BOWMANVILLE — After operating out of a space smaller than the average two-bedroom condo, Spiteful Brewing is trading its cramped Ravenswood digs for a roomier new home in Bowmanville, where its neighbor will be none other than Half Acre, according to reports.
"We're all really looking forward to the growth!" Calvin Fredrickson, who handles marketing for Spiteful, emailed DNAinfo Chicago after word of the expansion broke Thursday in the Tribune.
Spiteful will set up shop at 2024 W. Balmoral Ave., with Half Acre at 2050 W. Balmoral Ave. Half Acre owner Gabriel Magliaro tipped off Spiteful that the building was available, according to the Tribune.
Jason Klein and Brad Shaffer founded Spiteful in 2009 and spent the next three years home brewing on nights and weekends to perfect their recipes.
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In 2012, they leased 500 square feet at 1815 W. Berteau Ave., installed three five-barrel tanks and brewed Spiteful's first official beers in November 2012. Within two years, Spiteful occupied 950 square feet at the same address and was bursting at the seams, with 12 fermentation tanks.
"The plan is to get bigger and have our own building," Shaffer said in 2014. "But we're growing at our own pace."
Though Spiteful's output has been a fraction of its peers — fewer than 1,000 barrels a year compared with 30,000 for Half Acre — the upstart's brews have earned a mighty reputation. In November, Spiteful earned two gold medals at the Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer.
In addition to having limited production capacity, the existing brewery lacks any room for on-site tastings or sales of growlers. Construction on the new brewery, expected to start in the spring, reportedly includes plans for a taproom.
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