E-Malt.com News article: USA, PA: Weyerbacher Brewing Co. to undergo $1.1 million expansion

Weyerbacher Brewing Co.’s full-bodied beers have outgrown their space. The Easton-based brewery founded in 1995 will undergo a $1.1 mln facility expansion to increase its brewery by 40 percent, owner Dan Weirback was quoted as saying by Lehighvalleylive.com on February, 24.

“We will triple our capacity,” Weirback said.

“It’s a great opportunity for the city that a business is expanding and staying on the South Side,” said Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. “I’m happy for them. It’s a great company with great people.”

The microbrewery moved to Line Street in 2001 after outgrowing a 4,500-square-foot space in Downtown Easton, which also housed its brewpub.

When asked if the expansion will include a brewpub, Weirback said “yes and no.”

“There will not immediately be a brewpub, but there is a timetable for that,” Weirback said. “Expansion is the most important thing, but when we move things around, we’ll decide if there’s room for a brewpub.”

The brewery’s growth comes on the heels of its beers flying off the shelves, according to a local beer distributor.

“Weyerbacher’s growth was unbelievable last year,” said Mike Sales, a controller at Phillipsburg-based Hunterdon Brewing Co. “We get the beer while we can because if we don’t buy it, someone else will.”

Citing a Hunterdon report, Sales said Weyerbacher’s sales were up more than 80 percent in 2011 from 2010.

“It’s really remarkable because we’ve had the brand for such a long time,” Sales said.

Sales attributes Weyerbacher’s growth to consumers developing an appreciation of craft beer.

“Weyerbacher is one of the beer companies they’ll turn to just because they’re very dynamic and they are coming out with interesting products,” Sales said.

The expansion is not the only change the company is undergoing. Weyerbacher unleashed a new logo and the brewery will be replacing its IPA staple, Hops Infusion.

Weirback said Crimson, the fifth beer in its IPA Project from last year, will replace Hops Infusion in May or June.

“There has been no name or packaging for the beer yet,” Weirback said of the IPA. “It will have an interesting name, though.”


29 February, 2012