E-Malt.com News article: USA, CA: Strike Brewing Company is nearing completion on brewery and tap room in San Jose

Strike Brewing Company is nearing completion on a brewery and tap room in San Jose that could produce up to 5,000 barrels of beer annually, SanJose.com reported on May 22.

The space on 10th Street takes up just under 6,000-square-feet of a large 90,000 square-foot warehouse building about a mile south of downtown San Jose.

The idea for Strike originated in 2008, stemming from a love for home brewing and the observation that there was a dearth of options for drinkers wanting a full-flavored beer with relatively low alcohol content.

Co-founders and South Bay residents CEO Jenny Lewis and brewmaster Drew Ehrlich wanted to make sure their first releases emphasized session beers with less than 5 percent ABV.

They also connected their brand to beer drinkers who lived very active lifestyles. Lewis was a collegiate swimmer at Rice University while Ehrlich played baseball at Stanford, eventually playing a couple years professionally with the Red Sox organization. Their commitment to starting Strike led Lewis to embark on an MBA program while Ehrlich spent those years gaining professional brewing experience.

Since releasing their first offerings back in December 2011 on a contract basis with Hermitage Brewing Company, sales have steadily risen, requiring more capacity to keep up with demand.

Strike currently has four beers offered year-round—the session Blonde, session Brown, IPA and Imperial Red. These staples can be found at locations throughout Northern California, including Safeway throughout Santa Clara County, select BevMo and Costco stores and even the San Jose International Airport.

Last month, Strike mounted a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise $20,000 to help furnish the tap room. Brewing equipment arrived several weeks ago and final preparations are under way.

“We have inspections to get through. It’s possible to do test batches early June. We could soft open the tap room in mid to late June once we have a few new things coming out that we can pour. We’ll do a grand opening in July once we smooth everything out and know what beers we want on tap. We’ll have an eight-tap system so we want eight fun things on those taps. The first one coming out is the new pale ale that we already announced,” Lewis says.


23 May, 2014