Finch's Beer Company Plans New Lincoln Park Brewery Along River
By John Dodge
CHICAGO (CBS) -- With the craft beer business showing no signs of a slowdown, Finch's Beer Company is planning to build a new brewery along the Chicago River in Lincoln Park.
The plan does not specify the exact location, but it will boast 50,000 square feet in the first phase. An email to Finch was not immediately returned, but a search of the city's database shows that two permits were issued to demolish two industrial sites at 1326 and 1339 W. Cortland St, near the river.
The new brewery is set to open in late 2016 or early 2017 and include a tap-room, riverwalk, and package store.
The artist's rendering even includes a dock for a few boats.
The facility will be nearly three times the size of its current space, and the company appears to have even more expansion plans in the works.
Finch's broke ground in January 2011 at its current Elston brewing and packaging facility and began shipping draft beer that same June, according to the company's website.
A year later they began sending packaged beer out in cans, and then added a warehouse facility in early 2013, bringing the total footprint of the brewery to about 18,000 square feet.
Another popular brewer opened a new factory this summer.
In June, Lagunitas opened a huge 300,000 square foot brewery at 1843 S. Washtenaw Ave.
The brewery and pub, which will eventually produce 1.5 million barrels a year, is located at the former Ryerson Steel plant.
