Colorado is already known for its microbreweries, but this summer, Breckenridge Brewery introduced its destination brewery. The $35 million new campus that sits along the South Platte River already is attracting locals and out-of-towners alike. Breckenridge experienced a lot of growth in the last few years, with demand exceeding supply. The 12-acre campus consists of three buildings and provides the much-needed space for Colorado’s fifth largest brewer:
Brew House. A 21,000-square-foot building where the beer is brewed. The building also houses the brewery’s corporate and operations offices.
Production Building. A 50,000-square-foot building home to the fermentation tanks, packaging, bottling, canning, and dry and cold storage.
The Farm House Restaurant. A 9,200-square-foot, 300-seat restaurant that captures the farm theme of the site with its timber frame and array of reclaimed materials. Also includes a beer garden, complete with bocce ball courts and events stage for outdoor concerts.
The project, designed by Coburn Partners and built by Hyder Construction, also includes highly detailed coordination for the design, fabrication, and installation of the brewery and packaging systems supplied by Breckenridge Brewery. The RMH Group served as mechanical and electrical engineer. The high-end brewing equipment was about a third of the construction budget and not easily replaceable. It had to be installed with extreme care. To impact the brew vessels as minimally as possible, they were installed after the structural steel and consequently dropped in through the open roof with a crane, much like threading a needle. The team worked together to schedule the deliveries of each vessel, to constantly monitor the installation crew to ensure the vessels were installed properly, and to train crews working after installation to keep the tanks in pristine condition. Thanks to their careful efforts, the brewing equipment was installed correctly and undamaged.
The brewery is currently on track to produce 90,000 barrels of beer a year with intended production to reach 300,000 barrels a year within three to five years. \\
