To put into perspective the scale of Stone Brewing Co.’s brewery and distribution center in the Fulton neighborhood, consider this: On average, the plant will produce 225 barrels of beer in a single batch. That’s roughly four times the capacity of homeboy Hardywood Park Craft Brewery’s planned Goochland facility.
To we neophytes, one barrel holds two kegs or 248 pints. So, we’re talking about 56,000 pints per single brew. And the plant, at maximum capacity, can do 12 brews a day.
“It’s enormous for a craft brewery,” says the fortuitously named brewing process manager, James Sipp.
It could take years to reach maximum capacity — that will be up to the market — so Stone will start with 10 brews per week. You’ll have to wait until early May for the first batches to start coming off the line. In the meantime, the Stone Company Store is now soft-opened, with its grand opening set for March 2. Tours start this summer. Here’s a cheat sheet to tide you over until then.
By Tina Griego; infographic by Steve Hedberg
