New craft brewing concept planned in Lakeland

[thelakelander]

I know this isn't Jax but I thought it was an interesting concept worth sharing:

Lakeland brewery to be the first in a new business model for brewing

A new company called Brew Hub is planning a series of breweries around the country designed just for other breweries to use. And the first is going to be built in Lakeland.

Founded by former Anheuser-Busch executives and headquartered in a St. Louis suburb, Brew Hub was founded on the idea that craft breweries may want to expand, but often can't spend the money. So if a Texas brewery wants to start selling beer in Florida, for example, it could use Brew Hub's Lakeland facility to brew it.

It's called contract brewing, and it's not uncommon for one brewery to use another's facility. But Paul Byrne, a spokesman for Brew Hub, said most of the available excess capacity is in Wisconsin and Minnesota. That doesn't help breweries looking to expand into Florida, which he called the hottest growth market in the country for craft beer.

Brew Hub's Lakeland plant will have an annual capacity of 75,000 barrels or 1 million cases. It will have a brewmaster on staff - Paul Farnsworth, who has had a long and respected career in brewing - and will also brew its own beer.

Byrne said Brew Hub has also stablished a relationship with distributors around the state to help breweries market their beer.

"There are so many craft brewers making amazing beer today, and the demand from consumers is almost insatiable," CEO Tim Schoen said in a press release.

"But too much demand can also be a problem. Building a brewery is not realistic for many brewers and contract brewing opportunities that exist today are less than ideal.  We believe our partner brewing model will allow craft brewers a great opportunity to expand their business and reach new consumers."

Brew Hub plans to build a total of five breweries over the next five to seven years, at a cost of about $100 million. It has funding from Los Angeles-based private equity firm Yucaipa Compaines.

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/428360/roger-bull/2013-03-19/lakeland-brewery-be-first-new-business-model-brewing

The company will begin building the Lakeland brewery, packaging and cold storage warehouse in April.  The site will operate as a central distribution facility for craft brewers beginning in fall 2013.  The Lakeland facility will deliver beer to wholesalers throughout Florida and the Southeast and will begin brewing beer in summer 2014.

"The Brew Hub is an idea that's time has come," said J. Paul Pepin, Pepin Distributing Company, Tampa, Fla.  "The demand for craft beer in our area is almost endless, and, while the local craft beers are excellent, beer drinkers also want access to beers they've had in their travels.  Brew Hub will allow us to deliver these beers fresh and in a way that makes good business sense for brewer, wholesaler, retailer and, most importantly, the consumer."

Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/03/19/4704677/brew-hub-announces-plans-for-first.html#storylink=cpy