Minnesota Craft Brewer Begins Construction on Production Facility and Taproom in Minneapolis

Award winning Pryes Brewing Company (pronounced “prize”) has just announced their new production facility and taproom in Minneapolis. After two years of producing beer out of a shared brewing space, this new brewing facility is a big step for this growing local brewer. Pryes Brewing joins the likes of esteemed Minnesota brewers Badger Hill brewing and Bad Weather Brewing as a company that began its journey with an alternating proprietorship at North Loop BrewCo (formerly Lucid Brewing) and then moved into their own facility. Look for the new brewery to open in mid-2017.

The Location

The new Pryes Brewing Co. production brewery and taproom is situated at 1401 West River Rd N, Minneapolis. It sits nearly astride the border of Minneapolis neighborhoods Near North and the insanely popular North Loop. The brewery sits between other renowned Minneapolis brewers Fulton Brewery, Dangerous Man Brewing, and Boom Island Brewing. It is pretty much in the middle the Devil’s Triangle of breweries.

“After looking for the perfect brewery location for nearly two years, we are thrilled to open on the banks of the Mississippi River, with a symbol of Minnesota’s brewing history, the Grain Belt Brewery, just upstream.” — Jeremy Pryes, Founder & Head Brewer Pryes Brewing Company.

The team at Pryes Brewing looked for the perfect brewery location for nearly two years. When the opportunity to move into a space overlooking the Mississippi River they could not pass it up. The 13,000 SQ FT space has lots of parking and a beautiful view of the river. The taproom is accessible by bike via the West River Parkway bike trail and by kayak. The brewery wants to take advantage of the new kayak rental program in this area, adjacently located.

More Beer

The new brewery will allow Pryes Brewing to expand their product line. Founder and Head Brewer Jeremy Pryes has built the company around his award-winning IPA. With more time and space to brew Pryes will have much more to offer to Minnesota beer fans both in the new taproom and through expanded retail partnerships. Pryes’ current annual production of 800 barrels will be expanded, and the production could go as high as 20,000 barrels in the new brewery.

We won “best in brew” again!!! People’s choice!!! Thanks to everyone that voted for us!!!

A photo posted by Pryes Brewing Company (@pryesbrewing) on Oct 17, 2015 at 3:02pm PDT

Food / Games / Music

The new Pryes Brewery and Taproom will have some very unique attributes. Pryes will house a full kitchen within the space to host restaurant pop-ups. That means a temporary space for restaurants to feature dishes at a reasonable cost, offering more than the usual food truck scenario customers are used to experiencing, something the taproom patrons are sorely missing. The brewery will also be home to one of the few (only?) feather bowling alleys in Minnesota. Feather bowling is a cross between curling and bocce ball and can be played indoors year-round.

Facebook.com/PryesBrewing
Twitter.com/PryesBrewing
Instagram.com/PryesBrewing

Who is Pryes Brewing?
Pryes (pronounced: “Prize”) brewing is the creation of a group of long time friends and beer lovers who aim to raise the bar on how great craft brewing can be. We are a team of very talented individuals bringing our respective specialties together to produce the beers and experiences that make enjoying our beer fun.

What kind of beer will Pryes Brew?
Pryes Brewing has acquired and developed the unique knowledge of many different kinds of brews. It is amazing just how many things are out there that can be made into a craft beverage, everything from ciders and mead to beers from around the world. We like to think we take a little inspiration from everything to create something innovative, unique and very drinkable.

Production Brewery/brewpub?
Since brews are our soul, we want to be able to concentrate on beer and other similar mediums. In addition to beer, we plan on releasing other brews which we believe will be surprising and exciting to drink. It will definitely shape us as a production brewery with many other things only offered in our planned taproom. We are quite excited to bring our vision to the area.

Where will Pryes be located?
We have some spots that would work wonders, but it all comes down to capitalization. Ideally, we would like to open up in the vibrant craft beer scene of Minneapolis. However, if our target capitalization is not met within a reasonable amount of time, then our plan B is to find a place we can contract brew our beer like other local breweries have successfully done to get our beer in customers’ hands as soon as possible.

What is the Future of Pryes?
When we become fully capitalized, we will open a 20BBL brew house and host a number of special brews in our taproom. We feel the taproom will allow us to involve the public’s ideas and be a part of the innovation we plan to bring to the market.

How big is the system? Capacity? Distribution?
1st year output? We anticipate our initial output to be in the 2,000 bbl/yr range, with planned phase 2 expansion essentially doubling capacity. We plan to self-distribute to some of the best restaurants, bars and liquor stores in the region.

When will you open?
We’re ready to go once our target capitalization is achieved. We would anticipate a 3-4 month lead time for equipment delivery and facility construction work to be completed.

Are you worried about getting lost in the shuffle?
Not at all. In fact we are excited to add a different and unique flavor to the mix. It’s time to show the rest of the country why Minnesota’s craft scene is one of the fastest growing markets in the US.

What sets Pryes apart?
We are a team. We stick together. We plan everything as a team. Everyone involved in the company brings a different quality that affects the things we do and plan on doing. There have been many times when I’ve thought to myself, how incredible it is to have such a talented team together. Everything from the beer, to the brand, to the business operations are handled by leaders in their respective fields.

Minneapolis Councilperson Meg Tuthill was very critical of your brewery plans. How did that impact your business plans?
Whenever your embarking on an endeavor like starting a company and building a brand, it is all too common to hit bumps in the road. In fact, facing those road bumps strengthens you as it challenges you to ensure you are headed down the right path and building the right plan. We believe that everything happens for a reason, and the silver lining is that we were contacted by many people that supported our vision and consequently brought more people to be a part of the investor family.

What has been the hardest part of starting a brewery in Minnesota?
Building a brewery is a capital-intensive undertaking and everyone is aware that finding capital is the hardest thing about starting any brand. What they might not understand is the degree to which it is difficult. Bank and SBA loans are available, provided you are willing to guarantee the debt with personal assets, and that can dissuade potential investors as well as exceed your own entrepreneurial risk tolerances. Good investors that see your vision understand that something like this takes time to build – everything from getting fully capitalized to recipe development and brand creation takes time. Our company was formed in early 2012 and we’ve been meeting with investors ever since. As much as they interview you, you are also interviewing them to make sure you all share the same passion for the craft and the business.

What has been the biggest surprise?
I am most surprised at how much support we have received from other breweries. Everyone is very supportive and understands the difficulty in opening a brewery. It takes a lot of time, energy, patience and love to make this happen.

How can people learn more about Pryes Brewing?
I would encourage people to visit our website at http://www.pryesbrewing.com. The site is a simple version for now; the full site will go up once we are fully funded and we can show more of our plans and secrets. We also have a Facebook and Twitter presence and you can always send us an email at beer@pryesbrewing.com.