STANDING TALL AGAIN
Common Roots Brewing Company partially open after devastating 2019 fire
SOUTH GLENS FALLS, N.Y.
» A local brewery that burned last spring has risen from the ashes with a new, larger facility that is now partially open amid pandemic conditions.
Common Roots Brewing Company recently reopened its doors to the public after a more than year-long hiatus following a fire in March of 2019.
A new 15,000-squarefoot brewery and taproom now stands at 58 Saratoga Ave. in South Glens Falls, the site of the former brewery that was destroyed in the fire.
For now, the taproom offerings include only togo beer and pizza, but cofounders Christian and Bert Weber are looking forward to a full grand opening in the future.
The father-son duo originally opened Common Roots Brewing Company in late 2014, and spent the past five years building the business into a popular local brewery.
Despite the devastating fire that ripped through the building last March, at a time when the company was gearing up to expand, the Webers decided to continue growing their family business.
The remains of the former brewery were demolished in 2019, and the company got to work last fall creating a new, bigger home for Common Roots.
“It was sort of a forced expansion,” Christian said, sharing that a larger brewery was among their longterm goals.
Though a fire was certainly not ideal, the consequent demolition allowed the Webers to take advantage of the situation and build their dream brew
ery, rather than expanding through multiple small additions as originally planned.
“It’s much easier having a space specifically designed for this, as opposed to trying to fit everything into an older building,” Bert said.
“We figured we’d kind of build the forever brewery and be able to grow into it,” Christian said.
The new facility, set on the same Route 9 site, is nearly triple the size of the former building, with increased production, kitchen, bar, dining and event space.
The major construction project wrapped up during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Common Roots recently began offering limited services of takeout craft beer and woodfired pizza.
In the weeks and months ahead, the company plans to expand its offerings to include draft beer on site and eventually full service for food and drink, as well as tours and special events.
While the brewery could open its taproom under current state regulations, the owners have decided to wait until customers can enjoy the full Common Roots experience. This decision was also about safety regarding the virus. “For us, it’s making sure that our community is safe and our coworkers are safe, and this seems like the way to mitigate as much risk as possible,” Christian said, adding that the brewery is a destination for beerlovers from all over.
“People have a particular experience in mind when they come to Common Roots, and when we’re finally able to share this space from an on-premise side with them, we want them to have the experience that we envisioned. That was being able to sit and enjoy and be around community - and that isn’t something that we could say that we could safely do right now,” Christian continued.
“The space was designed for that,” Bert added.
On when the brewery will open the new facility to guests, “It really is dependent on the comfort level and how we feel like we can keep our community safe,” Christian said.
At this time, Common Roots Brewing Company is focusing primarily on production, which is transitioning over to a new, fully automated system at the new facility.
Once fully operational, Common Roots anticipates brewing about 12,000 barrels of beer annually, about double the brewery’s prefire capacity.
Following the fire, the brewing company moved its production elsewhere, so that customers could keep enjoying their favorite Common Roots brews.
Over the past year or so, the brewery team has been busy creating and testing some new recipes that they’re eager to share with the public. “We have a lot of new beers coming out,” Christian said, noting that brewing on a pilot system for several months was a luxury. “We’re very excited.”
Common Roots Brewing Company is currently open from noon to 8 p.m. seven days a week, with food and beer available to go.
More information about Common Roots Brewing Company is available online at commonrootsbrewing.com or by calling (518) 4098248.