The last time I went to Green Bench Brewing Co. was back in December of last year to chat about their annual Tampa Bay Beer Week event Foeder for Thought. This occasion is a little different. Currently, the folks over there are in the process of constructing expansion plans that are in the works after a 2-year process.

Here’s an excerpt of the story:

“Green Bench Brewing Co. has some big plans in the works for St. Petersburg. The EDGE District brewery, in case you local beer buffs haven’t noticed, recently embarked on its largest capital investment for upgraded infrastructure to date.

According to co-owner Nathan Stonecipher, when Green Bench was founded, he and his fellow co-owners, Steven Duffy and head brewer Khristopher Johnson, were always committed to their five-year plan and where they wanted to be. Every year since the brewery’s opening in 2013, they’ve added small additions, but construction kicked off in late May on a new expansion project.

Green Bench’s ideas for growth started two years ago. The trio began looking at other ways to implement creativity and innovation, as several other breweries had also debuted in St. Pete.

“When we looked at how the market’s changed, plus how our community and neighborhood has changed, we really wanted to invest more here on-site. We wanted to focus on, ‘What’s important to us now and in the future?'” Stonecipher said.

Next door to their flagship facility, the expansion effort is underway at 1120 Baum Ave. N., which Green Bench was previously using for barrel and grain storage and offices. The project will triple the brewery’s current beer production capacity — with help from a 100-can-per-minute packaging line — while providing Stonecipher and company with additional room to focus on their sour and wild ales, meads and ciders.”

To read more about Green Bench’s expansion plans, go here.

Photo courtesy of EMPAD Architecture and Design