Brewing to return to Bayfield

Steamworks Brewing Co. has reached an agreement with SEAR Capitol of Texas to take over operations at Steamworks' shuttered Bayfield facility.

The Bayfield Beer Factory, as it's being called, will contract brew for Steamworks, Silverton Brewery and presumably others.

The details have been extensively reported in The Durango Herald and Beer N Bikes, so I won't repeat them here. (Breaking news for my paying gig sometimes means I can't break news here as quickly as I would like).

I'll just add that contract brewing is a growing trend that makes a lot of sense for breweries seeking to expand cheaply. It should bring jobs to Bayfield, and the Beer Factory (what's wrong with the word "brewery?") will have a tap room.

It also means Steamworks has a plan. After they shuttered the Bayfield brewery, it wasn't clear what their next move would be. This arrangement should allow Steamworks to get their beer out in the region again and provide a viable base for possible future growth.

Silverton Brewery, founded in its current iteration in 2005, appears to be making an aggressive move to expand. Their canned beers just showed up in Durango a couple of months ago. (Try the IPA; the brown ale I can't recommend).

It'll be interesting to see if Silverton can expand their lineup and make a regional push.