MONROE - Minhas Craft Brewery's Lazy Mutt Farmhouse Ale is becoming wildly popular, so much so that the brewery is adding 20,000 square feet of warehouse space.
Groundbreaking is expected in mid-March; the warehouse should be completed in May.
The flagship brand of Minhas was introduced a few months ago and already is distributed in Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Georgia. Eighty percent of Minhas' products are shipped to Canada. A dozen new distributors will join them soon.
"Lazy Mutt is doing very well," co-owner Minjat Minhas said. "We're opening two new territories of decent size in Canada, and will need a fair amount of extra product to ship there."
Minhas said negotiations for nine new distribution points in Illinois, which will cover about 70 percent of the Chicago to Rockford area, were finalized Thursday.
Television advertising campaigns for the new brew, marketed with the slogan "Man's Best Friend" began in December in Wisconsin. They will expand to the Chicago area starting April 1.
"That one market alone will keep us humming," Minhas said.
Minhas Brewery is renting 15,000 square feet of additional space. The new warehouse space will replace that.
"We felt it was better to have everything on our own property for better control of the product and it's more cost efficient," Minhas said. "Our turnover is very high."
The new addition will increase Minhas' Warehouse and Distribution Centre to about 54,000 square feet. The original Huber brewery had only 10,000 square feet of storage when Minhas bought it.
"We are lucky to have seven acres, and still have room to expand," Minhas said.
The additional warehouse space will extend along 10th Street. The brewery's three loading docks will remain where they are now, on the last addition.
Distributors are calling for Lazy Mutt, Mountain Creek and malt liquors, especially, Minhas said.
"As the ads say, we are proud it's brewed in Wisconsin, and we're putting Monroe on the map," she said.
Minhas Craft Brewery runs two 10-hour shifts and produces about 15,000 cases of beer a day.
Groundbreaking is expected in mid-March; the warehouse should be completed in May.
The flagship brand of Minhas was introduced a few months ago and already is distributed in Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Georgia. Eighty percent of Minhas' products are shipped to Canada. A dozen new distributors will join them soon.
"Lazy Mutt is doing very well," co-owner Minjat Minhas said. "We're opening two new territories of decent size in Canada, and will need a fair amount of extra product to ship there."
Minhas said negotiations for nine new distribution points in Illinois, which will cover about 70 percent of the Chicago to Rockford area, were finalized Thursday.
Television advertising campaigns for the new brew, marketed with the slogan "Man's Best Friend" began in December in Wisconsin. They will expand to the Chicago area starting April 1.
"That one market alone will keep us humming," Minhas said.
Minhas Brewery is renting 15,000 square feet of additional space. The new warehouse space will replace that.
"We felt it was better to have everything on our own property for better control of the product and it's more cost efficient," Minhas said. "Our turnover is very high."
The new addition will increase Minhas' Warehouse and Distribution Centre to about 54,000 square feet. The original Huber brewery had only 10,000 square feet of storage when Minhas bought it.
"We are lucky to have seven acres, and still have room to expand," Minhas said.
The additional warehouse space will extend along 10th Street. The brewery's three loading docks will remain where they are now, on the last addition.
Distributors are calling for Lazy Mutt, Mountain Creek and malt liquors, especially, Minhas said.
"As the ads say, we are proud it's brewed in Wisconsin, and we're putting Monroe on the map," she said.
Minhas Craft Brewery runs two 10-hour shifts and produces about 15,000 cases of beer a day.