Touchstone Climbing announced early this week that they have begun work on Touchstone Brewing Company, a microbrewery in Sacramento, California. The brewery will be next to Sacramento Pipeworks, and will include a taproom on-site to give their members and guests a place to hang out after a good climbing session or work out.
“We’ve been talking about building a taproom on the Sacramento Pipeworks property for years,” said Pipeworks General Manager Markham Connolly. “But it always seemed like a pipedream, until we found the right man for the job.”
Touchstone has hired Brewmaster Ryan Campagna to brew and manage Touchstone Brewing Company. “This project was so unique and we knew we had to find someone to champion the effort,” said Touchstone Climbing CEO Mark Melvin. “Ryan has been a part of the Touchstone community for years and we’re excited to share his passion for craft beer and the climbing community.”
As an avid climber and mountaineer, Compagna began climbing at The Studio in San Jose when they opened in 2011. “When I heard that Touchstone had been considering a brewery at Sacramento Pipeworks, I immediately reached out,” said Campagna. “The idea of running my own brewery, next to a climbing gym, 1 hour away from the mountains… it was almost too good to be true.”
Pintworks
Touchstone Brewing Company will be an 1800 sq ft brewery with a 2600 sq ft tap room, along with a shaded outdoor beer garden. The taproom itself, affectionately dubbed Pintworks, will offer beer, beverages and food.
“We’re including a pizza oven in the plans,” said Melvin. “Along with non-alcoholic drinks. While we’re very excited about being the first climbing gym in the USA to brew its own beer, we also want to build a place on-site for the community to come together over food and drinks.”
The brewery will be a 7 BBL system, capable of about 728 barrels of beer per year. In layman’s terms, that’s 180,544 pints.
“I’m planning on brewing a variety of rotating beers, and hoping to get started with eight on tap,” said Campagna. “We’ll have something for everyone!”
“Along with brewing for on-site sales at Pintworks, Touchstone Brewing Company will be creating special batches for events at Touchstone Climbing gyms like TCS competitions and community events,” said Campagna. “We’re also excited to be able to brew for non-profit fundraisers and climbing outreach events.”
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