Half Acre Purchases 2nd Brewery Location

As you know, we hit the streets selling beer brewed out of Wisconsin in 2007 and built our brewery on Lincoln Ave in 2008.  That choice had us working and reworking 13,000 sq. ft of space to accomplish our goals as brewers.  We went through consistent expansion, added a store, added a tap room and learned to become better brewers.

We’ve sincerely enjoyed these years and wouldn’t have changed much of anything.

It was obvious, though, that a big choice lay ahead because the longterm needs of our brewery would necessitate growth beyond our walls.  We explored many forms of expansion.  More beer was only one factor in what would change the entire culture of our brewery.  Ultimately, we wanted to expand our creative tools and explore all the options we have as brewers without losing the authenticity of our organization.

The two things that surfaced as being paramount were proximity and total space.  If building a second brewery, the space between the two facilities had to afford them a tight workflow or bring in an entirely new dimension that only distance could offer.  The size of the site had to allow us the room to breathe and think for a while.

We’re pleased to announce that we purchased 2050 W. Balmoral Ave right here in Chicago, IL.  Bowmanville will be our second neighborhood and the place where we’ll figure out our next chapters.  You can leave our brewery on Lincoln Ave and walk through the door on Balmoral in about five minutes time.  The scale of the site will remove constraints that have uncomfortably driven our brewery.

The two buildings will work together to accomplish one comprehensive result.

The additional space will allow us to expand our distribution footprint to the entire Chicagoland area, add more onsite enjoyment at both locations and explore our interests as brewers and beyond.  The expansion process won’t be fast, but we can now remove many questions and begin to mold the future into the exact shape we feel is best.

Thanks for all the support you’ve offered us over the years.

Cheers,

Half Acre Beer Co

Chicago, IL