New Belgium Brewing Company has embarked on a $20 million expansion that will more than double its bottling capacity.
On June 7 the Fort Collins brewery broke ground on a 55,000-square-foot building that will house a new KHS bottling line with a capacity of 700 bottles per minute, according to New Belgium spokesman Bryan Simpson. The current bottling line has a capacity of 300 bottles per minute.
According to Simpson, New Belgium has expanded its distribution to new markets such as Chicago and San Diego and needs to increase its bottling capacity. He said the new building and bottling line should be ready by May 2007.
In following with the brewery’s commitment to the environment, which includes being the nation’s first 100% wind-powered brewery and employing a Sustainability Coordinator, the brewery will seek a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, according to Simpson. A LEED rating is a national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.
In order to meet the rating, Simpson said the brewery will use a great deal of evaporative cooling rather than chemical cooling and also rely on sunlight over artificial light.
The expansion won’t result in any changes to the existing beers, Simpson said. Although, there may be some interesting flavors coming out in the future.
“We hope to dedicate some space to experimentation with more esoteric (and wacky) yeast strains,� he said.
While they thought about canning, New Belgium decided to stick with their trademark bottles.
newbelgium.com