Rogue Brewery Expanding

Seems to be a busy night for blogging, and for brewery renovations. Anyway, found this on the Newport News-Times: Rogue Ales breaks ground on brewery expansion.

The $1.5 million brewery expansion project will add 30,000 square feet to the brewery and is the "final culmination of a major mistake" that began in 1989, Joyce said. At that time, the brewery was housed in an 800-square-foot building on the Newport Bayfront and employed seven people. Rogue Ales now employs 180 and after the expansion, will operate its brewery in a 55,000-square-foot facility….

The southwest corner of the brewery facility, where outside tanks sit on concrete near the west-facing loading bay, will soon house a new bottling line. The big cooler will be expanded, along with storage space for empty glass; and Joyce projects that in time, a distillery will be added for the production of Rogue Rum and upcoming offerings of Rogue vodka and gin.

The renovation will also include the addition of a museum and gift shop on the east end of the building to greet visitors of the planned Newport event center, and the repositioning of the loading bay doors to the south side – just east of the big red (empty) fermentation tank that serves as the brewery’s gateway.

One of my favorite breweries getting bigger… that can only be a good thing.