Backwoods Brewing To Open Production Brewery In Stevenson, Washington
Backwoods Brewing Company has announced its expansion to neighboring Stevenson, Washington with the build out of a new production brewery. The brewery that was established in 2012 will continue with its Brew Pub in Carson, Washington but will add a new production facility located in the Port of Skamania on the Stevenson waterfront at 85 SW Cascade Avenue.
The move to the new production facility that will not be open to the public is scheduled to take place in January 2016 to help alleviate the brewery’s limited space in its current Carson facility. Its current location is approximately 2000 sq ft., whereas the new space they’ll be moving into is four times the size at 8000 sq ft. The new building will also offer higher ceilings (approximately 24 ft), a custom drainage system, and custom electrical. Some of the immediate benefits are the ability to house its own canning line, add taller fermentors, store product more easily and have dedicated office space.
With the growth that Backwoods has been experiencing the original location has been outgrown. “We’ve experienced steady growth, especially in the last year, and we need a space that will accommodate that growth, with room for more expansion in the future,” said Kevin Waters, Brewmaster at Backwoods from its press release. “Having our own canning line in house, as well as bigger (80 bbl) fermentors, will help us with our turn-around time on beer and give us more freedom to work with the market’s growing demand.”
Tom Waters, brother of Kevin, and Head Brewer at Backwoods, added “This new facility is going to be prepped for a commercial brewery before we actually move in it, which is awesome. Our current building used to be a grocery store, so every time we added equipment, we had to knock out walls, dig out the floor, re-wire and re-pipe everything. It gets real old real quick! We won’t have that issue with the new space in Stevenson.”
When Backwoods Brewing began in 2012 the brewery brewed on a 7 Barrel system and now are brewing on a 20 Barrel system. Last year the brewery put out approximately 2200 barrels and is projected to put out 5000-6000 barrels in 2015.
About The Author
DJ
D.J. is a Portland, Oregon based writer that spent his formative years in the Midwest. With over 25 years under his belt of drinking beer at festivals across America and the world, he has developed a strong appreciation and understanding of craft beer and the industry that surrounds it. He can be found in any of the great breweries or beer bars that make Portland the best beer city in the world. His writing can also be found in the archives of Northwest Brewing News and can be followed on Twitter and Instagram at @hopapalooza.