Cambridge Brewing Company Announces Expansion of Barrel Cellar and Bottling Project

Cambridge Brewing Company (CBC) has announced that it will expand its world-famous barrel cellar program with a major investment in oak tanks and barrels, to be housed at Mystic Brewery in Chelsea, Massachusetts. With the new brewing capacity and available space will come an opportunity to bottle and distribute many of their award-winning beers which have previously been available only at the Kendall Square, Cambridge brewpub.

CBC Founder Phil Bannatyne expressed his excitement for the project stating “this is a shining example of the cooperative spirit and camaraderie for which the craft brewing industry has become known. Our two local small businesses teaming up to share space and new equipment offers us a unique opportunity to expand our own offerings, as well as to speed the growth of our friends at Mystic whom we’ve admired since they began brewing.”

Will Meyers, the Brewmaster at CBC, agreed. “We first approached Bryan Greenhagen (Mystic Brewery Founder) about finding space to brew, age, and bottle some of our wild and barrel-fermented beers and grow our barrel cellar beyond the constraints of our cellar at the brewpub. We’d purchased a new brewhouse and gear but did not yet have a location for it, and we only wanted to use it to brew a limited amount of beer annually. We seized upon the chance to both use this equipment and maximize our potential to bring really adventurous beers to market!” The deal involves the purchase of the new brewhouse and equipment by Mystic in exchange for production assistance of CBC’s beers. CBC will be providing their own additional fermentation capacity in stainless steel, oak tanks, and barrels.

This exclusive arrangement allows both small Boston-area breweries to take better advantage of raw material purchasing power and to grow in an industry experiencing dramatic expansion. The agreement does not include any exchange of ownership stake in either company. “This opportunity and our mutual expertise will improve control over the production of very challenging beer styles, bringing exceptional CBC beers to thirsty craft beer fans. It’s just two sets of friends helping each other out” added Meyers.

CBC plans to release limited quantities of some of its most famous and award-winning beers such as Cerise Cassée (one of the nation’s first American sour ales), Le Saisonniere and Brett Grisette (medal winner at the 2015 World Beer Cup), and its barleywines Blunderbuss and Arquebus (both prior medal winners at the Great American Beer Festival, 2000 and 2008), among many others. Commissioning of the new equipment and space will take place over the next two months, with beer releases to begin rolling out in Massachusetts and most of New England beginning summer of this year.

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