E-Malt.com News article: USA, ND: Flatland Brewery getting ready to launch in West Fargo

West Fargo will soon have its own beer and soda brewery as the popularity of craft beers and home brewing just keeps bubbling up in the metro area, Grand Forks Herald reported on March 23.

Frank Clemens, president of Flatland Brewery LLC, said he hopes to open the brewery at 3140 Bluestem Drive by July after the city approved a conditional use permit for the business at its Monday, March 21, meeting.

Flatland Brewery will brew craft beers and sodas with seating inside and outdoors on a patio.

Patrons will be able to purchase snacks or have food delivered to Flatland Brewery, but the brewery will not include a restaurant. That is something that Clemens hasn’t ruled out for down the road.

In the meantime, the focus will be on keeping a wide, ever-changing variety of microbrews and sodas on the menu.

Flatland Brewery will be the first public brewing house to open in West Fargo.

“Everyone we talked to in West Fargo, leading up to this, they said they’d like to have a neighborhood [brewery],” Clemens said. “We have them around but depending on where you live it could be a 15- to 45- minute drive.”

Clemens has been brewing beer at home for about 10 years before partnering with three other men who have long had an interest in beer brewing.

“Collectively, we have more than 40 years of brewing experience,” Clemens said.

Clemens said the business plans to brew small batches of beer and soda at a time.

“We’ll start with a lineup of beers that we think will be popular and make adjustments as we go,” he said. “We want to add more beers in so we have a continually rotating tap line with a lot of seasonal brews.”

Clemens said he expects to settle on a few mainstays, beers that will be on tap year round, once customers get a taste for their favorites.

Inside Flatland Brewery, the design will likely feature an upscale rustic decor. An outdoor patio is planned for additional seating, similar to that at Pub West, which is located in the same complex.


25 March, 2016