A Grand Opening & You’re Invited

Piney River Brewing is planning a grand opening weekend for their new brewing facility on February 5, 6, and 7, 2016. The weekend event will begin with ribbon cutting at 2 p.m. that Friday on the Piney River Farm in Bucyrus.

Piney River Brewing recently completed the largest expansion in the history of the brewery. The expansion includes a 12,000 square foot barn located near the current “BARn” production facility and tap room.

The new building houses a custom built 15-barrel three-vessel brew house from Criveller Company of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada; four 60-barrel fermentation vessels and two 60-barrel bright beer tanks from Paul Mueller Company in Springfield, MO and a Series Three eight-head automatic canner from Wild Goose Canning in Boulder, CO.

This expansion is the third expansion since the company opened its doors in March 2011 as a nanobrewery, brewing 10 gallons of beer at a time.  The brewery was also the first microbrewery in the state of Missouri to can beer on site in November 2011 with an MC100 two-head Wild Goose canning machine.

The new brew house and cellar will give Piney River the capacity to brew up to 10,000 barrels of beer, with plenty of room for additional growth.  In 2015, Piney River produced just over 2,000 barrels of beer.

“Everyone that regularly visits the BARn has watched the construction progress at our brewery over the past year,” Brian Durham, head brewer and owner, said. “We are excited to have a weekend to celebrate with our friends, family and everyone that loves Piney River beer.”

The ribbon cutting is open to the public at 2 p.m. on Friday, February 5^th. Joleen and Brian Durham will give tours of the new brewing facility all weekend long at the top of every hour beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday until 8 p.m. that night. Tours will be available from 2 to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 12 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. There is no charge for a tour of the brewery.

In addition to the opportunity to tour the brewery throughout the weekend, Mike and Julie’s Smoked Meats will be available for purchase on Friday and Saturday.

“None of this growth would have been possible without the great support from our local community, the craft beer lovers throughout Missouri and Arkansas that have been drinking our beer for the past four years, and our distribution partners,” Durham said. “We hope that everyone that is able will join us during the grand opening weekend. We are proud to share this beautiful addition on our farm with them.”

Currently the brewery is distributed in most of Missouri and in Arkansas. Distribution is available in Missouri through Bluff City Beer in Cape Girardeau, Poplar Bluff and Herculaneum; Grellner Sales in Rolla, West Plains, Camdenton and Sedalia; Heart of America Beverage in Springfield and Joplin; NH Scheppers in Jefferson City and Columbia; and Summit Distributing in Saint Louis. Glidewell Distributing in Fort Smith distributes Piney River beer throughout the state of Arkansas.

 

Piney River Brewing Wins Gold at the World Beer Cup®

Piney River Brewing Company in Bucyrus, MO claimed a gold award in the 2014 World Beer Cup, a global beer competition that evaluates beers from around the world and recognizes the most outstanding brewers and their beers.

Gold, silver and bronze awards in the competition’s 94 beer style categories were presented April 11, 2014 during the World Beer Cup award ceremony at the Hyatt Regency in Denver, Colorado.

Piney River Brewing was awarded a gold award in the American-style wheat beer style category for its Float Trip Ale, a wheat-based blonde ale featuring pale wheat and malted barley with balanced, light hop bitterness and a smooth finish.

“We are truly honored to receive this gold award which recognizes our little brewery for brewing the best American-style wheat beer in the world,” Brian Durham, co-founder and head brewer at Piney River Brewing Company, said.

Float Trip Ale has been brewed since the brewery opened its doors in March 2011. In May 2013 the brewery began packaging the beer for distribution in kegs and 16-ounce pint cans. The beer highlights the Ozark experience of “floating” in a canoe, kayak, raft or tube on a Missouri stream.

“Around the world, people of all ages enjoy activities on streams, rivers and lakes, but in the Ozarks we are known for using the term ‘float trip’, which describes what many men, women and children do every year in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways,” Durham said, explaining that the brewery seeks to highlight the Ozarks with its beer.

Durham noted that when he and Joleen, his wife and brewery co-founder, decided to start a craft brewery in the Ozarks, they planned to package their beer in outdoor and river friendly aluminum cans.

“It was only natural that we highlight the quintessential Ozark experience—a float trip—with one of our beers,” Durham said. “Joleen and I love floating, and we developed this beer as something that could be enjoyed all day long while floating or doing anything fun in the Ozarks.”

Piney River Brewing is located on the Durham’s 80-acre farm, operating out of a 70-year old barn. The brewery was founded in 2010 with a 10-gallon brewing system. Today the brewery has a seven-barrel brewhouse which turned out 1,100 barrels of beer in 2013. In addition to draft beer, the brewery cans all of their beer in 16-ounce aluminum cans. The brewery has distribution in Central and Southern Missouri and Arkansas.

Last October, Piney River Brewing received a gold medal for their Old Tom Porter, a brown porter style beer, at the Great American Beer Festival—a national competition.

“We are thrilled to again shine the spotlight on our brewery and the beer that we’re brewing right here in the Ozarks,” Durham said. “To receive the top award for one of our beer styles at national and international competitions within less than one year’s time is a huge recognition for us.”

The Float Trip Ale was brewed by Lucas Clem and Amber Powell, the two full-time brewers at the brewery. Four additional part-time employees also work at the brewery.

“I cannot say enough about our brewery team and their commitment to quality,” Durham said. “Our mission at Piney River Brewing has always been to brew high quality beer that celebrates the Ozarks, and this World Beer Cup gold award for Float Trip is the realization of our brewery’s mission on an international stage.”

World Beer Cup winners were selected by an international panel of 219 beer judges from 31 countries. Regarded as the “Olympics of Beer Competition,” the World Beer Cup saw an impressive field of 4,754 entries from 1,403 breweries in 58 countries.

Presented by the Brewers Association, the World Beer Cup has been held every other year since 1996, to celebrate the art and science of brewing by recognizing outstanding achievement. For more additional information, visit the World Beer Cup website.

Piney River Brewing received their gold award at the 2014 World Beer Cup held in Denver on Friday night. Shown here, left to right: Brian Durham, head brewer and co-founder; Joleen Durham, co-founder, and Charlie Papazian, president of the Brewer’s Association.