$1 million expansion, green redo takes hold at Ypsilanti's Corner Brewery

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 | Source: Concentrate

After entering into their first international brewery franchise in Bangalore, India, Matt and Rene Greff are uncapping other ambitious plans for the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti. This time it's a $1 million complete green energy renovation and new addition to the premises.

Still in the final stages of obtaining necessary approvals from the city, they hope to break ground on the addition before the end of April, says co-owner Rene Greff. The 2,000-square-foot pre-fab steel structure will be used for storage and a new bottling line, which will allow for the packaging of product in advance. The company has been packaging to order, which was causing lag time and difficulty in keeping up with demand.

"We have been experiencing production growth between 20-30% over the last couple of years and we definitely think that will continue and could even accelerate," she notes.

The new addition will have a ground water heating and cooling temperature-controlled system and solar tube lighting. Those eco-friendly features will be echoed in the main building as well, which will be undergoing a green energy renovation with the same ground water heating and cooling system and a combination of solar thermal and photovoltaic panels for heating and electricity. New offices for management will also be constructed there. Greff hopes the addition and move will be done by mid-May and the rest of the green renovations by July.

The Greffs also have a $75,000 installation of groundwater, solar, and photovoltaic technologies planned for their Arbor Brewing Company brewpub in downtown Ann Arbor.

Energy cost savings should in the area of 30-50%, Greff figures, and taking into account the federal tax grants and incentives from DTE, a five-year payback period on the project. "It's a pretty incredible investment," she says.

Source: Rene Greff, co-owner, Corner Brewery and Arbor Brewing Company
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar