E-Malt.com News article: USA, WA: North Jetty Brewing to triple its capacity two years ahead of schedule

North Jetty Brewing will soon christen its new 10-barrel brewing system, tripling its capacity at least two years ahead of schedule, Chinook Observer reported on April 7th.

Erik and Michelle Svendsen bought the brewery on December 2013. It had a 1˝-barrel system then. A barrel is 31 gallons. The Svendsens would brew two batches back to back to make about six kegs of beer. The new capacity is far more efficient.

“So a single batch will give us about 18 to 20 kegs,” Erik said. “It’s less work for a lot more product.”

North Jetty produced about 165 barrels of beer in 2014; this year the brewery expects to hit 750 barrels with the new system coming online in the second quarter. It will give the Svendsens the capacity of about 1,000 barrels in a full year.

Demand for North Jetty beer forced the couple to move their timetable up a few years. Their product is distributed by Kendall’s Pioneer Distributing in Southwest Washington as far north as Olympia. Fort George distributes North Jetty in Clatsop and Tillamook counties. It’s also sold on the Long Beach Peninsula.

“We weren’t expecting to expand this fast; we had more like a two- to three-year plan, but the demand was there and we were sort of beating ourselves up with the little system,” Erik said.

It meant changes inside the Seaview facility (4200 Pacific Way S.). When the taproom opened on April 10, 2014, the company employed one part-time worker. Now the taproom has four part-timers, and the Svendsens may hire another for the brewery operation.

Their first summer in the tourism-heavy area kept the entire operation hopping.

“Last summer we sold more than half of all the beer we produced in 2014,” Erik said.

While tourism helped drive growth, local demand has helped sustain North Jetty through the lean off-season. The taproom’s regulars have provided moral and logistical support, the Svendsens said. Some offered to help move equipment, and more importantly, they’ve kept coming back for more beer.

“They got us through the winter,” Michelle said. “We expected to see a huge drop in beer sales, but the taproom and brewery paid for themselves. It was fantastic. The community’s been really supportive.”

Local breweries have also been supportive. North Coast brewers have helped out where they can, Kevin said. They offered advice on equipment, and helped out with supplies if they have them available.

“The fact that we would ostensibly be viewed as a competitor to Fort George and Fort George actually distributes our beer in Oregon is a big example of how the craft industry is, and I can’t speak to the big breweries.”

The Svendsens see potential for more growth. They may add even more fermenters, the tanks that hold the beer-to-be while the yeast does its magic. Space in the former dairy building is the main limitation to further growth.

For now, the Svendsens are just anxious to get the new system fired up. They’ve been coasting through the inventory from when they stopped brewing in February. They have a lot of events on the horizon in addition to supplying the taproom and customers in the region.


10 April, 2015