Alaska-based Denali Brewing and Spirits has partnered with Pro Refrigeration, a packaged-chiller manufacturer based in Auburn, Washington (U.S.), for a new CO2 (R744) chiller system to cool the microbrewery’s ready-to-drink cocktails.

Pro Refrigeration’s 100 HP PROGreen CO2 chiller will replace Denali’s current HFC-blend-based 40 HP PROChiller System, which dates back to 2013. The old chiller will remain at the site as a backup solution. The new chiller system is part of Pro Refrigeration’s PROGreen Solutions line, which uses natural refrigerants like R744.

Pro Refrigeration offers the 100 HP CO2 model with or without a propylene-glycol-based coolant reservoir with a capacity of 750 or 2,000 gallons, according to a post on its website.

Denali Brewing and Spirits’ new cocktail range has been chosen as the official canned cocktail of professional ice hockey team the Seattle Kraken and the Climate Pledge Arena, a multi-purpose arena in Seattle with a focus on sustainability.

“I can’t think of a better way to protect the environment and promote Denali’s ongoing sustainability initiatives than by partnering with Pro Refrigeration to significantly reduce the impact of our production processes on the environment,” said Sassan Mossanen, Denali’s CEO. “We are fortunate enough to operate in one of the most pristine environments on the planet, and we intend to protect it,” he continued.

“I can’t think of a better way to protect the environment and promote Denali’s ongoing sustainability initiatives than by partnering with Pro Refrigeration to significantly reduce the impact of our production processes on the environment.”

Having recently commissioned its first CO2-based chiller for a dairy in Tulare, California (U.S.), Pro Refrigeration has demonstrated the benefits of natural refrigerants in terms of reducing operating costs, improving operational efficiency and reducing environmental impact.

“Jim [Vandergiessen, CEO of Pro Refrigeration] explained how well the natural-based system was performing in California and how it is optimized with variable capacity control to significantly reduce our power consumption,” said Mossanen. “The environmental impacts and the free heat recovery this will deliver are two reasons we went this direction,” he added.

The two companies have been working together since 2009, with Pro Refrigeration supplying Denali with numerous chiller systems as the brewery grew and expanded to their production brewery and distillery operations.

“Denali has always made us better by bringing us some great challenges,” said Vandergiessen. “We can’t wait to see this new system in operation and are proud to see Denali become one of the first breweries in the country to take this big step to CO2 as a refrigerant.”

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