Fermentation tanks, washdown cycles, acid spills, and caustic cleaning chemicals demand a concrete floor engineered for those conditions. Boston Concrete builds brewery and winery slabs with chemical-resistant urethane or epoxy, sloped to trench drains, finished for grip and durability. Tasting rooms and bar areas get a separate, showroom-quality finish. Free written estimate on every project.
Off-the-shelf epoxy or polished concrete cannot withstand the chemical load in a brewery production area. Wort acidity, tannic acid from wine, hot caustic CIP solutions, and continuous wet conditions attack standard coatings within weeks or months. The slab needs a urethane cement system or a specialized chemical-resistant epoxy formulated for those exact exposures.
We divide the brewery into zones during the estimate. Production areas get the heavy-duty system; tasting rooms and bar zones get a different spec because chemical exposure there is minimal. Both zones finish in the same project, but each gets the right concrete floor for its actual use.
We tour the brewery or winery with your operations team, identify which areas see acid, caustic, thermal shock, or light exposure, and determine the right concrete system for each zone rather than applying one spec across the entire floor.
Slab prep and drain installation
The existing concrete is diamond-ground to the system profile, old coatings and contaminants removed, cracks repaired, and trench drains installed or rebuilt with proper slope to carry washdown water out of the production area.
Chemical-resistant system application
High-exposure zones receive hand-troweled urethane cement (4-6mm thick) with cove base up the walls; moderate zones get chemical-resistant epoxy with broadcast aggregate for slip resistance. Each zone is installed to its specification.
Verification, cure, and handoff
Floor slopes are checked during installation, trench drain connections are detailed flush with the slab, and the production area cures before returning to service. Tasting and bar zones receive their finish system on a separate schedule.
Drainage engineering
Why Trench Drains Matter for Washdown
A brewery washdown generates more water per minute than point drains can handle. Water pools on the floor, chemical exposure time extends, and the coating system degrades faster. Trench drains running across the production zone capture the volume and move it out in seconds, keeping the concrete floor sharp and the chemical-resistant system intact.
We design the trench drain layout and floor slope as one integrated system, then install both together. If your brewery has an adjacent kitchen or bar, we coordinate the restaurant flooring with the production floor. All of our retail and restaurant concrete work follows the same zone-based approach.
Chemical resistance, trench drains, urethane cement systems and tasting-room finishes.
Because of the chemical exposure. Wort acidity, hot caustic CIP cleaning chemicals, tannic acid in winery operations, and constant wet conditions all degrade standard epoxy. The right brewery floor is a urethane cement or specialized chemical-resistant epoxy system rated for those exposures.
For the production floor, yes, urethane cement handles thermal shock (hot wash on cold floor) and chemical exposure better. Epoxy can work in zones with moderate exposure and proper spec. We pick based on the actual zone exposure, not a default.
For any real brewery production floor, yes. Point drains cannot move the washdown volume; water pools, exposure prolongs, and the system fails sooner. Trench drains across the zone capture and move water fast.
Tasting and bar zones get a different system because the chemical exposure is dramatically lower. Polished concrete or a coated floor is typical there, matched to the brand look. Both systems install in the same project but as separate zones.
Production floor: typically a week or more depending on size, plus cure before returning to service. Tasting and bar zones add a few more days. The schedule is built around your production downtime needs.
Client reviews
What Boston Operations Say About Their Brewery & Winery Floors
Production floor with urethane cement system rated for our CIP chemicals. Three years of brewing, no degradation, washdown cycles work. The trench drains made it possible.
Z. Y2
Brewery Owner, Boston
★★★★★
Acid resistance for wine production zone, polished concrete in the tasting room. Two different systems, clean transition at the doorway. Both have held perfectly.
Y. K2
Winery Operations, Cambridge
★★★★★
They specced for our actual chemical exposure, not the cheapest option. Production floor is solid, no soft spots, no failed seams. Worth the right spec.
Q. M2
Microbrewery Founder, Somerville
★★★★★
Trench drains across the production area changed our washdown game. Water leaves in seconds instead of pooling. The floor stays sharp because exposure is short.
X. M2
Cidery Director, Quincy
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Describe your production zones, chemical exposures, and any tasting or bar areas. We will engineer each zone's concrete system and send a written quote within one business day.
