USA, MD: Full Tilt Brewing to open its own brewpub in Towson

Contracting brewing at Peabody Heights Brewery in Waverly was always going to be a stepping stone for Full Tilt Brewing, Baltimore Business Journal reported on October 5.

Cousins and co-owners Nick Fertig and Dan Baumiller started Full Tilt in late 2012 and distribute beer throughout the mid-Atlantic. With four years to build up a following, the two are ready to expand the brand further with a new brew pub in Towson.

Full Tilt has signed a letter of intent to lease out about 10,000 square feet of space in a former police station at 308 Washington Ave., in Towson. Fertig said they have a written financing proposal from a bank to cover about half the cost and are looking for equity investors during an investor presentation Oct. 13 at the location.

"Contract brewing was a good way to get into the industry," Fertig said. "We wanted to get our foot in the door and build up some recognition around town and now we are ready to get our own location."

While the brew pub will not serve as a full brewery — Fertig said they will still contract brew out of Peabody Heights — it is the first step in the long-term plan of getting a fully operating brewery in a Baltimore warehouse. When that happens, however, depends on the success of the brew pub, which does not have a name yet.

Fertig said they originally looked in Baltimore for the brew pub, but couldn't find the right balance between location and cost. With the Washington Avenue location, the cousins feel they found the perfect space with great architecture, including brick arches on the exterior.

The project is estimated to cost about $1.5 million. Fertig said the bank financing proposal is for around $800,000, which fits with their goal of not doing a complete bank finance as well as not having the whole project funded by an equity investment.

"This is a huge step for us," he said. "This is the biggest support we have ever gotten and now we are lining everything up and putting renderings together."

The plan for the brew pub is to bring on an executive chef and have a small plates menu to pair with Full Tilt beers. Fertig said they will brew small batches of beer at the brew pub, mostly testing new beers, and continue the mass production, canning and distribution out of Peabody Heights.

The hope is to have all the funds raised by the end of November and sign the lease after that. The build out would take between six to eight months, so Fertig said the ideal situation is to have the brew pub open by the summer of 2017.

Fellow Peabody Heights brewers, Monument City Brewing, started building out a new brewery and tap room in Highlandtown with the goal of finishing construction in November.

06 October, 2016