Currently, Rhinegeist self-distributes its beer in Cincinnati and Dayton, and also sells its products in Northern Kentucky via Riverghost Distributing. Demand for their hoppy, sessionable beers is still outpacing supply, despite maxing out production on their existing brewhouse.
In fact, Cincy is so thirsty that the Brewers Association recently announced that Rhinegeist was the #1 top selling new craft brewery in the entire nation in 2014 (based on data from IRI, which compiles supermarket sales). That was a pretty shocking statistic, considering Rhinegeist only had its beer in a subset of regional supermarkets, and only for a portion of the year.
So, just 18 months into their operations, the Rhinegeist team put the wheels in motion on their 5-10 year plan to buy the building and construct a new brewhouse to increase capacity. The building was purchased right before Thanksgiving, with financing from Heartland Bank, and since then the expansion project has been breathing life back into the rest of this historic building faster than prohibition took it away.
Rhinegeist co-founders, Bob Bonder and Bryant Goulding, had a vision for the expansion based on a San Francisco coffeeshop called Sightglass, which has a wrap-around balcony that overlooks the coffee roaster so that you can watch the caffeinated magic while you relax and enjoy an espresso.
Bob and Bryant tracked down the creative architects at Boor Bridges who designed that space, as well as an impressive list of other cultural hotspots in SF, and brought them on board to design the Rhinegeist expansion. The idea was to expand their production into the adjoining building that sits between the current Rhinegeist facility and the new streetcar maintenance yard.
This is a two-story building with a sawtooth roof, enormous north-facing windows, and 2 floors of approximately 18,000 sqft apiece. In order to fit a new brewhouse, 3 times the size of their existing one, Rhinegeist removed about 2/3 of the second floor, allowing the nearly 30’ tall fermenters to stand firm, while retaining a mezzanine for tours and additional offices. The walls between the existing taproom space and the expansion space will be opened up so that customers can see through to the tops of the tanks.
Just months later, this fantasy is already becoming reality. Rhinegeist purchased a new 60 barrel brewhouse from BrauKon, a German manufacturer that is among the most respected in the industry for quality and reliability. Furlong Construction was commissioned as the general contractor for the project, and with some long hours by the skilled craftsmen at Midwest Mechanical, CDI Electric, Eckhoff Plumbing, Altra Rigging, and Fruition Welding, the new brewhouse is already up and running!
This will allow Rhinegeist to grow from the near 11,000 barrels sold in 2014, to upwards of 30,000 barrels in 2015, and substantially more than that over time. The hard-working, beer-loving team at Rhinegeist has grown at a similar pace, from 5 people in early 2013, to over 50 today, with plans to reach over 100 by 2017.
The brewing squad, led by head brewer, Jim Matt, has grown to six people, including Cole Hackbarth and Chris Shields who moved from California and North Carolina, respectively, along with Rhinegeist veterans Luke Cole, Aaron Stryker, and Peter Mooney.
With that increase in capacity, Rhinegeist will start by expanding distribution in Columbus. The brewery is sticking to their self-distribution roots as they grow. They hope to finalize a lease shortly for 17,000 sqft near downtown Columbus, where they will build a massive refrigerator and host a fleet of colorful sprinter vans, along with a new 54’ freight truck, to ensure all beer is stored & delivered cold.
Rhinegeist is already in the process of hiring a sales and distribution team of 12+ people for the Columbus market, led by Mike Rutter and Dennis Kramer-Wine who have been managing distribution in Cincinnati, and John Fandrich who will manage sales. They are already trickling beer into the market, and expect a full launch of draft & package in late Spring / early Summer. After launching Columbus, Rhinegeist hopes to gradually extend its distribution into other regional markets over the course of the next 2+ years.
Beyond expanding production capacity, Rhinegeist is also expanding its home in Cincinnati to utilize more of the unique, historic building at 1910 Elm St. In the 3-story part of structure to the south of the existing taproom, Rhinegeist is building a nearly 8,000 sqft private event space. This space caught fire years ago, but was rebuilt out of beautiful new pinewood, while retaining its historic architectural layout.
This will provide a unique location for private events and weddings of up to approximately 250 people. We are now booking the event space for September, 2015 and beyond. If interested, please email events@rhinegeist.com. And that’s not all. Rhinegeist is also building a 7,000 sqft roofdeck along Elm St, with a central bar and capacity for another 200 people. From the roofdeck, you can look north to the historic Jackson Brewery, south to the central business district, and straight down at the future streetcar stop on Elm St. Rhinegeist hopes to have the new roofdeck open by the end of this summer, along with a new staircase & elevator, which will provide access to all floors.
Jon Colasurd, the general manager of the taproom, will lead the charge on this side of the expansion, with the support of a growing bar staff, including Kristen Oliphant and Lauren Wescott who have been here serving tasty suds since day 1!
