San Diego brewery saves up to 24,000 kWh annually with smart refrigeration tech from Frigid.Cloud
San Diego’s Pure Project Brewing has taken a major step toward smarter, more sustainable brewing by installing a cloud-connected fermentation and refrigeration optimization system at its Vista production facility. The tech comes from Frigid.Cloud, an Australian company working with breweries and wineries worldwide to reduce energy consumption in one of the most power-hungry areas of beverage production.
The results? Significant and immediate. Pure Project’s glycol chiller—the brewery’s largest energy draw—has seen daily peak power usage drop from 88 kWh to just 30 kWh thanks to Frigid.Cloud’s intelligent scheduling and controls. That shift is expected to save between 20,000 and 24,000 kWh per year, helping the brewery shrink its carbon footprint without sacrificing beer quality.
“This technology is helping us brew smarter,” said Winslow Sawyer, Co-founder and Brewer at Pure Project. “It gives us more control over our energy use while maintaining the high quality we demand in every beer we make.”
The collaboration follows similar success at Ambitious Ales in Long Beach, the first U.S. brewery to adopt Frigid.Cloud’s system. Shortly after installation, the brewery won a gold medal at the 2024 Great American Beer Festival for its hazy IPA Professional Human Being, showcasing the performance potential of data-driven sustainability.
To mark the partnership, Pure Project, Ambitious Ales, and Frigid.Cloud teamed up on a collaborative release: Cloud Pleaser, a murky IPA featuring Nelson Sauvin, Mosaic Cryo, and Strata Abstrax hops. Bursting with mango, lime, and nectarine character, the beer will be released Thursday, September 4, on draft and in 4-packs across all five Pure Project taprooms in San Diego County, as well as at select California retailers.
“Pure Project’s results show the kind of real-world impact smart technology can have,” said Jassa Amir-Lang, Frigid.Cloud’s Co-founder and CEO. “Breweries all over the world are realizing that sustainability doesn’t have to be complicated.”
The beer may be called Cloud Pleaser, but the data is what really sings.
