At last, the first batch of beer has been brewed at the new Heist Brewery facility

After several unexpected delays, the first batch of beer has finally been brewed at the new Heist Brewery facility in North End, and brewer Eric Mitchell is relieved.

“We can’t keep up with demand in our taproom right now,” he confesses.

A commanding 30-barrel, four-vessel brewhouse towers above rows of fermenters, providing more than a threefold jump in production ability. Compared to Heist’s current 8.5 barrel (10 hectoliter) brewpub system, pacing customer demand should be a bit easier moving forward.

Fermentation-wise, there is a similar increased-capacity situation: a pair of 60-barrel units lord over six 30-barrel fermenters. Several other tanks are soon to be transferred from Heist’s brewpub to this production facility. Three 15-barrel fermenters will feed what Mitchell refers to as the “stout factory,” with a 10- and 20-barrel sibling set destined for fermenting wild ales.

Mitchell is understandably pleased with his new capacity. “We’re going to make in two months what takes us a year there,” he figures.

Then there’s the matter of Heist’s in-house canning line. While the brewery had employed a mobile canning service in the past, production constraints had put a damper on those events. It’s been nearly a year since four-packs of cans were last released (Blurred Up, on Jan. 27), but expect that drought to end come February.

Citraquench’l, the highest-rated beer in the state according to BeerAdvocate users, will usher in the new era of availability.

While Heist’s largest can release previously was 160 cases, Mitchell envisions doing double that in-house each week. The seven-head-filler canning line is capable of handling 30 cans per minute (and can be expanded to ten heads if needed).

So, now that they’re brewing on the new system, what’s next? (“You mean, aside from just keeping up with demand?,” asks Mitchell.) In a word: barrels.

Heist’s new facility has room for not one but two barrel rooms, each sized to handle 240 bourbon, wine, or whatever that Mitchell uses to age his beers. Downstairs, the aforementioned “stout factory” will birth favorites such as the anticipated Cataclysm imperial stout (releasing “end of the year,” Mitchell estimates) plus other bigger barrel-aged beers.

It’s a bit funkier upstairs; wild-fermentation beers will occupy a separate area. A trio of Foeders (say: foo-der) is already on-site, which will further help bolster Heist’s sour production.

So what’ll happen to Heist’s former equipment? For several months now, both Heist and neighboring Salud Cerveceria have been sharing fermenter space. Look for more beers from each outfit, now that Salud assumes full control of Heist’s smaller system.

Now that the brewhouse is up and running, Heist can turn their focus to Phase 2: a tap room and outdoor beer garden. They’re eyeing a late spring time frame, assuming everything goes as planned. Expect further details in a follow-up piece, closer to opening.

For now, there’s finally beer fermenting away.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Mitchell, as water finally met grain for the inaugural batch of Hive Fives.

Opening this second facility has been quite the process, and now the work begins.

This story was originally published January 21, 2018 at 10:00 PM with the headline "At last, the first batch of beer has been brewed at the new Heist Brewery facility."