Less than 5 years old, Asheville, North Carolina’s Hi-Wire Brewing plans to spend over $500,000 in a brewery expansion at their Big Top Production Facility beginning in January 2018 to meet an overall goal of increasing distribution sales by 56% in the upcoming calendar year.
Co-Owner, Chris Frosaker notes,
“the equipment addition which will make the biggest impact is adding eight new 90 bbl tanks to increase fermentation capacity to 26,460 bbl per year from our current capacity of 18,900 bbl per year. We will also be adding a new canning line, stainless hard piping throughout the brewery, upgrading water infrastructure into the brewery, and adding numerous pieces of quality control equipment.”
Investments in new equipment has allowed Hi-Wire Brewing to revamp their year round beer lineup to include 12-pack cans of both Hi-Pitch Mosaic IPA (6.7% ABV) and Lo-Pitch Juicy IPA (4.9% ABV). Chris Lutkowski, Director of Sales for Hi-Wire Brewing notes, “Cans are becoming more and more an accepted package by the consumer for their craft beer. With the active lifestyles our customers are engaged in, a lighter, more convenient container is definitely an item that our distributors and consumers have been asking for over the past few months. We believe there is a significant amount of business to be had in all channels by putting two of our most popular styles in a 12-pack can configuration and look forward to a very positive response from existing and new consumers alike.” Both sets of 12-packs will be available the second week of January and will see distribution in Hi-Wire Brewing’s entire footprint.
Along with adding 12-pack cans, Hi-Wire Brewing has streamlined their seasonal program and added a High Gravity 4-pack Series to their 2018 release calendar. The seasonal series has been re-envisioned to contain Hi-Wire’s best selling seasonals such as Aerialist Spring Lager and Zirkusfest Oktoberfest, while the High gravity series features some throwbacks, including Raspberry Wheat Wine and Tropical Golden Strong Ale.
2018 is going to be a wild ride for Hi-Wire Brewing and they look forward to sharing it with new and old fans alike. For regular updates on the expansion upgrades and progress, beer releases, and other upcoming news follow them on Facebook or Instagram @hiwirebrewing or please visit www.hiwirebrewing.com.
About Hi-Wire Brewing
Located in Asheville, NC, Hi-Wire Brewing is known for producing approachable and balanced lagers and ales, most notably Hi-Wire Lager, Bed of
Nails Brown, and Hi-Pitch Mosaic IPA. They have two locations in Asheville: the 27,000 square foot Big Top Production Facility & Taproom located half a mile from the Biltmore Estate and the South Slope Specialty Brewery & Taproom located in the South Slope area of downtown, which has a focus on wild and sour ales. Hi-Wire was awarded the most medals at the 2014 NC Brewer’s Cup and was named Best New North Carolina Brewery of 2013 by RateBeer. Most recently, the Zirkusfest Oktoberfest Lager won gold at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival® in the German-Style Maerzen category. Their award-winning beers can be found on draft and in bottles across North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Ohio. To learn more about the company, visit hiwirebrewing.com.
