Mast Landing to Open 3rd Maine Tasting Room by End of Year
Westbrook, Maine-based Mast Landing Brewing Co. will open a new tasting room in South Portland by the end of the year, the company announced last week.
The taproom is taking over the facility at 185 Cottage Rd. which previously housed Rwanda Bean Coffee Roasters. The transition of businesses is expected to be “fairly seamless,” Mast Landing wrote in a blog post.
The South Portland location will be Mast Landing’s third tasting room, joining locations in Freeport and Westbrook, Maine. “Due to the limitations of the facility,” beer served at the tasting room will be produced at the brewery’s 20,000 sq. ft. production facility in Westbrook, which opened at the end of 2019.
“As Mast Landing continues to grow, our goal has always been to do so in a smart and patient way,” Mast Landing president and CEO Ian Dorsey said in a press release. “The SoPo tasting room will follow through on that vision by giving us a chance to get closer to folks who have long supported us. The space is great, and is well suited for us to jump in and make it our own – the vibrant neighborhood will allow us to connect with the community, and hopefully grow with it.”
Mast Landing produced an estimated 10,500 barrels of beer in 2021, a +17% increase year-over-year (YoY) according to the Brewers Association’s (BA’s) May/June issue of the New Brewer. The brewery has recorded at least double-digit growth every year since its founding in 2015 – all of which was “organic growth and not forced growth,” co-founder and VP of brand strategy Parker Olen told Brewbound in 2021.
“You see that a lot with not just breweries, but other companies, where you are ahead of the demand or miscalculate the demand,” Olen said. “In some areas, we are catching up, and I’d rather be catching up than having too much.”
Warped Wing Brewing to Open 4th Ohio Location
Warped Wing Brewing Company will open a new brewery and taproom in its home state of Ohio, expected to open by spring 2023.
Warped Wing’s fourth location will be located in Huber Heights, a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, where the brewery is headquartered. The 12,500 sq. ft. facility will include an outdoor biergarten and private event space, as well as a warehouse and production space, with a small pilot brewing system for taproom-exclusive offerings, according to a release. Construction on the facility will begin this fall.
“Huber Heights has a great community of craft beer fans,” Nick Bowman, Warped Wing co-founder and VP of sales and marketing, said in the release. “During the pandemic we delivered more beer via our home delivery program to Huber Heights than any other community. We are forever grateful for their support during that difficult time and so opening this new brewery at The Heights means so much to our team.”
Warped Wing produced an estimated 7,000 barrels in 2021, a +12% increase year-over-year (YoY) after a -22% decline to 6,250 barrels in 2020, according to the BA.
The new location “is not really a capacity play,” but will have a 10-15 barrel pilot system for exclusive taproom offerings, served at all four taprooms, Warped Wing co-founder Nick Bowman told Brewbound via email.
Upland to Open 10th Indiana Location
Bloomington, Indiana-based Upland Brewing Company will open a new tap house in Indianapolis this November.
Upland operates three breweries and six brewpubs throughout Indiana. Construction on the 10th facility is already underway.
“With locations in Carmel and Broad Ripple, we have had success on the northside of the city for some time, but our new 82nd Street location allows us to serve a new audience,” Upland VP of Hospitality Padraig Cullen said in a press release. “This is a great opportunity to not only connect with the locals around 82nd, but also be a destination for guests visiting the nearby shopping and entertainment. The large outdoor patio overlooking green spaces is the perfect location to share some great Upland beers and food with fellow Hoosiers.”
Upland produced 13,373 barrels of beer in 2021, a +2% increase YoY after a -17% decline to 13,133 barrels in 2020. In August, the company named strategic consultant Eddie DeSalle president. Former Upland president and CEO David Bower left Upland in May.
Eastern Market Brewing to Open Self-Service Taproom in Royal Oak, Michigan
Detroit-based Eastern Market Brewing Company will open Michigan’s “first fully self-service taproom” in Royal Oak this October.
The Lincoln Tap will feature a 30-tap iPourIt self-pour draft system, serving as an “interactive showroom for craft beers” from Eastern Market and its experimental arm Ferndale Project, according to a press release. The system will also pour wine and cold brew coffee.
The announcement comes two months after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed S.B. 656, allowing bars and restaurants in the state to have self-dispensing beer, wine and mixed spirit taps. The bill requires patrons to use a prepaid key card, attached to them as a necklace, bracelet, or “other means of securing the key card to the customer.” Eastern Market will use a radio-frequency identification (RFID) wristband system that will “activate the system” and track ounces poured.
“This has been in the works for some time and we’re excited to be able to partner with business owners and entrepreneurs to bring the self-pour experience to Michigan,” iPourIt VP of sales Darren Nicholson said in the release.
The taproom will be on the same property as Eastern Market’s Royal Oak production facility – a 17,000 sq. ft. facility on East Lincoln Avenue, which formerly housed Roak Brewing Co. Eartern Market signed a five-year lease for the property in 2021, also acquiring all of Roak’s brewing equipment at the location, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Wild Leap’s Atlanta Taproom to Open in December
Georgia’s Wild Leap Craft Beverages will open a new taproom this December as part of Centennial Yards, a 50-acre, $5 billion development in downtown Atlanta.
Wild Leap will reside in a 15,340 sq. ft. multi-level brewery and taproom. The location will be Wild Leap’s second taproom, joining its flagship location in LaGrange, Georgia.
“We see this being the perfect destination for Atlanta natives, sport fans and travelers alike,” Wild Leap co-founder and CEO Anthony Rodriguez, said in the release. “We look forward to creating an eclectic environment that will offer something for everyone to enjoy whether it comes from our full bar or food offerings.”
Wild Leap produced 15,569 barrels of beer in 2021, a +14% increase YoY after a +52% increase in 2020 to 13,700 barrels in 2020, according to the BA. The company also produces craft vodka and ready-to-drink canned cocktails (RTDs), which are not included in BA estimates.
BrewDog to Open 3 Denver Taprooms Via Franchisee Partnership
Scottish craft beer maker BrewDog will partner with a franchise owner to open three new locations in the Denver area starting next year.
For its first franchise partnership in the U.S., BrewDog has selected HopDragon Holdings, which is owned by Juan Carlos Mondragon, who owns several McDonald’s locations in Mexico. The fast food giant has recognized Mondragon as among its top 1% of franchisees globally, according to Columbus Business First.
Mondragon has identified Denver’s River North (RiNo) neighborhood as the location for his first BrewDog-branded bar, which is expected to open in mid-2023.
“Juan Carlos, his family and their city align perfectly with our brand’s three foundational pillars: people, planet and beer, and we are looking forward to their contributions to these initiatives as they welcome each new location in Denver over the coming years,” BrewDog USA CEO Jason Block said in a news release provided to Columbus Business First.
BrewDog’s U.S. operations are headquartered in Canal Winchester, Ohio. The brewery operates six taprooms in Ohio (three in Columbus, one in Cleveland, one in New Albany, and one in Cincinnati), as well as one in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
BrewDog shuttered its Indianapolis, Indiana-based taproom in April, slightly more than a year after the company terminated three women and one non-binary person from its staff. All four belonged to the LGBTQ community and were told they were being dismissed because the company “wanted a change in culture.” After an internal investigation, BrewDog USA also terminated the manager who approved the firing.
New BrewDog taprooms in Las Vegas and Atlanta are under construction.