Elevation Beer Co. Expands Brewhouse Capacity by 23%
(Poncha Springs, CO) – Elevation Beer Company announced today the purchase of two 60bbl tanks and the addition of a grain silo for its second expansion in just 18 months of operation.
“The new tanks will add another 23% capacity to the brewery, bringing us up to 315 barrels of fermentation capacity and allowing us to brew upwards of 4000 barrels in 2014.” Says Head Brewer and Co-founder Christian Koch, “The addition of a grain silo will also take off almost 800 pounds of lifting per batch for our brewers, giving them a much needed break.”
Elevation is projecting to produce 2600 barrels in its first full year of operation and second year as a brewery, increasing production 278% over last year.
“We definitely could have sold more if we had the beer,” Koch says, “we have been running at full capacity ever since we completed our first expansion, and I am guessing we will add between 2-4 more 60bbl tanks in 2014.”
The additional tanks will allow for expanded draft distribution and 16.9oz four packs of Elevation’s 8 Second Kölsch to be released, a goal the brewery has had since last March.
“With a 5 week lagering period our Kölsch is very labor intensive and the two new tanks will be used almost exclusively for our 8 Second Kölsch,” Koch says, “it would most likely be our top seller if we could simply brew enough of it. The added capacity will also free up more tank space for our Black and Double Black Series of specialty and barrel-aged beers. Perhaps even allowing us to start distributing out of state,” Koch hints.
Since opening in May of 2012 Elevation has garnered five medals of excellence from international and national beer competitions, has five of its beers rated at over 90+ on ratebeer.com, and was the largest brewery to open in Colorado in 2012 in terms of production.
“With the expansion we are also looking to hire our third production brewer.” Says Koch, “It has been a crazy 18 months for us so far, and we are so excited to be able to make the type of beers we love and share them with other beer geeks like us.”
About Elevation
Elevation Beer Co. is an artisan microbrewery located in Poncha Springs, Colorado, just minutes from Salida, Monarch Ski Area, Arkansas River Headwaters, and over seven 14,000-foot peaks. Elevation specializes in brewing large adventurous beers for the craft beer fanatic, while trying to elevate the perception of what beer can be.
