Ironshield Brewing and Big Kettle Brewing joined the city of Lawrenceville, Georgia Department of Economic Development and Partnership Gwinnett to announce the opening of its operations in the City of Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, metro Atlanta, Georgia. The announcement represents 60 jobs and $10M in capital investment for the community.
“Ironshield Brewing and Big Kettle Brewing’s investment in downtown Lawrenceville serves to fuel the local economy and create job opportunities for our residents,” said City of Lawrenceville Mayor David Still. “We are excited to keep the momentum of our thriving downtown going and attracting another exciting business to our Depot District.”
Big Kettle Brewing, now open and fully operational in Lawrenceville, Ga., is a purpose-built contract brewing facility producing craft beer and other beverages helping other craft breweries increase their production capacity. Owners Dave Rice and Glen Sprouse designed the concept of the contract brewing facility as a response to an increasing need in the craft beer industry. This is the first purpose-built contract brewery in the metro Atlanta area and will enable the craft breweries to keep their beer produced locally.
With construction beginning in 2019, the building on N. Clayton Street was transformed from a 60,000 square feet newspaper facility to a brewery and packaging facility, removing 5,000 square feet of the second level to make 35 feet of vertical clearance for fermentation tanks as part of the project. The state-of-the-art manufacturing plant has capabilities to brew and package beer to help with growth and consumer demands for the craft brewer to keep their product local and meet the current demands for sales. As the demand increases, operations will scale up to three shifts a day in brewing and packaging, providing numerous new employment opportunities.
“This company and its facility in Lawrenceville were literally ‘built to grow,’” said Glen Sprouse, Founder and Brewmaster. “We plan on producing a little over 25,000 barrels of beer in our first 12 months of operation with around 12 to 15 full-time employees by end of year one. Our facility is designed to allow us to rapidly expand in place for the next seven years. By our seventh year, we plan on producing over 80,000 barrels of beer per year with a total staff of over 60 employees at our Lawrenceville address.”
The same location also features Ironshield Brewing, a new craft brewery specializing in authentic European ales and lagers. Producing beer styles such as Münchner Vienna lager, Scotch Ale, Bavarian Hellesbier and German Kolsch, Ironshield can brew these and many other European Ales and Lagers locally to be enjoyed as they would be served in Germany and other European countries.
Ironshield Brewing Tap Room plans to open July 11, 2020. The location features a 40-feet serving bar, multiple viewing areas of the brewhouse, covered outdoor seating and a Biergarten.
“We are pleased to welcome Ironshield Brewing and Big Kettle Brewing to Gwinnett County,” said Gwinnett County Commission Chair, Charlotte Nash. “This new location in the heart of downtown Lawrenceville will help this innovative company meet consumer demands for the craft brewer to keep their product local and we look forward to these businesses finding success in our community.”
Of the new jobs created, 40% will be in manufacturing and 60% in sales/admin/marketing.
“This announcement is a great example of how Gwinnett has the ability to tie the strong business climate and top tier workforce together and turn them into continuous growth of the industry and community,” said Jassy Ji, Project Manager for Manufacturing and Supply Chain at Partnership Gwinnett.
To learn more about Big Kettle Brewing, please visit https://www.bigkettlebrewing.com/.
To learn more about Ironshield Brewing, please visit https://www.ironshieldbrewing.com/.