Every drop of your craft deserves perfection—so why risk oxidation, supply delays, and wasted nitrogen? Take control of your brewery or winery’s future with onsite nitrogen generation—where cost savings meet superior quality, one pour at a time.
Oxidation is one of the biggest enemies of beer and wine production, threatening flavor, shelf life, and overall product quality. To combat this, breweries and wineries have long relied on nitrogen gas for purging, bottling, and preservation. However, with rising supply costs and logistical challenges of bulk nitrogen deliveries, many beverage producers are turning to onsite nitrogen generation as a cost-effective, sustainable, and quality-boosting solution.
Buying nitrogen in bulk or dealing with gas deliveries can be an expensive headache. Waiting for cylinders to arrive or wasting money on tank rentals and nitrogen evaporation adds to the frustration of rising supply costs. What’s more, bulk nitrogen deliveries can result in wasted gas if not used efficiently, while onsite nitrogen generators apply the gas with more precise control.
Switching to onsite nitrogen generation can revolutionize your winery or brewery operations with an on-demand supply of nitrogen at a fraction of the cost, giving you better control over your production and budget.
Depending on the location of the facility, the cost of transporting and storing bulk nitrogen can be a significant factor and additional expense. When you generate your own nitrogen, you reduce your expenses, plus your business’s carbon footprint with fewer delivery trucks on the road and less waste.
From preventing oxidation and spoilage to improving bottling efficiency and cutting costs, an in-house nitrogen generator is the upgrade you didn’t know you needed.
>> How Nitrogen Generators Revolutionize Food Packaging: Cost Savings & Freshness
Brewery and Winery Applications for Nitrogen Gas Generators
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Carbon dioxide is one common ingredient used in the brewing process. But nitrogen gas has proven to be a better alternative. It’s inert, meaning it won’t react with other chemicals. Nitrogen is less soluble and less acidic, and it’s said to give beer a better flavor and longer shelf life.
Some roles and benefits of using nitrogen gas in food and beverage industries such as breweries and wineries include:
- Preventing oxidation, reducing bacteria, and maintaining cleanliness in food packaging.
- Flushing tanks and purging nozzles.
- Displacing oxygen in packaging.
- Creating unique textures in beverages (e.g., tiny bubbles for creamy mouthfeel).
- Blowing up packaging (e.g., chips, milk bottles).
- Pressurizing containers.
- Maintaining carbonation levels.
In some applications, onsite nitrogen provides better efficiency and safety than compressed air, which requires food-grade lubricants or expensive and maintenance-heavy oil-free compressors.
Use of Nitrogen in Beer Production:
Packaging: Breweries commonly use nitrogen to purge air from cans, bottles, and kegs before filling to prevent oxidation, which can degrade flavor and shelf life.
Creating Nitrogenated Beer: Some breweries use nitrogen to create nitrogenated beers, known for their smooth, creamy texture, and smaller bubbles compared to carbonated beers.
System Benefits of Onsite Nitrogen Generation
- Consistency: Ensures reliable nitrogen availability without risk of supplier delays or shortages.
- Space Saving: Modular nitrogen systems can be designed to fit within limited space, crucial for small craft breweries or microbreweries.
- Purity Standards: Brewers typically require high-purity nitrogen for purging and packaging, often in the 99.5% or higher range.
- Cost Reduction: Eliminates reliance on expensive bulk nitrogen delivery and storage, significantly reducing costs.
Use of Nitrogen in Wine Production:
Bottling and Corking: Nitrogen purges oxygen from wine bottles before filling and corking, which minimizes oxidation and preserves wine quality.
Tanks and Barrels: Nitrogen purges oxygen from tanks and barrels during fermentation, aging, and storage processes to maintain freshness and prevent spoilage.
Wine Transfer: During racking or filtration, nitrogen replaces oxygen to avoid exposure that could degrade the wine.
System Benefits of Onsite Nitrogen Generation:
- Improved Quality and Shelf Life: Oxygen exposure is a significant factor in wine spoilage and flavor degradation. Using nitrogen ensures the product reaches the consumer with its intended taste profile intact.
- Small-Scale Wineries: Small or boutique wineries can benefit from nitrogen generators that produce sufficient amounts of nitrogen for their needs without the expense of bulk delivery. Onsite systems provide flexibility and control over nitrogen purity, tailored to specific winemaking processes.
Installing Nitrogen Generators as a Cost-Cutting Measure for Beverage Production
Breweries and wineries are unique subsets of the beverage industry, facing their own slew of challenges. Potential tariffs, rising costs, evolving dietary guidelines, and market pressures have many alcohol producers considering operational improvements and cost-cutting measures to stay competitive.
One of these cost-cutting measures is shifting from nitrogen deliveries to in-house generation. Although the initial investment of an onsite nitrogen generator carries a higher upfront cost than contracted nitrogen deliveries, you generally gain your return on investment rather quickly—often in 1-2 years.
