For Immediate Release
Barrel Theory has officially announced their purchase of Lake Monster Brewing Company and their facilities at 550 Vandalia Street in Saint Paul.
This comes after Barrel Theory has seen some steady growth in the local distro market, and it serves as a bet on themselves to continue to expand distro, and serve more of their taproom customers in Saint Paul - albeit in a different location.
The plan from Timmy Johnson, the founder and owner of Barrel Theory:
We are going to keep producing here (the lowertown St. Paul Taproom) and at the new spot, until the law changes, so we can open the original location as well. We want to be able to produce, pour, and distribute at both places, along with being able to have wine and bourbon and such. For now, the taproom will move to the old Lake Monster location. It’s much bigger than our current space, and they have a big patio too.
The most clear and obvious benefit here that Timmy calls out is the increase in taproom capacity. If you’ve ever been to Barrel Theory’s current taproom, you know it’s a nice spot, but it is quite small. This has historically limited how many folks can fit in their space, but also what kind of events they are able to host. More space both inside and outside should open up a lot of options for them, and what kind of events they can host moving forward.
Photo: Left: Barrel Theory Beer Company, Right: Lake Monster Brewing Company
Photo: Left: Barrel Theory Beer Company, Right: Lake Monster Brewing Company
There is also a benefit to the additional production space they are acquiring as part of this move. In order to meet distribution demand, they have been working with contract brewers on some core beers, but they should be able to bring that back in house, and have more control, which is always a good thing when it comes to quality and consistency.
The other main benefit as well is the parking. Anyone who has made a visit to any establishment in Lowertown St. Paul knows, parking is most always a hurdle. Street parking is limited, and even when you find a spot, you still pay for it. If you can’t find a spot on the street, you are paying even more for a pay lot. Well, that is no longer. Lake Monster has its own surface lot with plenty of free parking. That is one detail that Timmy mentioned he is quite excited about.
Timmy stated they are officially targeting somewhere around the last week of September or the first week of October to be up and running, and welcoming guests in the new space, though an official date will be announced later.
Overall, this move makes a lot of sense, and it will be exciting to see how it affects their footprint in the Twin Cities and beyond.
Congrats to Timmy and the whole crew at Barrel Theory on this exciting new chapter!
