Brewery Moves – Brewing Neighborhood Endangered, pFriem Family Brewers And Saugatuck Brewing Expand

In spite of the more than 7000 currently online in the US, we continue to receive new brewery announcements almost daily. And here’s just some of what’s happening around the country as well as with our brewing friends to the north…

Canadian Craft Brewing Neighborhood Endangered

An East Vancouver brewing neighborhood is endangered, the victim of its own success, as rising property taxes and real estate prices threaten to drive away the very businesses that turned a forgotten light industrial zone into a craft beer destination.

When Storm Brewing opened its doors in the discarded neighborhood in 1994, it was run-down industrial area, according to the Vancouver Courier, full of vacant buildings, empty storefronts, needles and condoms.

And now Vancouver, Canada’s “Yeast Van” district is home to 12 craft breweries, two distilleries, coffee roasters, music studios, trendy restaurants and condos that advertise themselves as being in the heart of the city’s brewery district.

pFriem Family Brewers to Expand And Build Additional Facility in 2019

pFriem Family Brewers will be expanding its existing Hood River brewery and building a new facility in Cascade Locks, Oregon, 23 miles further west in 2019.

According to a company spokesperson the two facilities will work in tandem…

pFriem’s Hood river location will continue to brew and package all of its non-barrel aged beers.

pFriem’s new Cascade Locks location will house its barrel-aging operations, all of its raw materials and finished beers and serve as the company’s main logistics hub.

Saugatuck Brewing Acquires Kalamazoo’s Gonzo’s BiggDogg Brewing 

Douglas, Michigan-based Saugatuck Brewing Co. has announced plans to acquire Kalamazoo-based Gonzo’s BiggDogg Brewing Co. LLC, pending regulatory approval.

“We’re excited to be entering into this new Market and be serving our beers along with other great breweries and craft beer bars in the Kalamazoo area,” Megan Scheerhorn, Vice President of Marketing at Saugatuck Brewing Company, said in a statement. “This is a great opportunity for us to grow as a company and continue the legacy of making great beer at this location for the people of Kalamazoo.”

Gonzo’s, which will be renamed Saugatuck Brewing Company — Kalamazoo, will brew Saugatuck brands at its new location as well as maintain several of Gonzo’s most popular beers.

According to MiBiz, “both breweries had declining in-state beer sales in 2017, Saugatuck’s sales in Michigan were down 10.1 percent, while Gonzo’s had plummeted 26.4 percent.”