Raised Grain Brewing Co. plans to open a production brewery in Waukesha, eventually increasing its capacity to upwards of 40,000 barrels per year.
The new facility would be located in a 20,000-square-foot facility at 1725 Dolphin Drive. The Waukesha Plan Commission will consider a conditional use permit for the project in June.
Co-owner Nick Reistad said Raised Grain is considering a 20-barrel system that would allow the company to eventually reach a production capacity of 30,000 to 40,000 barrels a year. The facility will also allow Raised Grain to a canning line for 12- and 16-ounce cans.
“The first couple years it’s just going to be production at the new facility,” Reistad said.
The company currently operates from a 4,000-square-foot space at 2244 W. Bluemound Road, with a little over half of the space used for the brewery and offices and the remainder functioning as a taproom. The current capacity is around 1,100 barrels and there’s only room for a small bottling line.
The plan is to keep the current 7-barrel system at the original location for the time being. Reistad said that will allow Raised Grain to continue to be flexible and innovative in the beers it produces.
“I think that’s one of the things that’s helped us stand out from the crowd,” he said, adding the company is laying the ground work for the future and everything could be brought under one roof several years into the future.
The new facility would be used for increased production of Raised Grain’s more widely distributed beers, including Paradocs Red Imperial IPA, which won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival.
Raised Grain opened its public taproom in September 2015 and has since grown to about 25 employees, including seven full-time. Reistad said there would certainly be additional hires for the new brewery, sales and the taproom, but he wasn’t sure exactly the size of the job growth.
The brewery is one of a number of new craft breweries to open in recent years in the greater Milwaukee area. Reistad said while the craft beer market is certainly competitive, it is not saturated. He said there are a lot of opportunities and its important consumers continue to choose local beers.
“There’s a lot of good beer out there,” Reistad said. “If you drink local beer, there’s plenty of room for the local breweries.”
