Since opening Castle Island Brewing on the outskirts of Boston in December 2015, founder Adam Romanow believes he’s missed out on as much as $50,000 per month in direct-to-consumer sales as a result of not having a taproom.
That will change in June, when the Norwood, Massachusetts-based craft brewery opens a 1,500 sq. ft. taproom with capacity for 100 drinkers and 16 rotating draft lines.
“In some ways, not having a taproom allowed us to focus on the wholesale operation and establish depth in the Massachusetts market,” Romanow told Brewbound. “But a taproom is becoming absolutely critical to continued growth and success in today’s beer market, so it’s high time that we build out our own.”
Castle Island, which has raised a total of $2.25 million (including bank debt) since it first began soliciting investment in February 2015, recently secured $600,000 from existing investors for expansion.
About half of the money raised was earmarked for the taproom itself, Romanow said, which also includes a 750 sq. ft. retail shop. The other $300,000 was used to finance the purchase of three 60-barrel fermentation tanks, which were installed earlier this month, and to hire two salespeople as well as a cellerman.
Castle Island is also planning to secure debt financing for the installation of a 5-barrel pilot brewery and five, 5-barrel fermentation tanks that will enable the company to create new beer styles and keep a diverse lineup of small-batch offerings on tap in the taproom.
“We want to start experimenting with other yeast strains and possibly get into sours,” he said. “But I definitely expect to play around a bit more with IPAs and get into some areas we haven’t played in before.”
The Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) recently approved the company’s request for a “Farmer Series Pouring Permit,” Romanow said.
“We’ve been operating since day one without a full-pour license and have been very fortunate to receive positive feedback through both our wholesale and limited retail operations,” he said. “But a taproom has always been something we’ve wanted to incorporate, and we’re very excited that we can finally do that.”
Construction on the new taproom is scheduled to begin on April 3, and the company’s existing tasting room will remain closed to the public until the build out is complete. Castle Island will continue to offer to-go beer sales on a limited basis, but tastings and brewery tours have been cancelled until June, Romanow said.
Once the taproom is open, Castle Island will sell an array of its own beers, as well as non-alcoholic offerings, on draft, and offer packaged beer, glass growlers and aluminum crowlers to go. A variety of food trucks will also make regular appearances at the brewery.
The taproom itself will give drinkers the “feeling of drinking beer inside the brewery where it was made,” Romanow said.
“We want them to feel immersed in the environment,” he added. “It will be a very unique experience for consumers.”