Upland renovates, expands

Upland Brewing Co. bartender Fred Risinger poured a tall glass of ale for Bloomington resident Josh Caldwell Tuesday afternoon.

Risinger has worked at Upland for 10 years and has witnessed a time of substantial growth for the Bloomington-based brewery.

“We are selling so much more,” Risinger said. “Based on how much money I used to bring in, it’s probably quadrupled.”

After 15 years of serving the Bloomington community, Upland Brewing Co. is now starting up new locations and more options for its growing customer base.

The brewery will open a new pub location in Carmel during the first or second week of April, the first Upland tap house outside of Bloomington offering a full menu, Marketing Manager Andrea Lutz, said. Upland also plans to expand seating into vacant space in the back of its Bloomington pub, located at 350 W. 11th St.

The brewer began planning the Carmel restaurant one year ago after realizing the high demand in the region, Lutz said.

“A lot of IU grads end up in Indy,” Lutz said. “We thought getting a pub north of Indy would be well received.”

Construction of the 2,400 square-foot restaurant began about four months ago. The new location will bring in 40 new employees and seat about 90 people, Lutz said. Upland’s Bloomington Brew Pub location currently employs about 90 people and can seat 140 customers.

While the construction in Carmel continues, the brewery plans to renovate its Bloomington tap house to take advantage of the available space, Lutz said. The brewery is aiming to install additional booth seating, a second bar and a new wooden beer cask in the back area previously used for brewing operations.

It has already installed new windows that will allow customers in the back room to view the sour ale production process.

Lutz said plans are still in the works for the renovations, but the construction will not cause any interruption to business.   

“We want to keep our operations the same as they always have been,” Lutz said. “Our hope here is to keep our service consistent and improve the experience for clients.

The renovations follow a period of expansion for the brewery. Last year, Upland completed a $3-million renovation of its brewing facilities, moving all of its production to a brewery at 4060 Profile Parkway.  

The move allowed Upland to increase its brewing capacity from 11,000 to 25,000 barrels a year.

Sour ale production is the only brewing that remains in the 11th Street facility, Lutz said.

“We’re putting a lot of effort into expanding our sour selection,” Lutz said.

As the second largest brewer in Indiana, Upland has made plans to host parties around the state in celebration of its 15-year anniversary.

The festivities will begin with a launch party in Terre Haute April 6 celebrating Upland’s revival of the pre-Prohibition beer, Champagne Velvet.

For Risinger, the revival brings back childhood memories of working in his father’s bar. As a 12-year-old, Risinger would stand on upside-down Coca-Cola wooden crates in order to reach the bar and serve customers.

In addition to the expansion and Champagne Velvet revival, Upland is launching a new website with an event calendar and user-friendly pages that allow customers to browse through the beer selection.   

Caldwell said he is a regular at the Upland Bloomington Brew Pub and believes the new Carmel location will reach a large market of wealthy IU alumni. Expanding the Bloomington location will help cater to the large crowds that gather at the pub, which has become a local staple, he said.

“You come here some nights and you have to wait an hour,” Caldwell said. “It’s just a great atmosphere with great beer.”