The case for ROI - Let’s do the math:
Nitrogen cylinders can cost you $1.00 to $2.00 per cubic feet (CCF) on average, 40X what it costs gas suppliers to produce. Even bulk liquid nitrogen—often considered the most cost-effective option—averages around $0.80 per CCF, with up to 15% loss to boil-off before it’s even used.
On top of that, long-term contracts, often three to ten years, can lock businesses into annual price increases of 15% or more.
That’s just the direct costs. Let’s factor in some of these hidden costs: (For demonstration purposes only, rates may vary)
- Tank rental fees: As much as $2000 per month.
- Delivery charges: $25 to $75 per month.
- Environmental surcharge: $35 per month.
- Boil off: Up to 15% of liquid nitrogen is vented to the atmosphere.
- Annual price increases: 15%.
- Long-term contracts: Average 3-10 year commitment
- Invoicing: Billed separately for added administrative and invoicing costs.
Installing a nitrogen generator makes financial sense when accounting for all these charges, even for small-batch brewers and winemakers. In many cases, your costs can be 50% to 90% lower than having it delivered. There’s no need for tank rentals, delivery charges, environmental surcharges, or long-term contracts that are simply a pain to cancel.
A small brewery typically uses about 2000 CCF of nitrogen which costs a lot less than CO2. Calculating the purchase at the average rate of $0.80 per CCF, this amount of bulk nitrogen would cost $1,600 per month, which adds up to an annual bulk nitrogen gas cost of $19,200, plus any delivery charges or rental tank fees. Because of this cost benefit and other factors, nitrogen has been gaining more acceptance and awareness as a CO2 alternative at breweries.
Other unique considerations for breweries and wineries include:
- Customizable Systems: Nitrogen purity can be tailored to the specific needs of the brewery or winery, whether for purging, packaging, or direct use in production processes.
- Scalability: Systems can grow with production increases, which is especially important for microbreweries and small wineries scaling up.
- Modular Setup: For facilities with limited space, systems can be installed inside or in containerized packages outdoors.
- Sustainability: On-site nitrogen generation reduces environmental impact by eliminating the carbon emissions associated with bulk nitrogen transport.
The Additional Advantages of Onsite Nitrogen in Breweries and Wineries
The benefits of generating your own nitrogen extend beyond dollars and cents on an invoice. Additional cost savings can be found in fewer recurring costs associated with nitrogen trucking, storage, and rental fees on bulk tanks. Instead of paying monthly or weekly supply charges, an onsite generator can deliver a return on investment within 1-2 years.
Operationally, you can see improvements immediately. A nitrogen generator provides a steady and continuous supply of nitrogen on demand, reduces waste from evaporated nitrogen in bulk tanks, minimizes downtime from supply chain delays, and eliminates expensive spot buys.
Once installed, minimal maintenance is required. Generally, the only thing you need to do is perform annual filter changes and schedule servicing for your compressor system.
Breweries and wineries are also dealing with a continued shortage of commercial-grade CO2 and have been using nitrogen instead of CO2 for certain applications, making the installation of an in-house nitrogen generator even more appealing.
Why choose MCE Diversified Air Systems for your nitrogen generation needs?
Making Onsite Nitrogen Generation Easy for Beer and Wine Producers
Onsite nitrogen generation is a wise investment that keeps your operation running smoothly, your products tasting their best, and your costs in check.
You’re not committed to a one-size-fits-all solution—nitrogen purity can be tailored to the specific needs of the brewery or winery, whether for purging, packaging, or direct use in production processes.
To assess your needs, we begin with a site audit to assess your nitrogen usage and applications and help you decide if generating nitrogen is the smart financial decision for your operations. But our expertise goes beyond supply needs.
The MCE Advantage
We partner with top-rated manufacturers to ensure a variety of solutions to address diverse needs from air and nitrogen generation, to food grade hose and fittings, to automated conveying solutions designed to comply with food and beverage industry standards.
>> Optimizing Food Industry Conveyor Systems to Reduce Downtime & Boost Productivity
And beyond selling nitrogen generators, compressors, and dryers, we assist with full system audits, design, maintenance, repair, and installation scheduling for long-term support, ensuring smooth operation. We offer:
- System Audits and Evaluations
- Turnkey Solutions
- Preventive Maintenance Programs
- Custom System Design
- Wide Selection of Inventory and Services
Let MCE evaluate your operations and design a cost-saving nitrogen generation system tailored to your business. Contact us today for a consultation.
MCE’s expertise in assessing needs, designing tailored systems, and ensuring ROI makes it a key partner for breweries and wineries aiming to improve production quality while controlling costs. Let us know how we can make nitrogen generation a smart, scalable, and cost-effective solution for you.