Bayou Teche Brewing Expands Arnaudville Brewery

Bayou Tech Brewing expands Arnaudville brewery has a newly expanded Arnaudville brewery.

President Karlos Knott says they added 50 percent more floor space, including new office space and an automated keg washing system. The expansion was needed to increase sales of their year-round LA 31 beers and seasonal beers. He says they’re excited about a new fully-automatic smart brewhouse from the Italian manufacturer Simatec.

“This new technology allows you to brew small batches, big batches, multiple batches. It uses a lot less floor space, square footage, and a lot less energy,” Knott said.

This brewhouse is the first of its kind in the country. Knott says while it’s exciting to be on the forefront, it’s also nerve-racking to be the Guinee pig. He says there’s hundreds of them in Europe, and the owners they talked to love them.

“So we went ahead and rolled the dice. It’s a lot more automated, definitely the most automated in Louisiana if not one of the most in the country. So it’s exciting and scary at the same time,” Knott said.

The smart brewhouse can produce up to 13 batches in just 24 hours. Knott says the new technology should help them brew at least three time as many beers in a day. He says the company is also going to help them further automate the brewery as they expand.

“With some automated fermentation and inventory management. So even though we’re a little small country brewery, we’re getting a lot more technological,” Knott said.