Soundproofing for Breweries
Between the clinking glasses and boisterous conversation, breweries are lively spaces. While many people go to breweries to enjoy their bustling ambiance, too much noise can put a damper on the experience.
Fortunately, there are a host of brewery soundproofing solutions that can reduce acoustic clamor and enhance your customers’ experience.
Below, we’ll explore some common sound challenges faced by breweries, and then highlight several soundproofing solutions that can elevate your brewery’s atmosphere without compromising its aesthetics.
3 Unique Challenges of Brewery Acoustics
Before you can resolve your acoustic issues, you need to understand the challenges facing your space. This way, you can select the solutions that will provide the most effective results.
With that being said, here are three common sound challenges we often see in breweries:
- Echoing – Breweries typically feature open floor plans and sleek, hard surfaces. This combination allows sound waves to bounce around from surface to surface, creating echoes and reverberations in their wake. Not only can these noises be distracting, but they can make it difficult for customers to hear one another, leading to a subpar social experience.
- Noisy machinery – Brewing beer is a complex process that involves specialized machinery, including steam generators, water tanks, filtration systems, fermenters, pumps, cooling systems, and cleaning systems.1 While many beer enthusiasts enjoying seeing how the sausage is made, so to speak, these machines can emit a lot of noise. The resulting industrial hum can make it harder for customers and brewing staff to communicate.
- Customer chatter – As social hot spots, breweries are often packed to the brim with chatty patrons. While many customers appreciate breweries’ animated atmospheres, it’s important to strike the right balance between an upbeat vibe and sound overload. Unfettered chatter can be overwhelming, requiring patrons to raise their voices and exacerbate the situation.
If these challenges go unaddressed, it can damage your customers’ experience, potentially causing them to take their business elsewhere.
Brewery Soundproofing Solutions and Techniques
Each of the challenges discussed above can be resolved with the right soundproofing solutions. We recommend the following materials and techniques:
#1 Acoustic Panels
Sound-absorbing panels can enhance your brewery’s sound quality considerably. They absorb a certain percentage of a room’s sound waves, as designated by their sound absorption coefficient,2 which means fewer waves bouncing off walls and tables, and less sound traveling to other customers.
In turn, they can dampen disruptive echoes and enhance conversational clarity. To enjoy these benefits, all you need to do is position your acoustic panels strategically on your brewery’s walls and ceilings.
Our NOISE S.T.O.P. Fabric-Wrapped Acoustical Panels are made of glass fiber with woven fabric and micro-perforated vinyl facings. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and you can even customize their fabric coverings to integrate seamlessly with your brewery’s interior design.
#2 Sound-Absorbing Foam
Another tool you can use to reduce reverberation and control your brewery’s acoustics is sound-absorbing foam. This sound solution is lightweight, cost-effective, and easy to install. You simply need to stick it to your walls or ceilings using the recommended adhesive.
In some brewery spaces, sound-absorbing foam may suit the aesthetics. However, this sound solution has a more “unfinished” appearance than acoustic panels. For this reason, you may want to reserve it for behind-the-scenes spaces within your brewery, such as the brewing lab or kitchen.
Luckily, you can still select sound-absorbing foam in a variety of colors. Our Flat Faced Melamine Foam comes in:
- White
- Light gray
- Black
- Brown
- Beige
- Sherwin Williams™ paint colors
#3 Soundproofing Materials
If your brewery stores its machinery in a separate room, you can prevent its industrial noises from seeping into social areas using the following soundproofing techniques:
- If your brewery is still under construction, consider installing an extra layer of drywall or our Mass Loaded Vinyl Sound Barrier. The added mass can block sound from escaping into other areas.
- Opt for a solid-core, soundproof door, like our Soundproof Interior Doors. These doors allow you to customize their finishes and hardware. They also come with adjustable soundproof jambs and seals.
- Fill in any cracks in your walls or ceilings using putty pads or Green Glue Viscoelastic Damping Compound and seal gaps around your existing door’s perimeter using our Adjustable Acoustic Door Seals.
By applying these techniques to your entire brewery, you can also mitigate the noise it emits to neighboring businesses and ensure you adhere to local sound ordinances.
Optimize Your Brewery’s Acoustics With Acoustical Surfaces
With the right combination of sound absorbers and soundproofing treatments, you can cultivate an inviting brewery environment and ensure a top-notch customer experience.
If you need help selecting the right solutions, reach out to the sound experts at Acoustical Surfaces. With over 35 years of experience and hundreds of soundproofing and noise control products, we know how to optimize the acoustics of breweries and other types of businesses.
Are you ready to turn the sound down and turn the ambience up? Contact our team today.
Sources:
- Micet Craft. What Equipment Is Needed To Build A Brewery? https://www.micetcraft.com/what-equipment-is-needed-to-build-a-brewery/
- Science Direct. Sound Absorption. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/sound-absorption
