United States
Harrisburg, PA
Appalachian Brewing
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Appalachian Brewing is housed in a three-story brick and heavy timber structure, built circa 1918. Antique brick walls, massive wooden beams, hardwood floors and ceilings provide a warmth and inner glow only rivaled by the beer itself.
Gallagher and Sproch had talked about opening a microbrewery and brewpub for years. However, it took just one inspired evening in the sizzling summer of 1994 (over a couple of homebrews) to make the decision to begin.
Sproch and Gallagher extensively researched the industry and outlined a detailed business plan. They envisioned a large-scale microbrewery manufacturing operation with automated packaging lines. The beers would be craft-brewed and hand-crafted using only the finest ingredients and traditional brewing methods. The operation would include an attached full-service restaurant serving only the finest foods.
An extensive market analysis of cities and towns in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware pointed to Harrisburg, PA as the ideal site. The entire Harrisburg area has demonstrated a steady commitment toward new business and economic growth. In particular, the City of Harrisburg experienced a tremendous turnaround from the urban decay of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Mayor Stephen R. Reed has assembled an extraordinary economic and cultural revitalization program. The city has attracted a record amount of other development recently. Further, there was no local brewery, but a lot of pent-up local demand.
When Sproch "found" brewmaster Artie Tafoya while skiing at Steamboat Springs Colorado, things really began to happen. The business plans galvanized and even more emphasis was placed on the quality of the brewing operations.
Tafoya was hired as a consultant to advise Sproch and Gallagher on the purchase of the brewing equipment of the Vancouver Island Brewing Company (VIB) in Victoria, BC Canada. VIB was at the time the 5th largest microbrewery in Canada. The entire brewery was purchased and shipped to Pennsylvania by barge, truck, and rail. VIB has since built a larger brewery. Tafoya also was asked to travel to Germany to acquire state-of-the-art packaging equipment.
Gallagher and Sproch increased the management team to four with the addition of Matt Smith and Bill Habacivch. We all have our areas of expertise. The team was put together with all these talents in mind.
With the business plans, management team, and brewing equipment in place the search for real estate began. After pursuing a number of sites in the Harrisburg area, the City of Harrisburg Mayors Office of Economic Development invited ABC to present its plans. Recognizing the high degree of organization and planning that the fledgling company had attained, the City of Harrisburg suggested that it had a building that might be suitable. The building at 50 N. Cameron Street had charm, history, plenty of space for the brewery, brewpub and expansion and could be acquired quite reasonably from the city’s downtown development authority. The downside was that it was a vacant, run-down, fire-damaged building in need of a lot of repairs.
The city agreed to provide a low interest loan and sell the building to the brewery for $1 in order to offset the tremendous amount of investment required. The brewery is the cornerstone of the city’s Paxton Commons project. The area will eventually include a civic arena and exposition center, shops, restaurants, and a park. The state capitol complex is nearby. The building has many features such as brick walls, oak beams, hardwood floors, a tremendous capital view and ample parking.
Primary financing was secured through CoreStates Bank of Harrisburg, with additional funding provided by the owners, private investors and a loan from the City of Harrisburg. Total investment including equipment is $2.5 million.
In the 1920’s and 30’s, the Auchenbach Printing Co. occupied the site. The oldest part of the building dates to 1890, when it was owned by the Harrisburg Passenger Railway Co. In the 1930’s, the building was almost completely destroyed by fire. Originally a four-story structure, it was rebuilt at that time to its present three stories. During the 1940’s the building was used as an office building for the Work Projects Administration. A WPA certificate found in the wall during renovation refers to it as the Moorehead Building. Aircraft parts were fabricated and warehoused here during WWII. Aircraft mechanics were trained next door for the war effort. More recently building materials and auto parts were warehoused and distributed.
Another fire in March 1993 rendered the building useless. The leaking roof rotted large areas of the flooring and some of the massive wooden beams. Most of the windows were broken and none of the utilities were useable.
Restoration began on July 4, 1995. The interior was in such disrepair that it was hard to know where to start. The restoration required sandblasting the entire interior to remove the fire and smoke damage and the years of paint from the brick and wood. Literally miles of damaged, obsolete electrical and plumbing was removed - some of which dated to the 1920’s. The massive wood beams were restored and the steel beams and concrete columns sanded and painted. Extensive floor repairs returned the hardwood floors to their original warmth - a testament to their durability.
It took two years of work to gut the building, renovate the first floor and parts of the second floor, and build the brewing operations. The brewery was beautifully restored with much of the painstaking restoration performed by the four owners and their friends. FOBs, or Friends Of the Brewery as they became affectionately known. It may have been the free beer that kept the friends coming back - but more likely - their much-appreciated dedication. Contractors were hired to perform the larger building tasks and to install the plumbing and electric.
Later, Tafoya, recognizing ABC’s potential and the developing opportunities for microbrewing on the east coast, decided to join the company as Brewmaster and Director of Operations. Tafoya ended his brewery consulting to devote his full attention to ABC. Tafoya was instrumental in the design of the brewery, packaging operations and layout of the brewpub and kitchen facilities. ABC was honored to have the total commitment of an accomplished, well-respected, award-winning brewmaster. Further, Tafoya’s restaurant experience proved vital in the setup and operation of ABC’s brewpub.
Though in an extreme state of disrepair, the building’s structural integrity and the quality of the original construction and building materials enabled the total renovation. The building was "over built" in every respect. We’re very thankful for that. This place was built to hold massive machinery. Now, it holds a unique large microbrewery and one of the largest brewpubs in the country.
ABC began operations in January 1997. The first batch of beer was sold to the public. That’s an affirmation of the abilities of the brewers: a newly installed brewery (originating on the other side of the continent) in a newly renovated building that produces an excellent beer - the first time!
Harrisburg has a strong brewing tradition dating to the 1700’s. At one time, Harrisburg produced much of the beer for the region. Prohibition forced most breweries out of business. The last brewery, Graupner’s Brewery survived prohibition but closed May 14, 1951, exactly 46 years prior to the opening of ABC’s brewpub. Graupner’s was located one block behind the present Appalachian Brewing Company. ABC is proud to be Harrisburg’s first brewery in 46 years. Now the drought is over with the return of fine brewing to Harrisburg.
(Info from: Appalachian, 2002)
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