Surly’s ‘destination brewery’ goes for industrial feel

Surly Brewing Co. has released new architectural renderings of its $20 million "destination brewery" scheduled to open next year in Minneapolis.

Based on the images produced by HGA Architects, it looks like Surly wants visitors to remember they're in a brewery, not just a bar.

You can almost smell the yeast and hops wafting from the fermentation tanks, which are visible from the "beer hall."

Surly successfully lobbied the 2011 Legislature to allow breweries to sell beer on site by the pint, which had previously been illegal. The new "Surly law" has led to an explosion of so-called taprooms. As of January the state had licensed a dozen of them, and new breweries are popping up on a monthly basis.

But Surly has taken its time. It completed a lengthy search before settling on an industrial property near the University of Minnesota. Minneapolis helped the company win close to $2 million in public grants aimed at cleaning up pollution on the site.

The images released in conjunction with Surly's seventh anniversary offer the first glimpse of what the building will look like inside. For some reason, they also show the taproom populated by apparitions.

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