The rise of craft brewing and the proliferation of local breweries and taprooms in neighborhoods across the country are emblematic of a culture that craves authentic, local, shared experiences. When you take the big step of creating a taproom where you can host the public and share your product, you are carving out your own space within that culture. In that act, you must carefully develop a design that speaks to the character of your brews and embraces the ethos of your company, while maintaining a high level of functionality so that the place can continue to deliver the product without compromise.
Engage Your Design Team Early
Choosing a designer that will engage your team early on in the process is crucial to ensuring that the finished space aligns with your goals. For the pairing to be successful, the team you select should also have an appreciation for the specific complexities of brewery design and experience in realizing similar projects. We recommend involving a design team early—even before signing a lease—to ensure that the program can work with the space and with your goals.
Breweries frequently occupy existing infrastructure in transitioning industrial properties. Depending on their former use, these properties might not yet have the drainage, floor-load capacity, or electrical service to accommodate a large-scale production use. The space constraints and circulation processes can be quite specific, as can site access and visibility and the feeling of procession that greets new patrons. Just like your brewery’s core values, the existing conditions of a site must be thoroughly understood before beginning design.