USA, VA: Devils Backbone Brewing Company begins expansion

Work began this month on a $3.25 mln expansion to the Devils Backbone Brewing Company’s two facilities in Roseland and Lexington, newsadvance.com reported on May, 20.

According to founder Steve Crandall, the additions to the 100-acre Roseland location are fewer and smaller and should amount to about $250,000 of the total cost.

At the Nelson County brewpub, the company is adding 20 new hectoliter fermenters and a bright tank, adding to the kitchen’s dry storage space, expanding the kegging operational space and creating a larger walkin cooler, Crandall said.

He said business at the Roseland location is growing substantially.

“We have not been able to keep up with the demand, and this will help us a little bit,” he said.

Crandall said the restaurant brewpub in Roseland makes a lot of unique beer, which is a big part of the business.

He said they experiment with new beer styles on a weekly basis, and “this helps us sort of expand that capability.”

As for the expansion at the outpost production brewery in Lexington, Crandall said the company is increasing its indoor workspace from 15,000 square feet to 28,000 square feet, which will give the company room to expand the packaging hall, add more office space and triple the cooler space.

It also will be adding a new filter and several tanks that will increase the production capacity of the brewery from 21,000 barrels, or 672,000 gallons, to 40,000 barrels, or about 1.3 million gallons.

The reason for expansion to this location also is to produce more beer, as the company has not been able to keep up with demand, Crandall said.

The reason for expansion to this location also is to produce more beer, as the company has not been able to keep up with demand, Crandall said. The company has experienced an increase in distributors in Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Maryland.

He said completion of the expansion to the Nelson County location is expected for late summer or early fall, but the larger expansion at the Lexington location will not be completed until the end of the year.

21 May, 2013