Brewery addition to double barrel production, expand menu and staff

More beer and more food. What else could patrons of Wolverine State Brewing Co. ask for?

The craft brewery opened up its own tap room on West Stadium Boulevard in the old Big George's space in 2010, and expanded its kitchen about a year and a half ago. Now, it's looking to add 6,000 square feet to allow the brewery to make the jump from producing 2,200 barrels to 4,700 annually.

"Primarily, it's for beer production," says Josh Evans, Wolverine State Brewing Co's taproom manager. "Right now it just seems like we can't make beer fast enough."

Since the expansion is for production, guests won't see too much difference on the other side of the bar, although they will have the chance benefit from the expanded kitchen that will come with the renovation.

"Right now we're killing it with the space that we have" -- the pulled pork nachos are a hot commodity -- "but we're working out of what's basically a large walk-in closet that serves as a kitchen," Evans says. "It would be nice to offer the guests a little more in terms of food selection to go with the beer selection."

They're hoping to have the 4,700 barrel capacity up and running sometime in 2016, which includes both the buildout of the space and bringing in tanks, running lines and putting into place other beer infrastructure. New office space will also be built into the expansion, which is currently in progress and not expected to affect the brewery's existing hours.

Evans adds that the brewery will probably be adding more staff after the process is complete.

"Once it's all said and done it will be fabulous," he says. "I think everyone's excited and looking forward to it being done."

Source: Josh Evans, Wolverine State Brewing Co
Writer: Kristin Lukowski