Cincinnati’s Fifty West Brewing details $1.5M expansion (includes volleyball courts, cycling business)

That’s the VW van the CBB crew takes to every new brewery opening.

Fifty West Brewing Co. is expanding with as much personality and travel-centric attractions as it is with beer facilities. The Cincinnati-based brewing brand just announced plans for an upcoming $1.5 million expansion, which includes a production facility of course, but also volleyball courts, cycling trails, canoeing facilities and a brewpub. Take one look at the recently released expansion site map (below), and you’ll be able to tell that Fifty West is planning to offer a lot more than great beer. The expansion is scheduled to break ground this November and continue on through the beginning of next year as contractors redevelop the location presently ran by Hahana Beach.

Starting this November, Fifty West will begin building out the heart of their expansion, their long-awaited production facility. To start, the facility will house four 40-barrel (bbl) fermenters and is estimated to produce between 4,000 to 5,000 bbls in the first year alone and will afford the brewery the ability to easily expand production in the future. Their brewpub currently produces between 1,500 to 2,000 bbls annually, so this expansion will allow Fifty West to produce nearly four times as much beer annually.

For those familiar with the Columbia Township brewery, it will come as no surprise that Fifty West plans to keep the already installed sand volleyball courts operational and to run their own leagues on the premises. Fifty West has never only been about producing large volumes of beer. Sit down for even five minutes with Blake Horsburgh, brewmaster and co-owner of Fifty West, and you’ll start to see the bigger picture:

“It’s not just about beer,” explained Horsburgh. “It’s about providing our patrons with an experience that sits rooted in our company philosophy of bringing people together, being adventurous, and exploring opportunities.”

The fun doesn’t stop there. Fifty West has also announced plans to open a new endeavor called Fifty West Cycling. Fifty West Cycling will share a parking lot with the new production facility as well as Pizellii’s Pizza and the Mariemont Livery and is conveniently located near the trail head for the 75 mile long Little Miami Scenic trail. Here, patrons will be able to purchase, service, and one day possibly even rent bikes to ride along the trail.

While the Mariemont Livery is not directly connected to the brewery. It is a perfect fit for the outdoor, nature-centric patronage that Fifty West has come to acquire and hopes to build on with this new facility. The company, founded in 2013, offers a number of different options for canoe trips down the river, all of which conveniently end at their headquarters located in the same parking lot as the Fifty West production facility and Fifty West Cycling.