[Philadelphia, PA] With their new brewery, the only one of its kind on the East Coast, Yards Brewing Company has introduced contract brewing in Spring 2019. Founder, Brewmaster, and President, Tom Kehoe, is proud to announce Cape May Brewing Company as their first partner in this exciting new endeavor, ushering in the latest development in Yards’ history and staying true to their Brew Unto Others philosophy.

“We are ecstatic to open up our extra capacity to our good friends from Cape May,” says Tom. “Ryan, Chris, Bob, and those guys are doing a great job. They’ve built a beer culture in South Jersey where there wasn’t one before, and we’re proud to be doing our part to help them grow,” he adds, referring to Cape May’s co founders Ryan and Bob Krill, and Chris Henke.

When Yards moved from their last location to their current home at 500 Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia, they chose a Ziemann Holvrieka brewhouse complemented by Alfa Laval cellar operations and yeast handling, and became the only regional craft brewer on the East Coast with this impressive system.

“We really took a leap, a real jump forward, building this new brewery. We have plenty of room to grow here,” says Tom. “I could have said that about the last brewery we built, too. When we moved from Kensington to Northern Liberties in 2008, we were only producing about 7,000 barrels a year, but we built a brewery with a capacity of 40,000 barrels. It took a few years, but we eventually maxed out.”

Now, with installed fermentation capacity of up to 100,000 barrels per year with the future ability to produce well over 200,000, Yards is in a unique position to transform their unused capacity into an additional line of business. The 70,000 square foot facility has also allowed Yards to offer cans in addition to bottles and kegs with their brand new KHS canning line capable of filling over 220 12-ounce cans per minute. Yards vows to maintain their dedication to making high-quality, consistently good beer for Philadelphia and their four-state distribution footprint, so their contract brewing relationships will be carefully selected.

“Yards will continue to seek out partner brewers to keep our state-of-the-art facility churning out great beer around the clock,” says Yards CEO Trevor Prichett. “We built a brewery that we could grow into over the long run, so this is the perfect opportunity for us to diversify our business while we continue our strategy of increasing depth within our existing markets.”

Since opening their doors in 2011, demand for Cape May Brewing Company’s diverse portfolio of beers has outgrown their capacity at the Cape May Airport. Their commitment to brewing a high-quality variety of brews has forced them to look for additional space beyond Cape May. This partnership with Yards will ensure that their commitment to quality will not waver.

“Chris and I started Cape May Brewery just about eight years ago, brewing 12 gallons at a time,” remembers Ryan. “And now here we are. We have 80 employees and are distributed in two states.”

“It’s hard to remember the first craft beer I ever had, but it’s a very good chance it was a Yards Pale Ale,” Chris adds. “I do remember getting it back in the day from their Kensington spot. I used to stop by to pick up mixed cases.” Chris recalls, referring to Yards’ third brewery location, in operation from 2001 to 2007. “We’ve always looked up to Yards and have a lot of respect for them, and that’s why they’ll be an awesome partner for this next phase in our growth.”