Is a small 5-7bbl brewerr completely housed on 2nd floor feasible?

[Gburgpandb]

Background: 41 year old mom and pop pizza joint in a fairly famous little town in the Mid Atlantic section of the country. Current building was once a gas station that's been pieced together to serve it's purpose and it has since we moved here. Biggest problem is that it was once a gas station, it's single story and we are about to explode at the seams so the family is considering razing the building and starting new. The current generation running the day to day business is very craft focused, small takeout cooler and 10 taps were installed 2 years ago of which 9 are rotating craft. They would like to add a small brewery and bar to the second floor of any new building, but have no idea if it's even feasible to house a brewery on the second floor.

Of course all of this is just talk at the moment and we're a long way off from any plans being drawn and haven't even started to jump through the hoops that lay ahead in dealing with the local government.

I thought I would ask the pros what their opinions are on this subject? What say you?

And please move this if I posted it in the wrong forum.

[nateo]

Why not put a bar on the 2nd floor and rent a cheaper industrial space out of town to make the beer?
Or hire a contract brewer?
Or just keep being a craft beer bar?

Unless it's an exceptionally large gas station, I can't picture a second floor being nearly enough space for what you want to do.

[OG727]

Your talking about a whole new building, correct? The big question would be square footage, I suppose. You can fit a surprising amount in a small place. That said, I would make sure you had someone who knows what they are doing plan it. Check out Mad Beach Brewing on Facebook. They probably have some pictures of the place they're currently building and it's on the second floor. (They do have like 7k sq ft, though)

[Gburgpandb]

Why not put a bar on the 2nd floor and rent a cheaper industrial space out of town to make the beer?
Or hire a contract brewer?
Or just keep being a craft beer bar?

Unless it's an exceptionally large gas station, I can't picture a second floor being nearly enough space for what you want to do.

This is all just preliminary discussion right now. I'm not interested in brewing elsewhere and selling at the restaurant or hiring a contract brewer. There's a market for a brewpub in this town between the million visitors every year and the local population. I think there's also a nice attraction to being able to see the stainless and the process. We have an open kitchen right now, people walk in our door and order at the counter where they can see us making their food as well, customers like that.

There's also a strong possibility that we just add the bar and more taps upstairs as well and forget the brewery. I was just asking if it is feasible to house an entire brewery on the second floor of a building. Our current foot print is in the neighborhood of 1,8000 square feet and a second floor would mimic that because anything we would build would have to remain a basic square/rectangle.

[Gburgpandb]

Your talking about a whole new building, correct? The big question would be square footage, I suppose. You can fit a surprising amount in a small place. That said, I would make sure you had someone who knows what they are doing plan it. Check out Mad Beach Brewing on Facebook. They probably have some pictures of the place they're currently building and it's on the second floor. (They do have like 7k sq ft, though)

Yep, a whole new building with a second floor in the 1,800 Sq ft. range if not more. I've been scouring the net the last week or so trying to find companies that specialize in brewery design, I would like to reach out to them with the same question, but they seem to be few and far between. Thanks for the suggestion of Mad Beach Brewing, I will check them out.

[gungadin]

If you are building an entirely new building then anything is possible. A steel frame would hold the weight, my biggest concern would be keeping the moisture headed to the drains rather than through the floor to the downstairs.

You should also check with Bosco's in Nashville, TN, they have a 3bbl brewery built in to an historic building but they put it above the bathrooms, on a new structure. It has been there for 10 or 15 years so they would know by now if (or how well) it worked. Chuck Skypeck, who is now with the Brewer's Association, was in charge of the brewing at the time so he might be a resource as well. The brewery equipment was DME when it was new so there is another place to check.

Good luck and happy planning.