Frederick, MD (October 2011) – Frederick, MD’s reputation for beer production will grow substantially in the coming months with the opening of the Monocacy Brewing Company, LLC. Phil Bowers, managing member of the newly formed company announced that it will establish a 15,000 s.f. brewery and operating headquarters at 1781 N. Market Street in Frederick. He expects the brewery to open in November 2011.
Bowers, a businessman whose downtown restaurants include the brewpub Brewer’s Alley, has been retailing his craft beers on a small scale throughout Maryland for the past five years. “There is a tremendous market for craft beer,” said Bowers, who notes that the number of U.S. breweries has grown from approximately 250 to 1,760 during the past 20 years. Bowers says that over 1,715 of the 1,760 are craft breweries. “Spirit shops that specialize in craft beer sales utilize some 75-80% of their dedicated beer floor space to merchandise craft beer.”
“Just like wine connoisseurs who explore the nuances of regional grapes, so, too do fans of craft beer, who want to enjoy beer styles created with locally-grown ingredients,” says Bowers, “Local origination of ingredients will be one of Monocacy’s major brewing initiative.” Tom Flores, who has served as brewmaster at Brewer’s Alley since 1997, will oversee operations at the brewery.
Named after the river that flows through Frederick County, the Monocacy Brewing Company will hire some 25 employees in time and have the ability to produce up to 20,000 barrels a year when operating at full capacity. Monocacy will brew its own lines of beer as well as Brewer’s Alley’s retailed beers, and others upon request.
After studying dozens of potential brewery sites, Bowers chose the circa 1930s Market Street Extended factory building that originally housed the Ebert Ice Cream Company. “We all liked the idea of reusing and adapting an existing property — as opposed to building anew on a raw parcel of land,” he said. “It was a perfect spot because the building was originally designed and used for factory food production.”
Bowers plans to renovate a front section of the building that originally served as an ice cream parlor for use as a tasting room and retail shop. He will also make improvements to the façade of the building and restore the property’s once beautiful landscaping that includes a large fountain and vintage streetlamps. “The property holds personal memories for many local residents,” said Bowers
The Flying Barrel, a Frederick-based retailer of ingredients and supplies for beer and wine making since 1980 will move to the brewery and occupy 3,000 s.f. Bob Frank, owner of The Flying Barrel said that his relocation is a good business move. “Phil and I share a lot of the same customers. They’ll be sampling and buying Phil’s beers as well as purchasing supplies for home brewing.” Another benefit, Frank says, is having brewing experts next door. “My customers love to talk with professional brewers. This will provide them with an even greater opportunity to do so.”
For more information on the Monocacy Brewing Company, contact Bowers at 301-631-0671.
