Visiting a brand new brewery is a joyous expertise. There’s an thrilling sense of anticipation in attending to strive a brand new beer model or taste. As an architect, I’m notably drawn to breweries that present a entrance row seat to the brewing operation from the taproom. I discover it an immersive expertise when there’s a robust bodily or visible connection between the 2.
There are some wonderful examples you’ll be able to go to all through the nation. The next record isn’t exhaustive however illustrates a couple of breweries and brewpubs which have sought to have fun the brewing course of by way of their architectural design.
Blackstone Brewing Co. | Nashville
The taproom at Blackstone Brewing Co. is an extended, considerably intimate house with clear glazing alongside two sides which permits dramatic and tantalizingly open views into the extra vivid and lofty manufacturing flooring. It lends itself to a rewarding interplay and efficiently affords a discerning beer lover a full appreciation of the beer they’re sipping.
At Blackstone, they’ve at all times maintained that the brewery needs to be an interactive expertise for the shopper. “We started as a brewpub. Our brewery was up entrance behind giant plate glass. The serving tanks have been out within the bar; shut sufficient for purchasers to the touch them. We had an open brewhouse coverage. Individuals thought that we have been loopy placing all the things so accessible to clients however in 20 years we by no means had anybody trouble any of the tanks.”
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Goldwater Brewing Co. | Scottsdale, AZ
Dillon McClelland at Goldwater Brewing Co. spoke about going to taprooms that felt “like an workplace with a door on the again into the brewery,” and the way the place behind the door was the place he needed to go consuming. For Goldwater, they needed to create a blended expertise for patrons in order that they felt they have been within the brewery as quickly as they entered the taproom.
“Once we discovered the spot it was fairly tight,” Dillon says. “Our thought was to make use of half the house because the brewery with the opposite half for serving beers we make. Town made us put up the glass however no less than it wasn’t a brick wall.”
The areas nonetheless handle to stream, fairly actually, between one another with one of many thrilling and actually immersive components being that the beer within the taproom is poured straight into the glass from the brite tanks behind the bar.
4 Arms Brewing Co. | St. Louis
4 Arms Brewing Co. in St Louis has expanded over time to twenty,000 sq. ft and has been aware of sustaining an open view from its tasting room into the manufacturing space since its early days. The bottom flooring taproom, particularly, creates a coziness with its use of uncovered brick, wooden beams and ceramic textures whereas permitting the economic tanks to subtly draw curious consideration to them.
“We thought it was vital for our clients to really feel linked to the brewing course of,” says Director of Operations, Martin Toft. “We’ve had quite a lot of the identical clients coming in for the reason that day we opened they usually’ve been capable of watch what was as soon as a totally empty warehouse refill with tanks through the years. Consequently, I believe quite a lot of these clients actually really feel like they’ve been part of that progress.”
Bluejacket | Washington, D.C.
Your complete taproom and brewing facility at Bluejacket in Washington, D.C. is a hovering and dramatic house. It makes use of a wholesome measure of glass in its facade to flood the house with pure mild and illuminate the tanks and the taproom. In all places within the triple-height house there are reminders and components of the brewing course of proudly displayed and functioning. It creates an magnificence whereas remaining true to brewing’s industrial nature.
Beer Director at Bluejacket, Greg Engert, spoke about how they intentionally sought out a spot with “excessive ceilings exactly as a result of we needed a robust connection between the brewhouse and taproom. The thought was to raise the brewery and fermentation areas above the taproom in order that the visitor might really feel immersed within the brewing expertise whereas consuming our beers. We have been additionally impressed by the late Victorian Tower breweries of England, the place the phases of the brewing course of stream downward, by gravity, by way of a number of ranges. By mimicking this setup above our taproom, we arrived on the immersive expertise we have been after.”
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Almanac Beer Co. | Alameda, CA
Situated on Alameda Island only a block away from the shores of San Francisco Bay, Almanac Beer Co. needed their taproom to really feel linked to the brewery itself in order that company might really feel totally immersed within the Almanac ethos.
The repurposed warehouse constructing retains an industrial really feel. Its uncovered, clear span truss roof permits for an uncluttered sense of openness whereby you actually begin to really feel you’re on the brewhouse flooring. In impact, you turn out to be the end-point of the artisan course of whereas having fun with a beer within the beer corridor.
