urbanMSP

Surly is making progress selecting a site for its Brewery.

I'm not sure if these specifics have been revealed before.

"One of the possible sites in Minneapolis is 3171 5th Street SE, a former food processing plant just east of the University of Minnesota. That location is a stone's throw from the future Central Corridor light rail line.

Another Minneapolis location in is the Bassett Creek Valley redevelopment area, which is west of Interstate 94 and north of Interstate 394, said Tom Hauschild, Surly's real estate advisor. He said one challenge is that the area is largely zoned residential."

http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/159639395.html

From the Strib:

Surly Brewing Co. has narrowed the possible locations for its "destination brewery" to three cities in the metro area, including two sites in Minneapolis.

The Brooklyn Center-based brewer with a cult following has spent months looking for the perfect place to build a $20 million facility, complete with restaurant, beer garden and event center. It was made possible by a 2011 change in Minnesota state law, known as the "Surly Bill," that allowed brewers to sell pints of their beer on the premises.

Cities across the area have been laying out the red carpet, but the company said Tuesday that only three remain on the short list: Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center and an unnamed "inner suburban" location.

One of the possible sites in Minneapolis is 3171 SE. 5th St., a former food processing plant just east of the University of Minnesota. That location is a stone's throw from the future Central Corridor light-rail line.

Another Minneapolis location in is the Bassett Creek Valley redevelopment area, which is west of Interstate 94 and north of Interstate 394, said Tom Hauschild, Surly's real estate adviser. He said one challenge is that the area is largely zoned residential.

Hauschild said the Brooklyn Center location would involve "multiple properties," which he declined to identify.

The other suburban location remains a mystery. "In the last couple of weeks, Surly has also been approached by another inner suburban location that is substantially larger than the brewery plans, and may change the project scope, but is considered a short list option too," the company said in a statement.

Hauschild said once the company picks a site, it will undergo an extensive review before the company reveals it publicly. He expects that the company will be able to go public with a site by the end of the year.

Bloggers in the beer community took note when Surly owner Omar Ansari said at a recent craft beer conference that the brewer was finalizing the site near the U.

Hauschild dismissed it as wishful thinking from an eager business owner.

"That's ... an optimistic entrepreneur not knowing what all goes into the sausage-making of a commercial real estate transaction," Hauschild said

It'll be a big disappointment if this isn't built in the city. The core cities are experiencing a renaissance of brewing.

I hope Surly is smart enough to understand they have to be in the city or they will be giving up market share to all the many others who have made the city their home. IMO.

I kind of feel like wherever this ends up being will be a letdown of sorts. The logistics of actually brewing a lot of beer just work against having it in a cool area.

I live about a half mile from the U of M area site, and while it would be cool to have it that close, that's definitely not a "cool" location. You'd either have to walk about a half mile through weird industrial roads to get there from either Prospect Park or Westgate LRT stops, so it'd essentially be a car destination.

I kind of feel like wherever this ends up being will be a letdown of sorts. The logistics of actually brewing a lot of beer just work against having it in a cool area.

I live about a half mile from the U of M area site, and while it would be cool to have it that close, that's definitely not a "cool" location. You'd either have to walk about a half mile through weird industrial roads to get there from either Prospect Park or Westgate LRT stops, so it'd essentially be a car destination.

Maybe with future infill and continued redevelopment that area could be "cool"...

I kind of feel like wherever this ends up being will be a letdown of sorts. The logistics of actually brewing a lot of beer just work against having it in a cool area.

I agree. The size and type of building they need isn't going to be available--and certainly not available at a justifiable cost--in an area that excites us.

Omar Ansari who owns Surly was a regular at a restaurant I used to be the chef of. I have a vauge recollection of talking to him about brewery sites and him saying they needed to be next to a rail spur so they could receive their grain via rail. If that is still true then it is a significant limit on where they can be.

Omar Ansari who owns Surly was a regular at a restaurant I used to be the chef of. I have a vauge recollection of talking to him about brewery sites and him saying they needed to be next to a rail spur so they could receive their grain via rail. If that is still true then it is a significant limit on where they can be.

I'm not saying Omar doesn't know what he's talking about....but it really sounds like it. Do you know how many businesses get shipments larger than Surly would? Think about every grocery store or retail chain! I'm SURE it would be convenient to have grain shipped right to their back door, but wouldn't that require some rail infrastructure to drop off that shipment? I'm fairly certain trains can't just stop along a busy main line and open their car doors and unload goods and services door to door. I could be wrong I suppose...

