Firestone Walker News – Contract Brewing, BarrelWorks Bottles and Canning Line??!!

We caught up with our friends at Firestone Walker to find out what they have in store for the near future.  Some good old Facebook chatter had us interested about their contract brewing status. As it turns out, our friends at BeerGuyLA dropped some bombs about Firestone’s contract brewing, and that’s how the chatter begun.  Read on for some good Firestone Walker news. Cheers!

Contract Brewing – (For those who don’t know, Firestone Walker has made private label beer for restaurants as well as Trader Joe’s grocery stores to name a few. Before reading BeerGuy LA’s post, we got wind of this and asked what’s the deal?)

TFP: What’s up with the status of your contract brewing, will it in fact be discontinued?

FW: “Yes, we are phasing it out.”

TFP: So what about the Mission Street label at Trader Joe’s?

FW: “We are still on the hook for them for a while, so I guess you could stay that product will be sticking around”

TFP: Speaking of your contract brews, we saw that “Tap Room IPA” won a gold medal at the GABF. We assumed this was either Nectar Ales IPA or Mission Street IPA. Is that the case?

FW: “Neither, newer recipe we were playing with.”

TFP: And speaking of Nectar Ales, has that brand been completely divested and is Firestone done contract brewing those beers?

FW: “No we still have a contract at this point.”

BarrelWorks/New Products/Expansion

TFP: What is the time table for any bottle works products being bottled?

FW: “Sometime next year and they will only be available at out locations.  .375ml w/cork finish”

TFP:  “Any further construction/expansion planned for the Paso Robles production facility or Barrel Works facility?” –

FW:  “Canning hall for next year/finish the keg hall and that is the current list.”

TFP: WAIT WHAT, DID YOU SAY CANNING HALL?? More details please?

FW:  “We’ll be kicking out details later this year…we are still a bit out to share more details at this point.”

TFP:  Any plans for treated base beers for draft only accounts. For example, a “Double Dry Hopped” Union Jack or Pale 31 or “Oaked” DBA? –

FW: “No plans, but we always seem to be experimenting…so not ruling it out.”