Ninksai Brewing opted for high-efficiency boilers in its new brewhouse, allowing the brewery to triple its capacity while keeping energy costs in check.

The two, high-efficiency, natural gas-fired steam boilers supply enough steam for 10 to 12 brews per day. With built-in stack economizers, digital controls and other energy-saving features, the boilers are trimming an estimated $72,200 from Ninkasi’s annual energy costs.

“An economical feature about these boilers is that they are two-stage, allowing us to match energy use to our varying load,” said Paul Cook, vice president of production, Ninkasi Brewing. “We often run the boilers at low-fire, which is about 75 to 85 percent of capacity. When we increase production, we run them at 100 percent.”

Ninkasi worked closely with Energy Trust on the $71,800 project, receiving a $35,900 Energy Trust cash incentive to help offset the added cost of investing in high-efficiency boilers.