USA, NC: Hi-Wire Brewing to expand

In September, Hi-Wire announced it had grown 135 percent since opening its doors just over a year before. In order to keep pace, the company was planning to enter a contract brewing agreement with Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co. in Mississippi, mountain.com reported on December, 12.

The contract brewing arrangement meant that Hi-Wire would pay Lazy Magnolia and work with that company to brew and bottle some of Hi-Wire’s flagship beers. Owners Adam Charnack and Chris Frosaker both stressed that contract brewing was part of a larger plan, and that it’s frequently a strategy used by breweries as they grow.

Hi-Wire are keeping their primary location and adding a second production facility “right in the middle of town … though we’re not ready to let that cat out of the bag yet,” says Charnack. The new facility will reportedly give them about 20,000 square feet of additional space.

In conjunction with the Buncombe County Commission, Asheville City Council and the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County, Hi-Wire announced it is investing $1.62 mln in a new brewing facility and equipment and will add approximately 15 jobs.

This will allow the brewery to increase capacity from 4,000 to 17,000 barrels per year, with the potential to eventually produce up to 50,000 barrels per year. The new facility will include a new bottling line as well as a tasting room.

Hi-Wire says the Hilliard Ave tasting room will increase its focus on special releases, including barrel-aged beer.

“We are grateful to the city of Asheville and Buncombe County for their support. And we wouldn’t be where we are today without all of our loyal fans in Asheville and across North Carolina. We’re excited about the opportunity to produce a lot more of our popular Hi-Wire lager and flagship beers,” says Charnack.

17 December, 2014