Surly Brewing Expands Production Capabilities

Why did Surly Brewing in Minnesota add eight new tanks at its destination brewery in December? It could give a long, corporate answer about strategic goals and key markets and year-over-year sales, or we can give you this very real, very terrifying answer: It ran out of Furious.

This summer, with both its Minneapolis and Brooklyn Center facilities running at full capacity, there was a 7-10 day span where it was scrambling to keep the flagship beer on tap in the Beer Hall.

“We made it through that stretch, but the writing was on the brewhouse wall: We gotta make more beer,” the brewery wrote on its website. “And that meant we had to get more tanks. Big, big tanks. And a boat. And some trucks. And some cranes.”

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So it added eight 600-barrel, 39×14-foot fermentation tanks. which will be used to make Furious (its IPA) along with Hell (a golden Lager) and its seasonals. It also will allow the facility in Brooklyn Center to come up with new ideas.

Per head brewer Ben Smith, the goal is to have the tanks online in March.

Surly recently brewed its 200th batch of beer at the Minneapolis facility.

“That’s almost 26 million pints,” the brewery wrote. “And now we’re doubling our capacity there. None of this happens without you, Surly Nation. Cheers!”

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