Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Stone officially brewing in Richmond

Stone beer in 28 countries, 50 states by end of the year

Stone IPA was the first beer produced at the company's new Richmond production brewery.
Stone IPA was the first beer produced at the company's new Richmond production brewery.

As it put together plans for its massive 20th Anniversary celebration, Stone Brewing announced in early July that its new 250-barrel brewing facility in Richmond, Virginia is officially online and producing beer. The morning of July 8, the brewery began kegging and distributing Stone IPA, signifying what the Escondido-based company announced as "the official launch of Stone’s East Coast operations, ultimately providing the freshest Stone beer to more craft beer fans east of the Mississippi."

The central Virginia location makes it geographically viable to fulfill Stone's mission to distribute fresh beer to Eastern states — which is why San Diego beer companies Ballast Point and Green Flash also have Virginia production breweries in the works. While Stone immediately began distributing Richmond-brewed beer throughout Virginia, more will soon follow, and Stone expects to distribute to all 50 states by the end of 2016. Green Flash and its subsidiary Alpine are the only breweries to do so currently, while Ballast Point also reports being on schedule to deliver to all 50 by the end of the year.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Meanwhile, with its Berlin brewery actively shipping beer, Stone now distributes to 28 countries, including most of Europe. At full capacity, the Berlin brewery will produce up to 38,000 barrels per year, with room to expand to produce 100,000. The Richmond brewery will also produce 100,000 barrels per year at full capacity.

In 2015, Stone increased its annual production 13.4 percent to sell 325,645 barrels of beer, making it the tenth largest craft brewery in the U.S. by volume, according to the Brewers Association, and 15th largest American brewery overall. Stone dropped a spot on both lists compared to 2014, as its production was surpassed by Wisconsin's Minhas Craft Brewery.

A Stone rep declined to estimate how much beer the company will produce overall in 2016, but factoring in two new brewhouses working through the end of the year, repeating last year's rate of growth seems reasonable, or even a little low.

It will be interesting to see where Stone lands on the Brewers Association's list of top craft breweries for 2016. With the departure of Lagunitas Brewing from the craft beer sector, Stone should easily gain a spot to return to number 9, or higher, even if it doesn't catch up to Minhas. Incidentally, Stone began distributing to Wisconsin in June.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Rebecca Jade, Stoney B. Blues, Manzanita Blues, Blame Betty, Marujah

Holiday music, blues, rockabilly, and record releases in Carlsbad, San Carlos, Little Italy, downtown
Next Article

Hike off those holiday calories, Poinsettias are peaking

Winter Solstice is here and what is winter?
Stone IPA was the first beer produced at the company's new Richmond production brewery.
Stone IPA was the first beer produced at the company's new Richmond production brewery.

As it put together plans for its massive 20th Anniversary celebration, Stone Brewing announced in early July that its new 250-barrel brewing facility in Richmond, Virginia is officially online and producing beer. The morning of July 8, the brewery began kegging and distributing Stone IPA, signifying what the Escondido-based company announced as "the official launch of Stone’s East Coast operations, ultimately providing the freshest Stone beer to more craft beer fans east of the Mississippi."

The central Virginia location makes it geographically viable to fulfill Stone's mission to distribute fresh beer to Eastern states — which is why San Diego beer companies Ballast Point and Green Flash also have Virginia production breweries in the works. While Stone immediately began distributing Richmond-brewed beer throughout Virginia, more will soon follow, and Stone expects to distribute to all 50 states by the end of 2016. Green Flash and its subsidiary Alpine are the only breweries to do so currently, while Ballast Point also reports being on schedule to deliver to all 50 by the end of the year.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Meanwhile, with its Berlin brewery actively shipping beer, Stone now distributes to 28 countries, including most of Europe. At full capacity, the Berlin brewery will produce up to 38,000 barrels per year, with room to expand to produce 100,000. The Richmond brewery will also produce 100,000 barrels per year at full capacity.

In 2015, Stone increased its annual production 13.4 percent to sell 325,645 barrels of beer, making it the tenth largest craft brewery in the U.S. by volume, according to the Brewers Association, and 15th largest American brewery overall. Stone dropped a spot on both lists compared to 2014, as its production was surpassed by Wisconsin's Minhas Craft Brewery.

A Stone rep declined to estimate how much beer the company will produce overall in 2016, but factoring in two new brewhouses working through the end of the year, repeating last year's rate of growth seems reasonable, or even a little low.

It will be interesting to see where Stone lands on the Brewers Association's list of top craft breweries for 2016. With the departure of Lagunitas Brewing from the craft beer sector, Stone should easily gain a spot to return to number 9, or higher, even if it doesn't catch up to Minhas. Incidentally, Stone began distributing to Wisconsin in June.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Oceanside toughens up Harbor Beach

Tighter hours on fire rings, more cops, maybe cameras
Next Article

San Diego beaches not that nice to dogs

Bacteria and seawater itself not that great
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader