(New Glarus, WI) – One year ago, New Glarus Brewing broke ground on its 55 million dollar brewhall, distillery, and hospitality expansion. They are set to welcome guests early summer of 2027.
New Glarus Brewing teamed with Keller Construction; another employee owned Wisconsin based company on this project. Keller has kept the project on time and on budget.
“It’s a large and complex site,” said lead architect and construction manager, Katherine May. “We change elevation about 60’ as the design marches up the hill in a line, connecting the flat area at the bottom of the hill to our existing facility at the top of the hill.”
Construction is set to finish in the fall of 2026, with plans to take the winter and spring of 2027 to move in, hire new team members, start up the new production kettles, and get everything ready to open to visitors early-summer 2027.
“We started construction with our retail space, built into the hill side at the lowest level, and simultaneously started our Brewhall Addition at the top. And we recently celebrated the milestone of these two building ends finally connecting.”
The new Brewhall addition abuts the existing Brewhall. This is the space that houses New Glarus’ beautiful copper kettles that were imported from Germany. The kettles and tanks are so big that the tanks were craned in first and the building built around them.
“I’ve been working on this project for about four years. So, it’s really breathtaking to see it coming to life. We still have a long road to go. In fact, the building is still being designed as it’s constructed. Recently, we were designing the custom Tasting Room Bar which will be a beautiful space with sail vault ceilings, 100 year old stained glass and wood paneling.”
New Glarus’ original Riverside Facility has remained open for visitors during construction at Hilltop with self-guided tours, tastings, and gift shop; open Tuesday through Saturday 10am-5pm.
