Half Acre Beer Company has always pushed boundaries with their beers. Whether it’s experimenting with their hops or sourcing exotic ingredients, the folks at Half Acre are well aware that what ends up in your glass is only a small part of the overall process of a beer’s creative journey. This comprehensive approach to creativity has manifested itself in other avenues of their business as well. They’ve had a woodshop for a while that sourced the wood pieces and artwork in their new Balmoral space, but they never had a formalized program for it. That has all changed given Half Acre’s recent announcement that they were expanding their creative studio into a fully-fledged business. Here is what you need to know about Half Acre Build Company.

The initiative is led by Half Acre’s co-founder Gabriel Magliaro. Along with providing creative and business direction for the hybrid woodshop/creative studio, he is also the primary designer of the pieces – which provides a unique creative outlet for the brewer. For Gabriel, the vision of Half Acre Build Company syncs up well with the larger goals of the brewery: “I think there’s every similarity between our hopes for the woodshop and our hopes for Half Acre. We hope to sincerely connect with a creative process and find others that connect with that same line of creativity. The inspiration is identical.”

Expanding this element of their business then became a logical next step given the success of their two brewing locations and rapidly-growing multi-market retail presence.

Why Now

• The practical reason is that they needed to move their woodshop from its current location next to the kitchen at their Balmoral brewery. Put simply by Gabriel: “Power tools and sawdust don’t blend too well with a busy kitchen.” The bigger reason comes from the creative ambition of Half Acre. With several solid months of operation at their new facility, Gabriel and crew were ready to “take the leap” and devote more square-footage and resources to this project.

What They Will Build

• Build Co will produce machine wood carving, point-of-sale goods, fixtures builds, art pieces & collaborations. But to Gabriel, the parameters for what the new wood shop can produce are limitless: “We’ll make art pieces that serve as communication objects, but we’re also very much in exploratory mode. Ultimately, the base function is to offer a way for Half Acre and others to have a deeper connection with objects that surround us… Whether that means POS, artwork or furniture.”

Where Can People Buy

• While the wood shop will aim to source “things that come from faceless factories,” Gabriel is committed to making the items created in the shop affordable for the everyday consumer. The new shop will be located at 3045 N. Rockwell and will eventually feature a full gallery and retail space. Current pieces created by Build Company can be purchased at their Lincoln brewery, located at 4257 N Lincoln Ave.

More than anything, it’s exciting to see a craft brewery think outside of the box and utilize their creativity in other avenues. I have a feeling Half Acre Build Company will be a great fit for the brand and add another ambitious chapter to the Half Acre story.

Feature image courtesy of Half Acre Build Co.

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