ENCINITAS — As San Diego County faces more shutdowns due to the state’s most-restrictive “purple” tier designation, Lost Abbey Brewery has adopted up-and-coming technology to help keep its customers safe.
The popular brew spot deployed a Boski rapid air sanitizer at its Cardiff location to help keep its customers safe from airborne particles. The device utilizes Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) to kill 99.9% of all airborne viruses, according to CEO Brennan Farrell.
Standing about one foot tall, the system takes in air, hits it with the UV-C and recirculates the air, he said. Farrell said the device is gaining popularity as another weapon against the novel coronavirus, with businesses, about 12 colleges, such as the University of Colorado Denver, K-12 school districts and homeowners, to name a few, installing them.
“When given the chance to test out some new air purifying technology, we jumped at the chance,” said Tomme Arthur, co-founder and chief operating owner of Lost Abbey. “We are always looking for ways to increase customer and employee safety and this seemed like a fantastic method based on our research.”
At Lost Abbey’s Cardiff tasting room, General Manager Jenna Sloan said the brewery installed the devices two weeks ago. They placed it on the counter as people are allowed to walk up to the bar and order, although that may change if the county falls into the purple tier.
Sloan said it from a safety perspective, the counter is a good place to filter the air and particles. Additionally, she said it adds another layer of protection and the UV-C device can fully circulate the air in a room in two hours.
“Anything you can do as an added protection is worth the effort,” Sloan said. “The real measure of success is no news is good news and it’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to be doing.”
She also said the company will review how the device performs to determine if they will be placed at Lost Abbey’s San Marcos and San Elijo Hill tasting rooms.
As for the device, Farrell said it plugs into the wall and when the air circulates through the device, the ultraviolet light kills the viruses. The lightbulb, he said, is rated at 254 nanometers, which is the wavelength range for UV-C light and lethal to viruses.
Their third-partying testing conducting experiments on the MS2 virus, which is more difficult to kill than COVID-19, Farrell said.
“There are many applications, restaurants and breweries,” Farrell said. “It’s really where there are two or more people gathered … and leaving the device on. There are many different industries and verticals where Boski would be applicable.”
