business away from local bars and restaurants,” Schwartz said. “Instead, we encourage people to have food delivered or to bring their own. We also host food trucks and have events catered.”

Stony Creek Brewery relies on Atlas Copco oil-free compressors to help them maintain an energy efficient operation.

“We have the highest performing, most efficient and most reliable equipment there is,” Schwartz said. “We also have future plans to introduce solar panels and a heat recovery system.”

The heat of recovery system would work in tandem with the Atlas Copco machines already in place. The brewery uses two ZT compressors — a 30hp ZT22 VSD FF unit and a 25hp ZT18 FF fixed speed unit. Both are Class 0 compressors, meaning there is zero chance of contamination.

The system relies on an Elektronikon^® controller to keep processes running smoothly. Knowing that compressed air is always on hand is critical for breweries.

“Compressed air is a production utility,” Schwartz said. “You expect it to be there. With Atlas Copco compressors, it always is.”