MillerCoors Expands 10th Street Brewery

MillerCoors broke ground on a $50 million expansion of their lessor known Milwaukee brewery Friday afternoon. The 10th Street Brewery, named for its location at 1515 N. 10th St. just northwest of Downtown, will be expanded to boost beer production capacity from 25,000 to 250,000 barrels a year. As part of that expansion, the brewing giant expects to add 65 employees to the brewery.

Governor Scott Walker, speaking at the event, told the audience “the headline is simply, more jobs, more investment, more beer.” Mayor Tom Barrett praised MillerCoors for being a good corporate citizen, stating “MillerCoors has been a phenomenal partner to the city of Milwaukee.”

The event was emceed by MillerCoors’ chief legal officer and head of the Milwaukee campus Kelly Grebe. She noted the brewery wants to be known for its sustainability efforts and its commitment to improving Milwaukee. Grebe listed many of the company recent investments in the community, including supporting the clean-up of Bradford Beach, the Miller Lite Ride for the Arts that benefits the United Performing Arts Fund and improvements at South Shore Beach.

The 10th Street Brewery currently produces seasonal Leinenkugel beers. The expansion will make the facility comparable in production capacity to the company’s Leinenkugel brewery in Chippewa Falls according to MillerCoors Operations Business Manager Randy Burroughs.

During a tour of the facility after the groundbreaking Burroughs noted that the expanded 10th Street Brewery will allow MillerCoors to scale up production of new, specialty beers. He said the demand for beers like Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy has been rapidly growing.

As part of the expansion the brew house will be expanded from an 80- to 85-barrel system, and brewing time will be drastically decreased, allowing the brewery to go from four to 11 brews a day. A substantial expansion of the brewery’s cellar space is also planned, with the 40 additional tanks joining the existing fifteen. W.M. Sprinkman Corporation is designing the expanded brewery operation. The brewery currently is staffed by 15 employees.

A 119,328-square-foot warehouse and packaging facility is being constructed immediately east of the brewery. The Boldt Company is leading the construction of the project. The warehouse is being located on the site of the former Oswald Jaeger Baking Company at 918 W. Somers St. MillerCoors acquired the bakery facility in 2014, which was actually a collection of buildings merged together over the years dating back to 1876.

The brewery’s expansion is expected to be completed in March 2018. The 10th Street Brewery was originally constructed by G. Heileman Brewing Company in 1986. Miller bought the brewery in 1995 and has brewed Leinenkugel beer at the location since.

The brewery is perched on a site overlooking Interstate 43 just west of the city’s Hillside Terrace housing development.

Brewery Photos

Groundbreaking Photos