USA, SC: Peak Drift Brewing Company expected to open in Columbia in late 2022

Peak Drift Brewing Company is the name of the huge brewery and mixed-use development underway in the former Stone Manufacturing Facility at 3452 North Main St. in Columbia. The years-long project also named Wisconsin brewer Ashley Kinart-Short, as head brewmaster, The State reported on July 13.

The $34 million brewery is expected to open in late 2022, according to co-owners and siblings Sara and Greg Middleton. Peak Drift will be the largest brewery in South Carolina, according to Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who spoke in support of the business development at a news conference on July 13.

“I found out that only 10% of all craft beer in the United States is produced by women, and when we decided to move forward with this project, that is something very powerful that stuck out to not only me but my family and to the team we have in place,” said Sara Middleton.

Kinart-Short plans to introduce a variety of craft and traditional beer selections at Peak Drift. She said she hopes to have around 12 beer selections ready to be sold when the brewery opens next year. Kinart-Short has been a brewmaster since 2015.

Peak Drift beers will also be sold in the Smoked restaurant and microbrewery the Middletons are developing at 1643 Main St., Kinart-Short said.

“I also just love the creativity and the science behind craft brewing; it’s always growing and changing,” said Kinart-Short. “It’s also just an encouragement to people who aren’t the traditional, bearded guy who is throwing around a keg — there’s plenty of room,” Kinart-Short said about being one of the rare female brewmasters.

As for why the Middletons chose to build this project on North Main Street, Greg Middleton said it was a combination of wanting to build up their hometown of Columbia, getting introduced to the space by Columbia City Councilman Will Brennan and tax credits.

“One of the most important reasons of why here (on North Main Street) is something called an Opportunity Zone,” said Greg Middleton.

North Main Street is considered an “Opportunity Zone,” which is defined as “an economic development tool that allows people to invest in distressed areas in the United States” by the Internal Revenue Department. The zones are meant to attract investors and jobs in low-income communities with tax benefits under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

The development will be paid for through using the opportunity zone tax credits, historic tax credits and abandoned tax credits because the building was abandoned for more than 5 years, according to Sara Middleton, along with traditional business loans.

Developers are using an existing 64,000-square-foot warehouse for the brewery and taproom, according to city records. Located on more than 4 acres of land, the brewery will have an outdoor biergarten as well. By comparison, Steel Hands Brewing, another large Columbia brewery, has 10,000 square feet of indoor space on 4 acres of land, according to previous reports by The State.

With all of that space, the brewery will include basketball and sand volleyball courts, restaurant spaces and activity spaces all around for customers to enjoy, according to Sara Middleton. The space is meant to be an active location that promotes health and wellness, she said.

Mashburn Construction of Columbia, a family-owned company, is in charge of all the construction of Peak Drift. The building will have 15,000 square feet of production space, according to Brian Johnston, vice president of operations for Mashburn. The production area will be enclosed in glass for customers to see how the beer is made and will be the next phase of construction to be completed in the building.

The Middleton family, led by Scott Middleton, are credited with revitalizing the 1600 block of Main Street.

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