Fierce Beer is a fast-growing, modern brewery in Aberdeen, Scotland. “Held in high regard in the UK beer community, they have garnered multiple awards and are recognized as the most awarded Scottish Brewery in recent years. In 2020 alone, they secured 14 medals at the Scottish Beer Awards, culminating in their distinction as the Scottish Brewery of the Year in 2021.”

Fierce Beer approached NovaBytes with an intricate networking problem they were facing whilst building their new taproom/bar just outside their existing brewery in Aberdeen.

The challenge at Fierce Beer was a significant one. Their new tap room sat over 100 metres away from their existing line-in and main switch so it was looking like it could be a problem getting connectivity over to the taproom to get the new till system and phones onto the network. They also had to provide their customers with fast wifi as the mobile reception on-site was very weak.

We travelled to the Fierce Beer brewery in Aberdeen to carry out a review and inspection of the existing network alongside a site survey to determine the best solution for the problem. It became evident that the equipment in the new taproom sat exactly 101 metres downstream from the main internet line in and switch and there many obstacles in the way such as walls, high ceilings over factory doors and equipment like brew kettles and fermentation tanks.

Following the meeting and gathering all necessary details, the team proceeded to outline the new network infrastructure for the Fierce Beer management team. This included comprehensive diagrams, detailed written explanations, and our recommended equipment selections, alongside a pricing estimate for the proposed work. Given the need for robust equipment and high-speed capabilities, Ubiquiti was identified as the preferred choice. Upon approval of the quoted work, arrangements were made start the work at a mutually agreed-upon time and date.

Our network engineer team travelled back to the brewery and began installing the new network. 3 Ubiquiti “USW Flex Mini” PoE switches were placed along the path between the main switch and the new taproom every 25 metres in order to be able to add additional access points when needed. The USW Flex Mini is a small but powerful smart managed Gigabit switch meaning it  is able to be managed via the unifi platform and also appears in the network topology.

The final USW Flex Mini was placed under the bar in the taproom and the till system, phones and Ubiquiti Wifi 6 Access Point were given internet connectivity.

Fierce Beer were originally looking at a hefty bill in order to have a fibre network installed in the brewery in order to get connectivity into the new taproom. However NovaBytes were able to do this by properly formulating a plan and scoping a new network with careful consideration. The new taproom now has a strong connection to the network and their customers can enjoy fast wifi 6 with their delicious beer.

Since we installed the network at Fierce Beere, they have been a loyal customer and have made several hardware purchases for PC’s, laptops and monitors.

Keri Innes, Brewery Administrator said:

“You understood our needs. In area where some people may have limited knowledge, you were able to guide and advise”