Kinetic Brewing Moves Forward with City-Sanctioned Expansion

Major brewery news hits the Los Angeles County suburb of Lancaster, CA as Kinetic Brewing Co. moves forward with a city-sanctioned plan to expand their current brewpub operations into a large-scale production facility, tasting room, and outdoor events space. The City of Lancaster approved the acquisition of city-owned land at a council meeting on September 8, 2015 with the projected completion date of spring 2017.

Kinetic Brewing Co. owners Steve Kinsey and Myrle McLernon founded the brewpub in 2011 which has since become a local hub within downtown Lancaster’s The BLVD; a main stretch of the city’s local businesses and restaurants. The brewery’s roots are deep within the city as it was a Downtown Commercial Property Improvement grant that helped the company get into gear.

“It [Kinetic] is not a chain wing restaurant that you just go in and you go out [as they] flip tables over,” City Manager Mark V. Bozigian said. “This is a place that you go to truly enjoy… it’s a place you take your family, contacts, and friends from outside of the community — think Cheers but with much better beer and food.”

The expansion brings them roughly 14 acres total (with the initial 5 acres to be developed in Phase 1). This is an ambitious growth for Kinetic who currently produces 1,100 bbls annually.  The new Marks Design and Metalworks 30bbl brewhouse will quadruple their current production to 4,500 bbls in the first year –ramping production up to 15,000 bbls by its third year.

New space plans include an indoor & outdoor tasting room which will feature popular pub games and green spaces including an outdoor beer garden and venue that can house weddings, festivals, and other events for up to 500 people. There is also plan for a community garden, greenhouse, and hop farm on site.

The brewery is also proud to feature the latest in sustainable technologies; its power will come largely from solar energy generated onsite. The facility will also utilize such drought-conscious systems as recycled water irrigation to maintain the outdoor space and the onsite gardens, in addition to an EcoVolt system, which will convert waste-water into energy. An in-house canning line will also be installed and will launch their core lineup of beers including Potential Blonde, Rusted Gear, Propulsion, and Torque.

“We want to be as close to Net Zero as possible,” said McLernon. “As the brewery expands, we plan to bring even more sustainable features to the facility.”

While considered on the outskirts of the bustling L.A. county (or as fellow brewers in the north county region have lovingly called BFE), Kinetic Brewing has been active within the immediate L.A. beer community over the years (Kinsey serves on the board of the L.A County Brewers Guild). Outside of L.A, Kinetic has garnered accolades including medals at the Great American Beer Festival and winning Gold at the 2014 Bistro Double IPA Festival.

“Craft beer is captivating people across the nation, and being so close to Los Angeles, we are in the perfect position to take advantage of this built-in client base,” added Kinsey. “It’s not just a beverage — it’s a trend, a day trip, a culture… this new destination brewery will be the Antelope Valley’s first opportunity to tap into this huge and growing sector of the beer market.”