E-Malt.com News article: USA, WI: Wisconsin Brewing Co. to open in Verona by June 2013

Carl Nolen, the former president of Capital Brewery, is proposing to build a new brewery in Verona that could become the largest craft brewery in the state, Wisconsin State Journal reported on September, 14.

Verona officials are welcoming a proposal to build what could become one of the state's largest craft breweries in the city's technology park, likely aided by an undetermined amount of taxpayer assistance.

"I think it would be a good addition for Verona," city administrator Bill Burns said. "Certainly we are excited about the idea of a new business locating in Verona and adding jobs and tax base."

The project is being pitched by Carl Nolen, who was president of Capital Brewery in Middleton from 2004 to July 2011 — a period of significant growth. But the company asked Nolen to leave, and last October he led a bid to buy the brewery that was rejected by the board.

His new proposal, known as Wisconsin Brewing Co., involves first building a 23,500-square-foot brewery that would be operating by June in the Verona Technology Park.

A second phase, complete by 2016, would boost brewery production and add warehouse space and a bottling plant for a total final footprint of 100,000 to 125,000 square feet.

Nolen told the city he has set a target brewing capacity of 150,000 barrels a year. That amount of beer would far exceed annual production at Capital Brewery, which produced about 26,000 barrels in 2011. It also would top the current 120,000-barrel output of New Glarus Brewing, the biggest craft brewer in the state and 19th-biggest in the country.

"I'm not sure what the timing would be to reach that (150,000-barrel) capacity," Burns said of the Wisconsin Brewing proposal.

The city's Plan Commission and the City Council will hear about the financial details when Nolen makes his final submission, expected on Oct. 1. Both bodies reviewed an initial concept for the project earlier this month, Burns said.

Approval would be needed by around the end of October to meet Nolen's goal of starting construction in November and opening the brewery's first phase in June.

"I would say it's an aggressive timeline, but it's a doable timeline," Burns said. "It's not a fast track, but we would need to keep moving on that schedule. The council meets twice a month, so we have plenty of time to do it."


19 September, 2012