USA, MN: Summit Brewing Co. to expand in St. Paul

Summit Brewing Co. unveiled a $6 mln expansion to its St. Paul brewery, citing the "unprecedented growth" in demand for its beers, TwinCities.com reported on February, 27.

Construction is likely to begin in 2014, but the brewery says it plans to increase new hires before that, adding 20 percent by the end of the year "in nearly every department - from brewing to sales, to quality assurance, to packaging".

The expansion will increase Summit's fermentation, capacity and storage.

Summit has been in business for 25 years, and last year topped the 100,000-barrel milestone for the first time.

The brewery has been expanding its operations in the past few months, doubling the size of its R&D operations. It added a new "pilot brewery system" last fall that allows Summit's brewers to more easily test and experiment on small batches.

It also invested in a cask washer and additional barrel-making capacity, the brewery said.

02 March, 2012