US brewery plans 105-room beer hotel as part of $65m redevelopment

Shipyard Brewing has submitted plans for a 105-room ‘Brewtel’ where guests can order a beer keg via room service as part of a $65 million redevelopment proposal submitted to authorities in Portland.

The existing brewery in Maine. Image: Pinterest

As reported by Press Herald, Shipyard’s plans were made public on Tuesday (1 May) this week. The $65 million proposal includes plans for a beer hotel (brewtel) which includes a first-floor tasting room and keg beer room service.

The plans include the renovation of the existing brewery and tasting room and the demolition of the rest of the buildings on the 2-acre site, including the bottling plant. This will make way for the hotel as well as a three-story residential building, an office building and a four-story garage.

According to Shipyard founder and president, Fred Forsely, the new site will offer brewing tours while they’ll also be a tasting room and a television station dedicated to the brewing process.

Guests could also get the chance to order beer straight to their rooms via a keg brought up by hotel staff.

At its redeveloped site, Shipyard hopes to focus on experimental, trial beers as well as setting up a barrel-ageing programme. Its current warehouse, located a few miles away from the brewery, will be used for its bulk beer production in the future.

If approved, Shipyard’s brewtel will join existing ventures from Dogfish Head, McMenamins, and BrewDog, which is set to open its Ohio hotel later this year.