E-Malt.com News article: USA, NC: Foothills Brewing to increase production by 72%

Foothills Brewing is expanding the Southeast reach of its craft beers through a major production expansion - buying four 200-barrel fermentation vessels, Winston-Salem Journal reported on April, 12.

The company, based in Winston-Salem, said that the expansion eventually will increase its production by 72 percent, as well as allow it to use its existing 100-barrel vessels for new flavor development.

The company received two of the 23-foot tall stainless steel vessels. The other two are scheduled for delivery in early May. The vessels are being placed in Foothills’ 50,000-square-foot brewing facility in south Winston-Salem.

Foothills spokesman Ray Goodrich declined to say how much the company paid for the vessels.

The expansion will enable Foothills to brew up to 40,000 barrels annually compared with just more than 13,000 barrels now.

“We need this equipment to keep up with demand for Foothills beer,” said Jamie Bartholomaus, company president and brewmaster. The company plans to expand its market in the Carolinas, as well as push north to Richmond and northern Virginia and as far west as Nashville, Tenn.

“The move in January to wholesale distribution has raised the bar,” Bartholomaus said. “Our partner wholesalers have done an amazing job creating a much larger market for our brands, so increasing our production capacity is the next logical step in our growth.”

The new vessels also will enable Foothills to keep Bartholomaus’ pledge of selling its beers as fresh as possible no matter the distribution point. The company is limiting distribution to no more than 300 miles from Winston-Salem.

Goodrich said the first batch of beer from the new vessels should be available within a month.

“North Carolina will always be our hometown market,” said Foothills’ head brewer T.L. Adkisson. “But these new tanks will allow us to increase six-pack distribution to some of our emerging markets, where we are seeing increasingly bigger demand.”

“Every brewer likes to experiment and play around. Hopefully, these tanks will give us the room to do that.”

One option is brewing small batch beers at the company’s downtown brewpub.

Foothills brews more than 20 year-round beers plus seasonal offerings, including best sellers Hoppyum IPA and Carolina Blonde.


17 April, 2013