Workhorse Brewing Co. | King of Prussia, PA
Workhorse Brewing’s slogan is “Beer Made Proper.” It’s a daring assertion which they double down on with a model and ethos that’s all about creating “significant connections to their clients.” These ideas delightfully manifest themselves within the structure for his or her vivid and ethereal taproom which seems like a real extension of the brewing course of because the u-shaped bar extends proudly from the brewhouse behind.
“We didn’t need our slogan to only be a advertising gimmick,” says co-founder Dan Hershberg. “We didn’t need to open our doorways and never showcase our work on the bottom, in addition to exhibiting our dedication to the model and the standard. Our purpose was to be sure that the house was commensurate with that product. We had to ensure the expertise would resonate with folks and that it was a spot they might really feel snug in.”
Hall Brewery & Provisions | Chicago
The place many venues on this record let the taproom turn out to be a part of the manufacturing facility, Hall Brewery & Provisions in Chicago feels extra like the opposite method round. It seems to be and seems like a comfy bar or restaurant initially however reveals the key of its operation fairly rapidly on entry with the brewing tools celebrated as a shining distinction, but nonetheless an integral a part of the in any other case rustic decor.
Greg Shuff is brainchild and proprietor behind Hall and likewise Dryhop Brewing, each of that are within the Lakeview space of Chicago. He has been a homebrewer since his faculty years, and his imaginative and prescient for each breweries was for them to really feel like “hanging out in a brewery; feeling linked to the craft brewing world; and most significantly, feeling a private connection to a neighborhood of craftsmen.”
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pFriem Household Brewers | Hood River, OR
Located on the confluence of the Columbia, White Salmon and Hood Rivers in Oregon, pFriem Household Brewers (pronounced “freem”) take a lot of their affect from the beers of Belgium and their location within the Pacific Northwest.
For the structure of their brewery, they felt it was vital that beer lovers have been afforded the chance to “see, really feel, and scent the craftsmanship that goes into pFriem beer.” They needed to determine a robust connection between the shopper and the brewing course of.
Founder Josh fPriem spoke in regards to the effort that went into making that imaginative and prescient occur: “I’d say the largest change in doing it the way in which we’ve is ensuring that security to the visitor is our first precedence. Within the customer-facing a part of the brewery, we do all of the work in that space earlier than company arrive to the brewery. We’ve got additionally needed to put a substantial amount of work into our HVAC system. A brewing surroundings and a eating expertise are very completely different in the case of heating and cooling. This was no easy job to get this the place we needed it to be.”
Banded Brewing Co. | Kennebunkport, ME
Banded Brewing Co. options minimal separation between the brewhouse and taproom. Proprietor and Brewmaster Ian McConnell spoke about how he “personally finds industrial issues stunning, particularly that quite a lot of the wonder is of their operate.” Accordingly, he has at all times discovered brewing tools fascinating and believed others would too.
The brewery’s identify comes from the sense of neighborhood it’s seeking to evoke by “banding collectively.” This was an vital concept that Ian needed to foster by sharing the method by way of the design of the brewery and taproom in order that the product may very well be loved communally.
“It’s about opening our house, our tools, and our experiences to others,” he says.
Trillium Brewing Firm | Boston and Canton, MA
The brewing facility units the backdrop for the bar in Trillium Brewing Firm in Boston and could be very a lot the focus for the taproom expertise. Advertising Director Jonathan Tompkins spoke about how the crew at Trillium is of course curious. They anticipated others would really feel the identical method and would recognize the publicity to their inventive methodology. “If we are able to present a glimpse into the method it helps us share our story and present the center and soul of Trillium,” he says.
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“It’s fairly cool to look at beer being packaged that you simply’re consuming recent within the taproom! Followers who go to our taprooms usually remark that having the ability to see and scent the day’s brew makes for a memorable expertise. We get quite a lot of nice suggestions from company that love the sights and smells of an energetic brewery, which creates a memorable full sensory expertise.”
Connecting with Craft Brewing By Structure
Visiting a brewery is, in impact, a go to to a manufacturing facility. There’s an innate satisfaction in seeing how issues work, how a beer is crafted, and in having fun with a pattern on the finish of the manufacturing line. Having the ability to simply observe that operation from the taproom gives a particular alternative to have fun and interact with the craft in a uniquely satisfying method.
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