Published: June 24, 2008 09:30 am      

NABC to open downtown New Albany Brewhouse by fall

In an expansion of its operation, The New Albanian Brewing Co. will soon open a downtown tap room and distribution center to serve New Albany, while allowing the business to ship its beer to places such as Louisville, Indianapolis and Bloomington.

New Albanian owners Amy Baylor, Kate Lewison and Roger Baylor have seen the company boom in the past 21 years. The initial location along University Woods Drive started with Sportstime Pizza in 1987 and has since evolved to include a pub and brewing company.

Specializing in craft beers, New Albanian has fielded requests from bars wanting to sell its product. When the company opens its New Albanian Brewing Co. Bank Street Brewhouse in late summer or early fall, shipping beer across Indiana and into Louisville will be a reality because of the expansion.

“We’ve always had interest, especially in Louisville, about getting some of our beers there,” Roger Baylor said.

The University Woods location — now officially known as The New Albanian Brewing Co. Pub & Pizzeria — will continue to operate as is. Baylor said the additional space at 415 Bank St. will provide the room necessary to ship large volumes of beer to bar and pub owners.

“We had no room to grow (at NABC Pub); we could only make incremental increases,” he said. “We’ll still use it for smaller-batch things, but this way we’ll have two separate destinations that are linked by NABC beers, but are otherwise different.”

The Bank Street Brewhouse will serve food, but more of the sandwich and organic nature, according to Brand Manager John Campbell. He referred to it as a Belgian-style spread.

“The food will be completely different,” he said. “Most of the meats and cheeses will come locally so we can support the local economy.”

Aiding New Albany commerce is one of the reasons Baylor and his partners chose the Bank Street location for their next endeavor.

“Downtowns should have breweries and bakeries and coffee shops,” Baylor said. “Despite apathy in some corners, we’re still making progress.”

Baylor said there are some in the community opposed to downtown growth and those who are for it. He is on the side of adding, because of the tax revenue it could mean. He said the Brewhouse could serve as a magnet for other businesses in New Albany.

“This could bring people across the bridge and maybe they’ll go to some other places while they’re here,” Baylor said.

The Bank Street location will allow the company to showcase its beers above its pizza, which sometimes overshadows the brews, Baylor said.

“We have some equity in these beers we’re making, so it makes sense to put emphasis on (our beer),” he said.

New Albanian produces around 20 beer types a year, but the Bank Street Brewhouse likely will begin with four or five beers on tap.

Campbell said only draft beers will be served for the first year of the Brewhouse, but specialty beers and possibly a canning line could be around the corner.

“It’s something we’re going to work toward,” he said.

Patrons will enter the new location through a side door off Bank Street next to one of two beer gardens that are planned. If the second beer garden is realized, it will sit atop the building and be environmentally friendly.

“It would be completely green with trees, bushes and grass,” Campbell said.

The rooftop beer garden would hold 75 to 100 people, with the tap room in the front of the Brewhouse holding up to approximately 50 patrons.

The beer garden to the side of the establishment would be protected by a canopy and seat another 30 people.

Through windows, customers will be able to look at the brewery as it’s constructed, with full distribution expected to begin in January.

“This is going to be awesome — this is exactly what we live for,” Campbell said.

The front of the building will include three garage doors that can open, with a secondary entrance provided by the middle door.

The building — leased to New Albanian by Steve Resch — was formerly owned by Rainbow Bakery and was incorporated in 1919, according to Baylor.

He said the company was drawn to the location because it had necessary features in place, such as proper drainage and a high ceiling.

There also is a loading area in the back that will allow for convenient distribution.

New Albanian plans on hosting a Harvest Homecoming celebration in October to coincide with what Baylor expects to be “great times” for the company and its customers.

Hometown breweries are a success because people are getting back to supporting local products, Baylor said.

“I think we’re in-tune with the times,” he said.