Odell drafts growth plans for brewery

FORT COLLINS – Odell Brewing Co. plans to expand its brewing capacity by 33 percent with an expansion project scheduled for completion this summer.

The Fort Collins-based brewer, known for its 90 Shilling and Easy Street Wheat ales, is launching the addition in the wake of a banner sales year. Odell experienced 11 percent growth in brewing volume in 2005, exceeding the average of 9 percent growth for craft brewers across the country.

The expansion is necessary for future growth. Odell produced 28,831 barrels in 2005, reaching 96 percent of the brewery’s 30,000-barrel capacity. The addition, a $350,000 project due for completion in June, will enable the brewer to add 10,000 barrels of capacity. A barrel equals 31 gallons of beer.

Odell’s expansion coincides with growth plans at cross-town brewer New Belgium Brewing Co. New Belgium, which also experienced 11 percent growth last year, previously announced plans to double its capacity to 850,000 barrels from the current 425,000-barrel limit.

Odell founder Doug Odell said he expects to fill his new capacity gradually, starting 3,500 additional barrels in 2006. Eventually, Odell has designs on using a two-acre parcel adjacent to the brewery, which the company owns.

“We have bigger things in store,” he said.

Part of Odell’s success in 2005 stemmed from the introduction of the new 5 Barrel Pale Ale brand early last year, which quickly became the company’s third-best selling product out of six.

The brewer hopes to catch a new wave of sales success this year when it rolls out a sequence of four seasonal ales. Currently, Odell makes just one seasonal product, a wintertime offering called Isolation Ale. Beginning this spring, the brewer will make Imperial Stout, followed by new summer and fall brews.

Odell, founded in 1989, built its existing brewery at 800 E. Lincoln Ave. in 1994. The brewery has undergone two previous expansions.

Odell’s growth hasn’t matched the meteoric expansion of New Belgium Brewing Co., which produced 370,000 barrels last year and has stretched its market area into 15 states, including the lucrative California market.

Still, Doug Odell said he’s satisfied with his rate of expansion, which includes seven states. Most of Odell’s focus has been on Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico, and the brewer expects to keep that strategy for the foreseeable future.

According to the Brewers Association, a Boulder-based trade organization, New Belgium is the No. 3 craft brewer in the country for total production and Odell is No. 37.

According to the Brewers Association, craft brewers are “traditional and independent breweries which produce primarily all-malt beers. It includes both brewpubs which sell beer primarily at their own pub or restaurant and packaging breweries that distribute beer in kegs, cans and bottles …”

Greeley brewer ready to roll

While the Fort Collins brewers are in expansion mode, a new craft brewery is set to start in Greeley.

Crabtree Brewing Co. has gained all of its regulatory approvals and hopes to start selling beer by May 1, said owner Jeff Crabtree.

“Out of the gate, we’re hoping to do 700 barrels in year one,” Crabtree said.

The brewer is setting up shop at a former plastics molding facility at 625 3rd St. near downtown Greeley. It would be first microbrewery in Greeley since the Union Colony brewpub closed three years ago.

Crabtree, a longtime home brewer, plans to sell kegs, and will soon expand to include 22-ounce bottles. His first two styles will be wheat beer and nut brown ale. In all, he has plans to make seven different styles.

A recent graduate of the University of Northern Colorado with a degree in economics, Crabtree said he’s been preparing to launch the brewery for several years. He acquired his brewing equipment two years ago, but waited until after graduation to start the company.

“I did a site survey from Denver all the way up the Front Range,” he said, explaining his choice to locate in Greeley. “I feel strongly that Greeley has a lot to offer. The labor pool is good.”

Crabtree’s brewery will cover 3,200 square feet, and the building offers room for expansion.

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