It might be their preference to be near where goods are unloaded, but I doubt it'd be a deal-breaker -- nothing a truck couldn't address.

Omar Ansari who owns Surly was a regular at a restaurant I used to be the chef of. I have a vauge recollection of talking to him about brewery sites and him saying they needed to be next to a rail spur so they could receive their grain via rail. If that is still true then it is a significant limit on where they can be.

I'm not saying Omar doesn't know what he's talking about....but it really sounds like it. Do you know how many businesses get shipments larger than Surly would? Think about every grocery store or retail chain! I'm SURE it would be convenient to have grain shipped right to their back door, but wouldn't that require some rail infrastructure to drop off that shipment? I'm fairly certain trains can't just stop along a busy main line and open their car doors and unload goods and services door to door. I could be wrong I suppose...

It might be their preference to be near where goods are unloaded, but I doubt it'd be a deal-breaker -- nothing a truck couldn't address.

I'm no grain supply chain expert, but IMO it's not a matter of volume. Grocery/retail stores are buying from people much further down the supply chain and have very different requirements (e.g. delivery method/packaging).

Regardless, I share your suspicion that Surly's proximity to rail wouldn't make a difference. Surly isn't going to buy its own rail yard, so one way or another they are paying to have it unloaded. I'm guessing the cost of delivery from that site would be nearly identical whether you were 1 mile or 10 miles from the rail yard. But I admit I could be totally wrong. Interesting discussion, regardless.

It'd be pretty easy to add/extend a rail spur to that 3171 SE. 5th St. location mentioned in the Star Tribune. Some of the tracks in that area are for an intermodal container yard, but there are some siding tracks and a half-abandoned spur that goes basically right to the site.

Actually, looking at Google's aerials, I see that buildings that were there in 2011's 45-degree imagery had been demolished by the time this year's straight-down pictures were taken (foundations still remain, but the buildings are gone).

A brewery probably wouldn't need a "yard" per se -- most likely just a spur track or two. Certainly many ethanol plants can get some fairly big sidings/yards. I've seen some pretty wacky loops here and there around southern Minnesota. I suppose they have to deal with both input (grain) and output (fuel) being shipped by rail, though Surly would probably still ship their beer by truck.

As announced at the Surly SYX release party at the Aster Cafe tonight, Surly has selected an architect and it is HGA. Their A-Team is on it.

Surly chooses architect for "Destination Brewery"

Surly Brewing Co. hasn't selected a location yet for their highly anticipated "Destination Brewery," but they now know who will design it.

The company announced Tuesday that it had enlisted HGA, which designed General Mills's headquarters and the Lakewood Cemetery Garden Mausoleum, to be their architect. The company is based in Minneapolis, but has offices around the country.

The "Destination Brewery" was made possible after a state law change known as the "Surly Bill" that allowed breweries to serve pints of their own beer on the premises. Surly is planning a $20 million facility that includes a bar, restaurant, event center and beer garden.

"I have had a picture of what our Destination Brewery will look like in my head for more than a year now and we're sure HGA can make that vision a reality," said Surly owner Omar Ansari.

Surly's search for a location was recently narrowed to three cities in the metro area, including two sites in Minneapolis. One possible site is a former food processing plant near the University of Minnesota.

The company also said that ROLEC, a brewhouse manufacturer, is "building Surly's custom brewhouse system in Munich, Germany."

http://www.startribune.com/blogs/164433666.html

I had initially opposed the U of M area site, which is near where I live, but lately I've opened up a bit to the idea. My opposition was largely because the site as is sits way back in an industrial area and requires walking through weird, industrial back roads to get there. However, it physically doesn't look too far from the Westgate LRT station, so if there was some way to allow direct passage (I'm thinking maybe by that Super America) it could enhance that Westgate area a lot.

Didn't we decide that the UofM site was closer to the 29th Ave station than Westgate?

From my understanding looking at the map, it would be about the same distance from both, but Westgate looks physically a little closer whereas Prospect Park has a more direct route.

I just spoke to someone "in the know" and he told me that they are still reviewing the sites, but leaning toward the U of M site. We should know pretty soon.

That would make a lot of sense to me, actually. I'd prefer a North Loop site personally, but like the U of M one as well.

There's not really a North Loop option, is there? I thought it was U of M, Brooklyn Park or by International Market Square somewhere?

I thought it would be cool if it were next to Target Field, and at one point I thought Surly was looking at that direction as well, but not currently (hence, "I'd prefer a North Loop site", not "I'd prefer THE North Loop site").