From Left Hand Brewing:
Longmont, CO - The 2012 year marked another period of tremendous growth & expansion for Left Hand Brewing Company. The Colorado based brewery, experienced their 7th consecutive year of double digit growth since 2006 and 2nd year as a Top 50 craft brewery. Left Hand grew by 34.5% in volume compared to the previous year, producing 49,549 barrels removed total in 2012.
In 2012, Left Hand continued a series of expansion projects to increase the brewery’s capacity. Early spring, brought the addition of a 500 barrel brite tank and two more 480 barrel fermenters (for a total of six) to expand production tank space. Summer 2012, the brewery built a new 6000 sq ft cooler and introduced a centrifuge to improve filter efficiency. Mid fall brought Left Hand’s biggest expansion project to date, a brand new bottling hall operating four times faster than the previous system and filling a 180 bottles per minute.
However, expansion projects haven’t been the only highlight for Left Hand Brewing Company. The brewery experienced a series of achievements in 2012, including president Eric Wallace’s introduction into the Boulder County Hall of Fame as well as a GABF Bronze for Sawtooth Ale and a Gold European Beer Star for Milk Stout. With the brewery’s growth in recent years, Left Hand has been fortunate to host their own events which have been of notable benefit to the community. With events like Leftapalooza and Longmont Oktoberfest as well as the brewery’s Bike MS team, Left Hand was able to raise $276,693 in 2012 for the greater community.
But things will not be slowing down for Left Hand anytime soon. The brewery is on path to produce 60,000+ barrels in 2013 with $2.3 million estimated for continued expansion efforts. In addition to bringing in another 500 bbl brite tank and two more 480 bbl fermenters before summer, Left Hand will also be breaking ground on a 15,000 sq. ft. addition behind the brewery. The new unit will house a pilot system, tasting lab, maintenance shop, and additional production offices. The Left Hand property will also continue to grow with current negotiations to purchase the 2.1 acres just to the east of the brewery, bringing the total Left Hand footprint to 7.5 acres. With the increase in tank space and new bottling hall, Left Hand has brought Milk Stout Nitro to all of its 27 state distribution and will now continue its exploration of additional markets again. Left Hand has since re-entered Alabama and will be entering upstate NY this May. With a never-ending expansion plan and continuously growing company, “Normalcy would be strange to us,” jokes VP of Operations Chris Lennert. “Sure, it can be exhausting but it’s an amazing experience at the same. We’re all lucky to be here and look forward to the future of Left Hand.”
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