Sentinel Peak Brewing Company will soon move production of its beers downtown in an effort to keep up with growing demand.
Owners of the midtown brewery, which will celebrate four years in January, signed a lease last week for an 8,750 square-foot facility at 330 S. Toole Ave., in the same building as the indoor climbing gym Rocks & Ropes of Tucson, just south of downtown.
The location will house Sentinel Peak’s new 15-barrel system, which was purchased from Dragoon Brewing on West Grant Road when Dragoon moved to two 15-barrel brewing vessels earlier this year.
Sentinel Peak currently runs on a 6-barrel system, which is no longer big enough, says co-owner Jeremy Hilderbrand.
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“We are really struggling to keep up with demand,” Hilderbrand said. “The Phoenix market is so big and we have been sending a lot of our beer up there. We’ve completely outgrown our space as far as the brewing side of things.”
Hilderbrand said they weren’t necessarily aiming to move downtown when they decided to find a new space for production.
“We looked on the west side, the northwest side,” he said. “We would have taken any spot that filled our needs.”
They eventually landed at 330 S. Toole Ave., a wide-open warehouse that places them halfway between Barrio Brewing on East 16th Street and Thunder Canyon Brewing on East Broadway.
Hildebrand said the initial plan is to get the new system up and running by spring. There is space for a taproom, but that will have to come later.
Sentinel Peak’s original location will continue to operate, with an emphasis on the brewery’s beer and barbecue. The equipment already in place at the restaurant may be used for test batches in the future, Hilderbrand said.
“We are excited to get downtown and get to work,” Hilderbrand said.
