Cheboygan Brewing Company: Streamlining operations with PLAATO
“I can't imagine doing this job without PLAATO”
Beyond traditional brewing: How Cheboygan Brewery embraced digital innovation
Nestled in the city of Cheboygan, Michigan, Cheboygan Brewing Company has built its reputation on quality ingredients and a dedication to craft. Known for its flagship Blood Orange Honey, the brewery continues to innovate while staying true to its roots. For nearly two years, they’ve been leveraging PLAATO Pro across their 7-barrel operation to monitor fermentations and optimize efficiency. We caught up with Joshua Schiefer, Production Manager at Cheboygan, to hear how PLAATO has become an indispensable part of their daily operations. As he states, "I can't imagine doing this job without PLAATO anymore”, we’re curious to learn more about his experience.
Monitoring Fermentations from anywhere
One of the standout benefits for Joshua is the ability to monitor fermentation progress remotely, saving him time and enabling him to work more flexibly.
“PLAATO has been the best thing that's enabled me to work from home, catch up, and run the analysis I need to do. I wouldn't be able to do this without PLAATO.”
This real-time visibility into fermentation status allows Joshua to make timely decisions and keep operations running smoothly, even when he’s not on-site.
“I no longer have to worry about taking manual samples.”
Focusing on what matters
PLAATO’s automated monitoring and notifications allow Joshua to shift his focus to higher-priority tasks, eliminating the need for frequent manual sampling.
"I can focus my time on the important things because I no longer have to worry about taking manual samples. In fact, it's probably one of the last things on my mind now because I know I can just quickly check the app."
Reducing Labor Costs
With the departure of their cellar technician, Cheboygan was initially faced with a potential gap in operations. However, PLAATO stepped in as an effective solution, enabling the team to maintain efficiency without rehiring immediately.
“PLAATO is saving time for me so I can juggle the hats better…We previously had a cellar tech doing all the manual samples, and they left, but now, well, we haven't needed to rehire. PLAATO has filled that gap for us for now."
“PLAATO has become a critical tool for Joshua and his team”
Enhancing Quality with Data-Driven Decisions
The detailed data provided by PLAATO Pro has been instrumental in improving consistency and making precise adjustments to fermentation processes. Cheboygan Brewing has used this data to refine recipes and timing, ensuring every batch meets their high standards.
"The alerts and the benchmark feature are so important to us and we appreciate the notifications for the whole team. The beer will always turn out good, but taking the right actions at the right time means we can guarantee quality and consistency. That just makes it that bit better and more professional."
One notable success was with their Oktoberfest beer. By using PLAATO’s notifications to time the free rise perfectly, the team achieved an exceptional final product.
Looking ahead
Joshua sees value in applying PLAATO’s insights to their contract brewing relationships, ensuring better data and control across production.
Cheboygan Brewing’s journey with PLAATO highlights the immense value of real-time monitoring and data-driven insights. From saving time and reducing labor costs to enhancing beer quality and consistency, PLAATO has become a critical tool for Joshua and his team, proving that growing breweries can achieve huge results by investing in the right technology.
