E-Malt.com News article: USA, WI: Oldest brewery in Wisconsin to start making beer again after fire

Minhas Craft Brewery in Monroe announced that it would start making new batches of beer the week of January 20 — two months after a fire caused more than $2 million in damage to the nation’s second-oldest brewery, Wisconsin State Journal reported on January 9.

The November 21 fire, which started in a second-floor stairwell and shot to 20 feet above the third-floor roof, was put out within 10 minutes by more than 100 firefighters from Monroe and 18 surrounding communities.

An official cause of the fire has not been determined, but it was believed to have started because of a malfunction in a portable pump being used by a subcontractor to spray foam insulation on the walls of the stairwell, located next to rooms housing the brewery’s fermentation tanks, brewery president Gary Olson said in an interview on January 9.

Olson declined to name the subcontractor, citing ongoing legal work involved with insurance.

No one was seriously injured in the fire, although one Monroe firefighter was treated and released for smoke inhalation and has since returned to work.

Founded in 1845, the brewery takes up 300,000 square feet in buildings spread over three city blocks. The fire was near some of the oldest parts of the brewery — formerly known as Joseph Huber Brewing Co. — with damage to the stairwell and an electrical room with recently upgraded service, including a newly installed main transformer, distribution panels and wiring into the brew house.

Many other parts of the brewing area, as well as a micro-distillery, and a warehouse and bottling operation were unaffected by the blaze.

“We have taken all measures to ensure that our brewery comes back from the fire better than ever,” Olson said, noting that about 100 tradespeople and other workers have been laboring around the clock to clean, repair, replace and inspect damaged areas.

Olson said all of the damage was covered by the brewery’s insurance policy and policies of the contractors doing work in the brewery, which has undergone $6 million in improvements since 2006, when it was purchased by Ravinder Minhas.

It makes beer brands including Boxer Lager, Mountain Crest and Lazy Mutt, plus several brands on contract for other brewers.

Olson said he expected the brewery to be back to normal supply levels a few weeks after brewing resumes the week of January 20, with shipping to start immediately after that beer is bottled and packaged. Olson said the shipping schedule will be about five weeks sooner than a previously announced shipping-resumption date during the week of March 2.

Next week, brewery employees will start packaging some beer from tanks unaffected by the fire, Olson said. All staff will work 12-hour shifts, he said, with the brewery itself running around the clock.

With 80 employees, Minhas Craft Brewery was on track last year to produce 320,000 barrels of beer, making it the 11th largest brewing facility in the country, according to the Brewers Association. Before November, the brewery last had a fire in 1875, and beer was used to douse that one, Olson said.




10 January, 2014