Worcester, MA. — Wormtown Brewery announced it has completed construction of a new brewing facility (72 Shrewsbury St.) in Worcester, Mass.
The new location was necessary for the award-winning brewery as it experiences significant growth.
“We have been in the construction phase for just over 12 months now,” said Founder Tom Oliveri. “When you renovate buildings on the National Historic Register it’s never easy but this facility was worth the wait.”
The new brewhouse is a 30-barrel, 2-vessel configuration that is three times larger than its original system.
“I am really excited to commission this brewhouse,”said co-founder and Brewmaster Ben Roesch. “Not only is this a more efficient system but it is designed to grow with us. We can easily add dedicated Mash and Whirlpool vessels that will allow us to expand in this location.”
In order to meet consumer needs, the facility will open with a total capacity of 6,000 barrels, double what the brewery sold in 2014.
“Our new location is over 10 times larger than our original home,” said Roesch. “With the addition of some tanks we feel comfortable that we can brew and sell close to 30,000 barrels of beer from here.”
The team at Wormtown is already planning to expand capacity at its new facility.
“We hosted a series of planning meetings with all our distribution partners and it became clear that we need more than double our current capacity,” said partner David Fields.
To achieve the growth, Wormtown has purchased two 90-barrel fermentation tanks, scheduled to be delivered in early February. According to Roesch, the new tanks will bring capacity to 10,500 barrels and will allow the company to start thinking about expanding its geographic territory.
“But not before we meet the demands of our current markets,” added Fields.
In addition to the larger brewhouse and additional fermentation tanks, Wormtown’s new facility will include a few other exciting items.
“First, we are making a big commitment to package beer allowing us to become more visible in retail package stores” said Oliveri.
That investment is in the form of a GAI bottling system that will put the brewer’s beer into 6 pack bottles for the first time.
“We felt that is a nice compliment to our very popular 16oz cans,” he said.
The 10,000-plus sq. ft. building will also be home to the Wormtown Tap Room. The Tap Room will serve various offerings from the brewery where consumers can experience the brewing process while enjoying a pint or purchasing some of Wormtown’s award winning beers to take home in both proprietary growler fills or package formats. The Tap Room is tentatively scheduled to open for the brewery’s 5th Anniversary Celebration, on St. Patrick’s Day.