"Great Flood Brewing Announces New Production Brewery."

Great Flood is adding a production brewery (below), and I wish them nothing but the best. I don't get over there as often as I should, and hope to remedy this, because I've enjoyed the beers I've had when there.

However, now that I'm a free agent untethered from my moorings, I'll be honest.

Every time I see a press release from any brewery near or far, announcing a production ramp-up and a commensurate boost in output, and earnestly promising to have beer on store shelves throughout the area quite soon ... well, I think to myself:

"Guys, I hope you have a big ass pot of money. You're going to need it."

There are hundreds of brands out there, and while there are more "craft" beers in stores and on tap than ever before, there is less and less thoughtfulness behind how they come to land in those places. It is a constant, incessant, random spin of the wheel, both by consumers and retailers, and especially by bar managers at restaurants.

Eateries tend to have an absolutely firm idea of their food, wine and spirits, but most beer lists I see are without any organizing principle at all. It's as though the names were pulled from a spinning bingo number basket. Also, commitments to localism/regionalism in sourcing seldom extend past the swinging doors to the kitchen, with notable exceptions like the Crescent Hill Craft House.

I'm not trying to be a pessimist. All I'm saying is that if you're Great Flood, you may get only one chance to get it right, straight out of the gate. I'm pulling for you to do it.

Burned children; we shun the fire, you know.

Great Flood Brewing Announces New Production Brewery at LouisvilleBeer.com

Great Flood Brewing Company, located in the Upper Highlands, announced today (on their 2-Year Anniversary) that they are finalizing plans to open a new 13,000 square foot production brewery in Shelby Park/Germantown by the end of 2016. The new facility will increase their brewing capacity 10-fold and will allow for local distribution of their beers on draft and in cans. The new facility will also eventually feature a tasting room and event space. Their brewery and taproom in the Highlands will remain open and will continue to produce small batches.

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Musings on the hiring.

Okay, so we’ve hired David Pierce to join the NABC team.

You have questions. Why? Now what?

It’s important to understand that Dave brings a perfectly complementary set of professional skills to an existing brew team that includes our longtime brewers of record, Jesse Williams and Jared Williamson.

From the start, we’ve been a brewpub brewery, and as such, we’ve had the luxury of indulging a full range of creative artistry on the part of the current brewers (and Michael Borchers before them). The fact that we’ve always aimed for flexible stylistic interpretations as a means of weaving our house beers into the broader palette of the many beers on tap at the Public House means that we now have distinctive brands to deliver to a wider world. Without that, there’d be no brewing expansion plan.

Accordingly, our brewing expansion plan alters the old dynamic, but not in terms of fundamental creativity. Now, there are added challenges posed by consistency and production on a larger scale, and the efficient distribution of the finished product to our wholesalers, first in kegs, and then later, in cans.

That’s why Dave is on board. Remember that it’s a challenge for him, too, because it will be the first time he has undertaken to brew and ship someone else’s formulas. He's a pro's pro. 'Nuff said.

I’m sure that at some point in the future, Dave will be able to brew his own creative ideas, probably at the smaller Grant Line brewery, along with Jesse and Jared, as part of a brewmaster’s signature series. I can’t wait, although for now, the plan is to receive the brewery, build the brewery, and then brew our existing beers for distribution to metro Louisville and the state of Indiana.

The sooner this gets underway, the better, and the closer we’ll get to the next stages.

Does this help explain matters more clearly?