What is Project BASECAMP?

We'd like to introduce Pikes Peak Brewing's newest plans for expansion: Project BASECAMP.

Pikes Peak Brewing is positioning themselves to become a destination brewery with the completion of Project BASECAMP. According to Chris Wright, PPBC's founder and head brewer, they brewed over 2,700 barrels of beer on their current 10 barrel brew house, and with new distribution contracts with Western Distributing he's still running short on beer.So what is Project BASECAMP exactly? In a nutshell it's a purely production bred brewhouse that will be added on to Pikes Peak Brewing's current location. We sat down with Chris to hash out the nitty gritty last night.Why such a major expansion? Looking at Pikes Peak Brewing's brewhouse, one can quickly tell that space is at a minimum. Tanks are butted up against eachother, every spot of storage is filled, and everytime they have to package a batch they have to move everything out into the parking lot and back again afterwards. In its present state, Pikes Peak Brewing's brewhouse operations are somewhat inefficient. That's where the BASECAMP comes in. Instead of building something offsite or renovating an old school Ivywild-style, Chris has decided to keep Pikes Peak Brewing right where it began.“Pikes Peak Brewing Company has made a great impact on the Tri-Lakes area. They have brought jobs, philanthropy, a sense of community and of course great beer!” said Terri Hayes, Executive Director, Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce. “With the addition of Project BASECAMP, their reach will grow awareness of our fantastic region and help put us on the map.”At its core, Project BASECAMP will have a 30BBL four vessel brewhouse capable of pumping out six batches in a 24-hour timeframe. Surrounding that core will be a streamlined workflow of fermenters, packaging and storage to help keep up with their increased demand. On the near horizon will be distribution to other states, although Chris declined to comment where they were targeting first.Chris assured us that the pub dynamic would remain the same, with their current brewhouse being turned into a pilot system for one-offs and small batches.From a user experience side of things, Project BASECAMP will help their customers see the brewing process without hindering the flow and workday for PPBC's brewers. Instead of a ground-floor tour approach, Chris revealed they're planning a catwalk in the middle of the brewhouse that will have 360° views of the entire process. Also accessible from that catwalk will be the brand new brewers' office and laboratory.Project BASECAMP will add 5,900 square feet onto their existing footprint, bringing their total space up close to 13,000 square feet. The new facility, when finished, will be capable of producing over 13,000 barrels of beer every year, putting Pikes Peak Brewing in the top 20 breweries by size in the state of Colorado.

"When will you have it all operational?"

Chris told us to pump the brakes a little. Pikes Peak Brewing has initiated a 3 month fundraising campaign to help fund the project. After that finishes, he'll put the down payment on the brewhouse, and based on their current lead times of 6 months, that puts their final touches at around October. Just in time for their always-amazing Oktoberfest party.

Consistent with its motto of “Life is better when lived together” and taking advantage of new Federal crowdfunding type laws, Pikes Peak Brewing is funding the expansion by offering preferred economic shares in the company to its customers and neighbors. Send any interest in the crowdfunding to basecamp@pikespeakbrewing.com.

“By staying here in the Tri-Lakes community and offering our customers and neighbors an opportunity to participate in our growth and success, we are investing in our local community”, says Chris Wright, Founder and Head Brewer.

We're super excited for the next step for Pikes Peak Brewing as they look to join Bristol as the top dogs of the Colorado Springs beer market. We will continue to keep you updated as things happen, as there are a lot of moving pieces to make Project BASECAMP come to fruition.