Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

Some of the Weirdest Places That Are Now Breweries

Pat Evans
By

Considering there are more than 6,500 breweries in the United States, it makes sense that some have taken up residence in spaces you might not have previously considered “brewery-ready.”

The reason for this often comes down to money and availability. It takes a lot of space and upfront capital to get a brewhouse in operation, and owners often look for some cheap real estate. That leads many to industrial areas and odd buildings. While it’s more common now to find a brewery in a strip mall, it’s not unusual to find one in a noteworthy setting: cruise ships, banks, former truck depots, former Navy mess halls, casinos, car dealerships, and more.

Recommended Videos

Below you’ll find some of the most bizarre locations for breweries — there’s so many, it was an unenviable task to narrow down this list.

Related

Engine House No. 9

Image used with permission by copyright holder

To think there’s a brewery in one historic American firehouse is cool. To know there are two breweries in historic Engine House No. 9s is a whole different kind of awesome. E9 Brewery is located in Tacoma, Washington’s Engine House No. 9,  a building built in 1907 and now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A few thousand miles away in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Mitten Brewing Company also calls an Engine House No. 9 home. (We’re not kidding.) The Mitten’s firehouse was built in 1890 and is supposedly home to a well-documented ghost, making it slightly weirder.

There are plenty more breweries located in old firehouses across the country, including Tenacity Brewing in Flint, Michigan; Firehouse Brewing in Rapid City, South Dakota; and Lost Kingdom Brewery & Firehouse Tap Room in Ovid, New York.

Funeral Home

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Not far from the Mitten in Grand Rapids is Brewery Vivant, a Belgian- and French-inspired brewery located in an old funeral home. Luckily for patrons, the brewery now looks more like a monastery than a morgue, but if you catch yourself thinking about it too long, it can still give you the creeps as you sip your farmhouse ale.

Church

Amy Ellis Photography

Atwater Brewing in Detroit opened its second taproom — and small brewing system — in an old church in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan. The mostly German-inspired brewery went great lengths to ensure many of the architectural nuances of the church remained intact. Atwater’s other locations aren’t traditional retail either: a former warehouse for its original Detroit location, the first floor of a historic hotel in Grand Rapids, and the soon-to-be Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

Church Brew Works in Pittsburgh made similar efforts and now boast swanky digs in a former Roman Catholic church. Other church breweries include Urban Artifact and Taft’s Ale House, both in Cincinnati; Salt Springs Brewery in Saline, Michigan; McMenamin’s Old Church Brewery in Wilsonville, Oregon; St. Joseph Brewery & Public House in Indianapolis; and Back Pew near Houston.

Baseball Stadium

Image used with permission by copyright holder

One just has to take a look at The Sandlot in Denver’s Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, to see the quintessential baseball stadium brewery — it’s actually in an old warehouse, which is part of the stadium. The Sandlot, of course, is home to Blue Moon, a beer many craft fans owe their love to, despite its Miller ownership. The Sandlot has also concocted many other amazing award-winning beers, all right there near a Major League field.

In Louisville, Kentucky, Against the Grain goes, well, against the grain of the bourbon-loving hometown in an old train station attached to Louisville Slugger Field, headquarters for Louisville Bats (the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds). The brewery’s name might have something to do with the Louisville Slugger factory down the road, but who knows.

Train Station

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Against the Grain isn’t the only brewery in an old train station. The Depot Craft Brewery Distillery is in an old restored train depot in Reno, Nevada. Built in 1910, the depot sat empty for much of the time following its closure in 1937. By the time The Depot owners took over, the building was dilapidated, full of graffiti, and had been on the verge of being torn down. Today, it’s a beacon of a district full of breweries.

In Chicago, Flossmoor Station turned a train station, built in 1906, into a pretty sweet brewery too.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Pat Evans
Pat Evans
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Pat Evans is a writer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, focusing on food and beer, spirits, business, and sports. His full…
At Denver’s Seedstock Brewery, Everything Old Is New Again
seedstock historical beer revival 1

Breweries, like most other customer-facing businesses, have a vested interest in rising trends. Beermakers at both large-scale brewing companies and at small craft operations pay attention to bestselling styles and time their releases to line up with what’s new, hot, and exciting about the current beer scene. Case in point? The near-overwhelming growth in hazy IPA production, which has now solidly crossed over to the mainstream after years of popularity among the bearded-hipster set of beer aficionados.

At Seedstock Brewery in Denver, Colorado, the brewing team holds plenty of respect for beer trends, and co-owner Ron Abbott believes that these trends grow due to smart and curious drinkers. “Craft beer lends itself to trends. If you think about many craft beer lovers, they're not afraid to do something different. Think of people who started home brewing in the '90s, and people thought they were crazy for waiting weeks for two gallons of beers. They also have strong opinions. If you go out to a restaurant or movie, the craft beer lover in the group will be the one to make the recommendation of where the group goes. They're ready to try new things. Many craft beer lovers are also creatives and writers, so they are [talking about] what they're excited about, which puts trends on the media map,” Abbott explains.

Read more
Oskar Blues Brewery Releases French’s Mustard Beer
oskar blues frenchs mustard beer pr select 2

Mustard and beer is a great combination, but usually we're talking mustard used as a condiment on a sausage or pretzel alongside a pint. Colorado's Oskar Blues Brewery has taken this pairing to a whole new level with a new collaboration with French's Mustard, appropriately called French’s Mustard Beer. It's a tropical wheat beer that is literally brewed with French’s Classic Yellow Mustard, along with an infusion of fruit and citrus flavors including key lime, lemon, tangerine, and passion fruit. “We’re stoked on bold flavors at Oskar Blues Brewery and we never shy away from a challenge,” said Oskar Blues head brewer, Juice Drapeau, in a prepared statement. “With French’s Mustard Beer we elevated the Classic Yellow Mustard flavor with tangy lemon and lime to create a tropical wheat ale I’d pair with a loaded hot dog on the hottest day of the year.”

This isn't the first food crossover for French's, known for its bright yellow mustard that is ubiquitous at backyard barbecues around the country. Last year, the brand collaborated with Coolhaus to release a mustard ice cream that was available in New York and California for a limited time alongside a pretzel cookie. And Oskar Blues is no stranger to brewing uniquely flavored beer, as indicated by its "Death By" series of brews with such flavors as king cake, coconut, and even affogato.

Read more
These Homebrewing Appliances And Kits Are the Easiest Way to Make Your Own Beer
picobrew zymatic

Learning to brew your own beer doesn’t have to be hard. For a basic brew, I liken it to making boxed macaroni and cheese. If you can measure ingredients, add in items at specific times, and maintain a relatively steady temperature, you can make beer. However, it can be expensive to buy (and inevitably to upgrade) the equipment and homebrewing is a large time investment. An all-grain brew day can easily take up an entire Saturday — and that’s not including all the clean-up.

For those with small spaces, limited time, and some cash to spend, counter-top appliances and straightforward, beginner craft brew kits are all the rage. These homebrewing kits fit right in beside toasters and microwaves but promise to make brewing beer as simple brewing as a pot of coffee. Or maybe even microwavable mac n’ cheese.
Pico
Zymatic. Image used with permission by copyright holder

Read more