USA, NC: Carolina Brewery to increase production capacity

Carolina Brewery is adding six new vats to its brewery in Pittsboro, 14 feet high and seven feet wide. Owner Robert Poitras says the new tanks will enable Carolina Brewery to more than double its beer production, Chapelboro.com reported on June, 12.

"Right now we actually do about 4,000 barrels of beer a year and each barrel is 31 gallons,” Poitras says. “This will give us the capacity to do more than 10,000 barrels per year so it’s definitely going to increase our brewery production capabilities. I would expect it will increase our footprint across the state and into other states.”

The new tanks hold 1,860 gallons of beer - or 14,880 pints, to use the more appropriate measurement.

“It’s an awful lot of beer,” Poitras says. “At this stage we’re certainly in the major production capabilities for brewing.”

Carolina Brewery has also been adding franchises - specifically in South Carolina, with a new location already in Charleston and plans to open in Rock Hill.

Poitras founded Carolina Brewery in February of 1995 just after completing his degree at UNC. Poitras says the brewery was one of the first in the state but has since become part of a growing statewide interest in craft beer.

“Carolina brewery is the fourth-oldest brewery in the state of North Carolina,” Poitras says. “North Carolina now hosts more than 60 breweries. It’s becoming a national prominence in the craft beer scene.”

22 June, 2012