Brooklyn Brewing Company has received a $800,000 grant from the state of New York that will kick-off their $6.5 million expansion. They money will go towards converting 13,500 square feet of vacant distribution space into a fermentation facility, and upping their on-site production from 8,000 to 50,000 barrels a year. Brooklyn Brewery Founder Steve Hindy told the New York Post that “support like this is vital to growing manufacturing jobs in New York City. These funds will enable us to complete a six-fold capacity expansion, adding 15 full-time jobs with benefits, and further expanding the Brewery’s green initiatives.”
Hindy said the first phase of the expansion involves purchasing a new brew house from Germany, along with 12 new fomenters and a new grain handling system.
The state funding will enable the brewery to do a new grain handling system in a way to make it very easy for a company that produces animal feed to pick up the spent grain in bulk, he said.
“We’re also doing solar panels on the roof to preheat our water for brewing,” said Hindy. “Brewing lends itself to a lot of green technologies, but it’s expensive to get going.”
The Brooklyn Beer brand continues to grow, and is currently distributed in 24 states and the District of Columbia. Additionally, 10 percent of the business is in exporting with the largest amount being shipped to Sweden, said Hindy.