Even if you half pay attention to the news, you’ve probably copper thieves stealing copper from churches, houses & schools all over the United States. Add a brewery to that list. Thursday night, copper thieves ripped the metal out of a chiller that is responsible for keeping some of Red Brick Brewing’s 11 fermenters cold.
It comes at a really bad time for the 10,000 barrel brewery. Just this week, Red Brick started brewing their 17th Anniversary Ale, that will hit bourbon barrels and release in March. On top of that, they just launched Hoplanta, and will start brewing Wee Heavy soon. Loss of beer in the fermenters could cost the brewery upwards of $80,000 dollars in lost product per tank. Luckily, there are 2 chillers. The thieves hit the smaller one, to the tune of $4,000 in damage. It’s the first theft or loss Red Brick has had in 17 years. No official word on beer impact. [AJC]
