Form & Function: Brewery Visits with an Architect
As an architect, I am particularly drawn to breweries that provide a front row seat to the brewing operation from the taproom.
The following list is not exhaustive but illustrates a few breweries and brewpubs that have sought to celebrate the brewing process through their architectural design.
At Nashville’s Blackstone Brewing, the founders purposefully want beer lovers to be part of the brewing experience.
At Arizona’s Goldwater, the founders want beer lovers to feel like they’re in a brewery when they’re enjoying beers in the taproom.
Dillon McClelland at Goldwater Brewing Co. spoke about going to taprooms that felt “like an office with a door at the back into the brewery,” and how the place behind the door was where he wanted to go drinking.
4 Hands Brewing Co. thinks it’s important for their customers “to feel connected to the brewing process.” (4 Hands Brewing Co.)
“We thought it was important for our customers to feel connected to the brewing process,” says Director of Operations, Martin Toft.
The idea was to elevate the brewery and fermentation spaces above the taproom so that the guest could feel immersed in the brewing experience while drinking our beers.
Located on Alameda Island just a block away from the San Francisco Bay, Almanac Beer Co. designed its taproom so that guests could feel fully immersed in the Almanac ethos.
Located on Alameda Island just a block away from the shores of San Francisco Bay, Almanac Beer Co. wanted their taproom to feel connected to the brewery itself so that guests could feel fully immersed in the Almanac ethos.
Workhorse Brewing’s slogan is “Beer Made Right.” It is a bold statement which they double down on with a brand and ethos that is all about creating “meaningful connections to their customers.” These concepts delightfully manifest themselves in the layout for their bright and airy taproom which feels like a genuine extension of the brewing process as the u-shaped bar extends proudly from the brewhouse behind.
At Chicago’s Corridor Brewing, the design aims to make a connection between the beer lover and “a community of craftsmen” who make the beers.
Where many venues on this list let the taproom become part of the manufacturing facility, Corridor Brewery & Provisions in Chicago feels more like the other way around.
He has been a homebrewer since his college years, and his vision for both breweries was for them to feel like “hanging out in a brewery; feeling connected to the craft brewing world; and most importantly, feeling a personal connection to a community of craftsmen.”
At Oregon’s pFriem, they felt it was important for beer lovers to “see, feel, and smell the craftsmanship that goes into pFriem beer” through the taproom design.
For the layout of their brewery, they felt it was important that beer lovers were afforded the opportunity to “see, feel, and smell the craftsmanship that goes into pFriem beer.” They wanted to establish a strong connection between the customer and the brewing process.
Banded Brewing’s Owner and Brewmaster Ian McConnell says it was important to design the taproom for everyone to share in an appreciation for brewing.
The brewery’s name comes from the sense of community it’s looking to evoke by “banding together.” This was an important idea that Ian wanted to foster by sharing the process through the design of the brewery and taproom so that the product could be enjoyed communally.
The brewing facility sets the backdrop for the bar in Trillium Brewing Company in Boston and is the focal point for the taproom experience.
The brewing facility sets the backdrop for the bar in Trillium Brewing Company in Boston and is very much the focal point for the taproom experience.
Fans who visit our taprooms regularly comment that being able to see and smell the day’s brew makes for a memorable experience.