E-Malt.com News article: USA, CO&NC: New Belgium Brewing looking at Asheville as location for brewery

Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing is considering opening a brewery in Asheville, Citizen – Times.com reported on September, 22.

A company spokesman confirmed the city is on a list of five or six potential sites for a new brewing location for the company, one of the biggest craft brewers in the U.S. The confirmation came after City Councilman Jan Davis, during a morning election forum for City Council candidates, said council members had been alerted that New Belgium was eyeing Asheville.

New Belgium, known for craft brews such as Fat Tire, has made no secret of its desire to expand its distribution on the East Coast. Company spokesman Bryan Simpson said New Belgium is seeking a location that has good access to distribution routes and a community that appreciates beer.

“I can confirm you guys are on the list,” Simpson said while declining to name other locations the company is considering.

“To put (the new brewery) in the central Eastern U.S. makes a lot of sense, because that’s where we anticipate the growth,” Simpson said. “And certainly Asheville’s got a great beer culture.”

The city’s reputation as home to quality microbrewing operations has grown steadily over the years since Highland Brewing opened in the mid 1990s. Buncombe County is home to 10 microbreweries and over the past three years, voters in an unscientific online poll overseen by a well-known beer expert picked Asheville as Beer City USA.

The city’s breweries now employ about 280 people and had a combined payroll of $3.3 mln, according to the Asheville Brewers’ Alliance.

They also accounted for $2.1 mln in the local economy through the purchase of goods and services.

Davis, in answering a question about economic development at the Council of Independent Business Owners forum, said council members had been notified that New Belgium was considering Asheville.

“I did volunteer that,” said Davis, noting that rumors in the community have been running rampant.

The notification came in a closed-door session, Davis said, and council members haven’t seen any formal presentation.

Public bodies are allowed by state law to meet in secret to discuss potential economic development deals.

Members of Asheville’s brewing community have said they would welcome a company like New Belgium to town if the company came without the lure of a big tax break.

“I would be aghast if they got incentives, tax rebates or other incentives,” said Oscar Wong, the owner of Highland Brewing.

“The 10 breweries that are here started from scratch. That wouldn’t be right. And it would send a bad signal to other startups in Asheville who would feel like if they would bring something along and make it important in Asheville, someone else who is bigger could be enticed to come and blow them out,” Wong said.

Simpson, the New Belgium spokesman, said tax incentives were not a make-or-break part of the company’s decision-making process.

“Our priority is to have a model that’s sustainable,” Simpson said. “One of our core values and beliefs is to promote great beer and beer culture. We want to help celebrate that and grow that.”


23 September, 2011