FH Beerworks, formerly Fieldhouse Brewing Co., announces a large-scale business development plan during their rebrand party on Wednesday, June 6, at their brewery/taproom in downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. Travis Fields, co-owner of FH Beerworks confirms that as of May 30, they were able to secure a 4.3 acre property and a 7,800 square foot building at 2490 Victor Place, off Constitution Avenue and Powers Boulevard, as their secondary location.
“Knowing an expansion was coming down the pipeline we thought this would be a good launch,” says Fields. “It’s a good way to get people hyped.”
RMFR catches up with Fields to discuss the evolution of their moniker, the planning phases for the mammoth-sized facility and why for FH Beerworks, bigger really is better.
Fields tells us that the decision to modify the company name is due to trademark concerns as the word “Fieldhouse” is already spoken for within the craft beer industry. The variation in nomenclature has a catchy ring to it and gets support from a fresh logo, new packaging and protects FH Beerworks from any unforeseen hiccups as they grow into the warehouse-esque space.
“The long term goal is distribution and we really want to saturate Colorado Springs with FH Beer,” says Fields. “It’ll be large all the way around. Our whole operation right now could fit inside that tap room.”
FH Beerworks hopes to open their new brewery, taproom, beer garden and barrel-aging room over Labor Day weekend, and predicts that their staff will more than double to properly manage the massive entity. Fields already mentions a running club and group cycling rides as “the trail head for Rock Island Trail dumps right into our driveway” with the potential to connect to their Tejon Street location through existing bike paths.
“It’s going to be giant,” says Fields. “It was one of those things, it came up and it was too good of a deal to pass up. We’re not really ready to grow this much but we had to jump on the opportunity.”
Phase one consists of a 6,000 square foot, two-tiered beer garden that stands between the brewery and the taproom/barrel-aging room with a concrete patio and secondary level that provides ample seating courtesy of a large community table. An area with turf is set to host multiple yard games to include corn hole, a giant Jenga set and Connect 4.
Fields says he plans to have an indoor and an outdoor fireplace and that his father, a welder, is under contract to build a custom steel frame bar for the taproom. FH Beerworks enlists the help of an interior designer in regards to all the major aesthetic choices they’ll decide on during the next few pivotal weeks.
“What we can do with this property is incredible and we have some phase two (and three) plans in our heads already,” says Fields. “We’ll be able to grow there forever with plenty of room to expand.”
Fields with co-owner/spouse, Niki Fields, and their family reside in Northeast Colorado Springs, and acknowledges that splitting their presence across the city gives them the chance to diversify their clientele and be closer to home.
“We are excited it’s on this side of town,” says Fields. “I think the proximity dictates the regulars so I think we’ll have a new set [of regulars] on the Eastside. My hope is to keep our downtown clientele and create a new pocket over here.”
The copious square footage also allows for FH Beerworks to grow drastically internally with a notably larger brewing system, the ability to store up to 50 barrels and space to accommodate for special events.
“We want to have a solid barrel-aged bomber output and do a lot of small batches,” says Fields. “It’ll be a pretty big part of what we do in the taproom but not in overall distribution. We want to have a decent sized program where we can try some new things.”
Fields says that there will be more beer across the board with 20 taps instead of the 15 they currently have at their original location and that they’re absolutely adding nitro. FH Beerworks also chooses to swap-out their flagship IPA from ‘Up a Creek’ to ‘Good Day’ which he refers to as “a West Coast IPA, more fruity, hop forward, that’s approachable” with new cans to debut at their fourth anniversary party on June 30, 2018.
Fields says he realizes what a strident leap they’re taking but digresses that it isn’t an impulsive decision as they’ve been eyeing the property since June of 2017.
“We knew we wanted it,” says Fields. “But it was a matter of putting a lot of pieces together.”
Now as the puzzle forms and a clear concept emerges, the conservatively-sized brewery spearheads the advancement into Sasquatch-accomodating proportions and the importance of embracing the entirety of Colorado Springs.
“We’re suckers for punishment,” laughs Fields. “Instead of growing again in two to three years we are just making a big jump. It’s a giant step.”
*Header image courtesy of REN Creativ
