USA, WA: Scuttlebutt Brewing is expanding

Scuttlebutt Brewing is expanding its production facility near downtown Everett.

A longtime tennant’s recent departure opened the opportunity for the 20-year-old brewery to take over an adjacent portion of the building at 3310 Cedar St. that its production facility currently occupies. The brewery will gain 1,600-square-feet in space to bring their total to 7,100-square-feet, HeraldNet reported on March 23.

“We’ve always been very disciplined with our growth,” said Scuttlebutt head brewer Matt Stromberg. “This is a great opportunity for us to continue that growth.”

Stromberg said is hoping to increase the number of 60 barrel fermenters from five to 15. Most of all, though, Stromberg sees the elimination of waste as the biggest improvement from the added space.

That improved efficiency could see Scuttlebutt go from brewing 7,600 barrels per year, like they did in 2014, to 24,000 barrels per year.

Scuttlebutt owner Phil Bannan Sr. said the increase in production helps Scuttlebutt get more beers to local, national and international consumers.

“We can increase our penetration in the local markets while also expanding the footprint of our other markets,” Bannan said.

Scuttlebutt is distributed in much of Washington and is in Total Wine and More stores in 18 states, including California and Florida. Internationally, Bannan said Scuttlebutt is in Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom and more.

Scuttlebutt officially takes over the new space in April. Stromberg guessed that the expansion wouldn’t be finished until August.

27 March, 2015