Big Chicago Brewing Company in Zion, IL has announced plans to launch a new brewing facility dedicated solely to contract and private label brewing purposes.
The 11,000 square foot brewery will commence operations in early August 2012 with an initial capacity to produce 10,000 barrels per year.
The brew-house, built in 1996 by JV Northwest of Canby, Oregon, will service Big Chicago’s already committed 700 barrels per month and expects to be fully committed by its launch date. A second, but larger brewing system and fermenters are already in the works to triple production levels before the end of the year. It expects to reach a brewing capacity of almost 60,000 barrels annually by the spring of 2013.
Big Chicago Brewing will offer multiple packaging options from kegging, bottling and canning, to even corking and caging, all in various sizes. A temperature controlled environment for barrel aging is also planned. Product storage and distribution services will be offered as well. The company will showcase all of its contract and private label beers to prospective clients in a tasting room adjacent to the plant. Plans for brewery tours and an apprenticeship program will be announced in the near future.
60,000 bbl’s by 2013. sounds ambitious!
I wonder how much longer this bubble type expansion can continue before the extra supply coming on-line surpasses demand growth? Any guesses?
Great question. Going purely by the numbers, craft beer volume is still only over 6% of entire beer market. The dream of 10% might not be in the too distant future. Of course, there will be casualties along the way, but I do not see any sign of slowing down.
Now if there were just endless supplies of Simcoe, Amarillo, Citra, Chinook and other hops…