Avery's New Facility Ups The Ante In Competitive Craft Brewing Market
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - One day, Adam Avery and his team at the Avery Brewing Company hope to brew up to a half million barrels of beer in one year's time. That's a lofty goal when you consider the Boulder-area based craft brewery put out about 50,000 barrels of beer last year, and an even loftier one when you consider Avery's humble beginnings.
As an Illinois-raised, Regis University-educated, new-to-Boulder, Colorado, resident in 1989, Avery began experimenting with his love of a good beer, brewing 2-3 batches on his stove top and handing out the results to his friends. Avery maintained one rule, the recipient of his homemade beer got the case for free, as long as they brought back the bottles, so he could recycle and refill them with his next batch.
"It was out of control," Avery said, of his home-based operation. "I had so much going at any given time I had to give it away. I thought it was the coolest thing."
Fast forward 22 years and Avery's hobby is a full-blown, multi-million dollar craft beer enterprise. A few years after first investing $90,000 in a startup brewery with his father, Larry Avery, and a business partner, the father-son team became sole owners.
They operated out of what Avery calls a "campus" at Arapahoe Avenue in Boulder, expanding piece by piece to string together enough warehouse space to grow the business until this month, when Avery Brewing moved into it's new high-tech brewhouse, tap room and restaurant facility on nearly 6 acres of land at Nautilus Court in Gunbarrel.
The new space boasts 67,000 square feet of production space, with room to expand up to 95,000. The company invested $30 million, and will be able to double production capacity to 100,000 barrels in its first year in its new home. Avery has his sights set on increasing his brand's reach, with hopes of having his product distributed in all 50 states and more countries around the world. Currently, Avery's beers are sold in 30 U.S. states and Japan.
"We've got a long list of distributors that want the beer," Avery said, "it just depends on how fast we can get this facility rolling."
The move ups Avery Brewing's game in a competitive beer market, making it possible for Avery's team to utilize high-end German-made production technology, can beer at a rate that is seven times faster than the brewery's previous system, and waste less. Avery had a carbon cycle reactor system installed that captures CO2 produced during fermentation, turns the gas into soda ash, and is eventually recycled to make glass bottles. Avery says the brewery will have a negative carbon footprint once all systems are up and running.
The facility gives Avery the opportunity to make more beer, but more importantly, he says, to make better beer.
"The control we have here now is astronomical compared to what we had at Arapahoe."
And visitors to the brewery will find a much different experience. Avery Brewing features a room with 30-taps for tasting, and a full-service restaurant meant to meld the craft brew sipping and culinary experiences.
Avery, a self-proclaimed foodie, says he has a simple goal -- to "run the best brewery and restaurant in the world."
Avery may well be on his way, but does face an uncertain, if not declining beer market. While the craft beer industry has seen double-digit production growth in seven of the past nine years, industry experts say overall, national beer sales have either been flat, or declined since 2008. Avery says he does worry about the trend, but sees growing demand for the high-quality beers he creates.
According to the Brewers Association's chief economist Bart Watson, craft brewers make up nearly 11 percent of the market share of beer sales by volume nationwide, and 18 percent of retail sales. That's a small, but significant and growing slice of the beer industry pie.
Watson says Avery's expansion proves that not just Colorado consumers, but beer drinkers everywhere are driving the craft brewing movement's growth.
"It shows that the health of the craft beer industry is very strong," Watson said. "And it shows how much Colorado craft brewers have built brands that travel."
With his move complete, Avery says he plans to focus on the creation of new beers, especially barrel-aged, sour beers. Avery says this type of brew is the "niche within the niche" of craft products. And he isn't concerned that his company is getting too big.
"There's a huge debate in the craft industry about how big you can be before you're not craft," Avery said.
"I'm of the mind that size does not matter, it's the way in which you approach making your beer."
Lauren DiSpirito is CBS4's Northern Newsroom reporter. Follow her on Twitter @CBS4Lauren. Share your story ideas with her here.
