E-Malt.com News article: USA, CO: Avery Brewing to expand

Boulder-based Avery Brewing Co. bought a 5.6-acre property in Gunbarrel that will serve as the home for its new brewery and headquarters, officials for the craft brewery announced on December, 13.

Earlier this year, Avery Brewing received the city of Boulder's approval for the $27 mln project to build a 95,922-square-foot brewery, restaurant, gift shop and tap room.

The land acquisition puts Avery Brewing another step closer to opening a facility that would solve capacity woes that have hindered the craft brewer's ability to expand distribution and respond to increases in demand, officials say.

"We have some time to go before calling the movers, but after nearly 20 years of brewing in our mish-mash of nonadjacent warehouses and trailers, it feels awesome to get to this point," Adam Avery said.

The construction of a road into the north side of the property is expected to begin in late-February or early March with groundbreaking to occur on the brewery site in May, he said.

The brewery is expected to open in 2014.

To gain a better handle on the explosive growth, Avery Brewing pulled out of some markets in recent years and limited its distribution. This week, Avery Brewing halted sales to Minnesota.

Avery Brewing's production team recently undertook some "creative" measures - through the purchase of new equipment and the incorporation of new processes - to up the production capacity to 65,000 barrels from 55,000 barrels.

"We're already brewing at a 24-7 clip," said Joe Osborne, Avery Brewing's marketing director. "To hit (65,000), it would be 24-7, day-in, day-out. And just because of reality, that just won't happen."

The increased capabilities and potential room for expansion would be welcome to Avery Brewing, which is at "utter capacity," Osborne said.

The new facility initially will have a 120-barrel brewhouse that should have an immediate 120,000-barrels-per-year production capacity. The brewery's design will allow for tanks to be added as needed, bringing the potential annual production capacity to 350,000 barrels, Osborne said.

Avery Brewing also would be able to re-enter markets and states it has been forced to abandon in recent years, he said.

Avery Brewing originally eyed opening the new facility before the Great American Beer Festival in October of next year; however, the timing was delayed as officials obtained the necessary financial resources to move forward on the $27 million-to-$30 million project, he said.

Larry and Adam Avery secured a Small Business Administration loan in addition to capital from their family and the brewery's operations, Osborne said. They did not take in any outside investment, he added.


19 December, 2012