AVBC Puts Final Touches on New Brewery
March 30, 2001 – Boonville, California – Life moves at a different pace here in the Anderson Valley. Folks are a little more cautious, they figure that there’s no point to rushing into something when you have the time to do it right. Ken Allen, the President of Anderson Valley Brewing Company, (makers of the Legendary Boonville Beers), has always sought controlled growth for his company, but when Dr. Allen read that a German brewery in Kasendorf was going out of business and planned to sell their copper brewhouse for scrap, he knew that something had to be done. He got a couple of his friends together and organized a rescue mission. Several months later the one hundred barrel brewhouse showed up on a truck in Boonville, more than 8000 miles from it’s original Bavarian home. It took a couple of years to design and construct a building to house the new brewery. Equipment installation took a little while longer. There were, of course, a few changes and additions to the original plan, but in March of 2001 the project was complete. The result is a brewer’s dream. Four stately "onion dome" copper vessels are set in a handsomely tiled chamber with full length windows that overlook the rolling hills of the valley as it heads down to the sea. The wait had been worth it. Head Brewer Brit Antrim says that "Not only is it beautiful and easy to work on, it is still a ‘hands on’ system that really gives one a sense of tradition and appreciation for the brewers art."
The additional brewing capacity came on line at a very fortuitous time; the growing demand for Anderson Valley’s full flavored beers had overreached the capacity of the old 30 barrel brewhouse. "We even had to hurry a bit there towards the end," said brewery engineer Rod Dewitt. The new brew house will be open for tours starting in April and there will be a special two-hour open house from 10:00 to 12:00 on April 21 st , the morning of the Legendary Boonville Beer Festival. But if you can’t make it out that day, don’t worry, there is no rush, Anderson Valley Brewing will still be there, and still making world-class beers for those with a sense of tradition.
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