US, WI: City Brewing Co. completes purchase of former Coors brewery in Memphis

City Brewing Co. of La Crosse completed on May, 2 its $30 million purchase of the former Coors brewery in Memphis, where it plans to begin making beverages in July, La Crosse Tribune reports.

The company intends to invest another $11 million to update the plant and restart production.

“There will be some limited production in July,” said Randy Hull, City Brewing vice president of business development. “We will hopefully build from there,” he said in a telephone interview from the Memphis plant, which most recently operated as Hardy Bottling with only non-alcoholic beverages. The facility was built in 1971.

“Our plan is to make beer, flavored malt beverages, teas and energy drinks” at the Memphis plant, as the company does in La Crosse, Hull said. City Brewing hopes to have 400 to 500 employees at the Memphis plant in three to five years, he said.

City Brewing was looking for a third facility because its La Crosse and Latrobe, Pa., locations are approaching capacity, Hull said. “And this (Memphis) facility has some capabilities that neither Latrobe or La Crosse has,” he said. It also is closer to markets in the West and Southwest, Hull said.

04 May, 2011