(Courtesy Brooklyn Brewery)

Thirty years after opening its Williamsburg tasting room, Brooklyn Brewery is getting ready for a new chapter. The brewery has announced plans to open a new home at 1 Wythe Avenue later this year, only four blocks from its longtime North 11th Street location. It’s a short move geographically, but in almost every other way, this is a major leap forward for the heritage brewery

Visitors will get their first look during a soft opening in late summer, with a larger grand opening celebration planned for the fall. And while the brewery is not leaving the neighborhood that helped define it, the new location signals an evolution from neighborhood tasting room to something more ambitious.

The biggest difference is scale.

The new space offers nearly four times the capacity of the current location, giving Brooklyn Brewery room to stretch beyond pints and bar stools. The plan is to create a place that works as a brewery, restaurant, cultural venue, gathering spot, and experimentation hub all at once.

Brooklyn Brewery CEO Eric Ottaway says the move is the result of three decades of learning what people want from a brewery experience. Instead of simply building a larger version of the old space, the company sees this as a chance to rethink what a brewery can be. More room means more opportunities for food, outdoor areas, events, and brewing projects that were not possible before.

(Courtesy Brooklyn Brewery)

One of the most noticeable additions is something Brooklyn Brewery never had before: a full kitchen.

The brewery teamed up with chef Michael Ayoub, founder of Brooklyn favorite Fornino, to shape a menu centered around food designed to naturally pair with beer. Pizza will play a starring role, drawing inspiration from New York’s Neapolitan pizza scene.

And its culinary ambitions go well beyond just serving meals. A professional demo kitchen equipped for livestreaming and special events opens the door for guest chef collaborations and food-focused experiences.

Drinks are expanding too. Beer will still be the centerpiece, but the new bar program also plans to include wine, cocktails, and other options. The goal appears to be creating a place where people can settle in for dinner or a night out.

The brewery’s longtime focus on arts and culture is also growing with the new space.

Music, talks, DJ nights, and community events have always been part of Brooklyn Brewery’s vision, and the new building was designed with that in mind. A connected audio visual system running across three floors will allow programming to spread throughout the building.

Industrial details like cement floors, raw materials, and soaring ceilings will remain part of the look. The difference will be, more sunlight, warmer textures, and a generally more open feel.

At the center of it all sits a large Main Hall featuring the primary bar, retail shop, and a variety of seating options. Huge windows and doors open to the outdoors, giving the space an easy indoor-outdoor flow.

(Courtesy Brooklyn Brewery)

Outside, guests will find one of the more eye-catching additions: a fourth-floor terrace bar overlooking Brooklyn. Filled with greenery and seating areas, it sounds built for lingering over a beer on warm evenings.

The move also boosts Brooklyn Brewery’s brewing capabilities.

Expanded facilities will allow for more small batch and experimental projects, reinforcing the site as the company’s global research and development center. Brewery tours and guided tastings are also expected to return.

Back in 1996, the Williamsburg/Greenpoint borderlands was a place where lots of fun stuff was happening, but it was a very different neighborhood then,” Garrett Oliver, Brooklyn Brewery’s James Beard Award-winning Brewmaster, said. ‘The evolution over these last 30 years has been incredible, and it’s exciting for us to evolve right alongside it.”

The soft opening begins later this summer, with additional events and programming expected to roll out gradually before the official grand opening in the fall.

Brooklyn Brewery may only be moving a few blocks away, but it is clearly planning for a much larger future.