Brewer rolling out more barrels

Craft beer maker to add warehouse space, upgrade equipment to meet demand
By ALAN WECHSLER, Business writer



SARATOGA SPRINGS -- The call comes about once a week to the Olde Saratoga Brewing Co. -- something along the lines of "Can you brew my beer?"

Usually, the answer is no.

Such is the success of Olde Saratoga that there is little room for more customers. And in order to accommodate the increasing business, the firm is poised to spend as much as $800,000 on an expanded warehouse and equipment.

The plant, located on Excelsior Avenue just off Route 50 near the outskirts of the city, plans to spend about $250,000 to expand its 8,000-square-foot warehouse by about 5,500 square feet.

The plant also will have new bottling and packaging equipment and a beer centrifuge, which removes yeast from beer by spinning it at high speeds. The centrifuge will allow the brewery to process beer that previously had to be thrown out because it contained too many particles to be filtered -- as much as 10 percent more per batch.

"That's a lot of beer we will be recovering that is lost to us," said Paul McErlean, master brewer at the company.

Olde Saratoga began brewing under the name North Country Brewery in 1996. A year later, it was taken over by United Breweries Group of India, which makes Kingfisher Lager. Today the firm produces about 50 different beers, half for its own sales and half under contract for such beers as He'brew, Sackets Harbor and Southampton.

Besides producing Kingfisher, for use mostly in domestic Indian restaurants, Olde Saratoga also makes Olde Saratoga Lager and a dozen beers under the Mendocino Brewing Co. label.

The company has seen its production grow from 7,000 barrels in 2001 to 35,000 to 40,000 barrels today. A barrel contains 31 gallons, or about 14 cases.

The company once devoted about two-thirds of its time making its own products. Now, it's spending equal time on its own brands and contract brands -- a sign of more independent beer companies seeking them out.

"We're going on reputation," said McErlean.

The firm now employs about 20 workers, including two shifts of brewers and one shift of bottlers.

The company has had to raise the price of its products by about $1 per case, due to rising costs of energy, hops and grains. But company officials are waiting to see how the slowing economy will affect them.

"Hopefully, as the economy goes down, beer consumption keeps going up," said Bob Craven, the company's general manager.

Olde Saratoga is considered a craft brewer, and as such is a member of a growing field. There were 1,420 craft breweries operating in the United States in 2007, compared to 1,385 operating a year earlier. The industry grew by 12 percent in 2007, according to the The Brewers Association, a trade group based in Boulder, Colo. By comparison, non-craft beers and imports were both growing at about 1.4 percent.

The craft beer industry is worth $5.7 billion total, the association said.

Alan Wechsler can be reached at 454-5469 or by e-mail at awechsler@timesunion.com.