When 10-month-old Pedal Haus Brewery in downtown Tempe announced in June it was closing for three months to expand its brewing system, many people (including yours truly) wondered why.
After all, many Valley breweries have expanded their brewhouses without closing for a single day.
But later this month, when Pedal Haus reopens for business, you’ll see why the full closure was necessary. Hardly any aspect of the 12,000-square-foot venue hasn’t been extensively renovated.
(Pictured above is an artist’s drawing of what the end result will look like.)
Owner Julian Wright gave me a tour of the work in progress. What formerly was a Belgian-inspired bistro and brewery has been reimagined into what he calls eight ‘‘micro environments.”
1. The silo
Just inside the entrance is a open-framed silo filled with a hostess stand, six-person tables, and several TV screens for watching sports. The top portion will be covered with corrugated metal and display the brewery’s signage.
2. The cabanas
With the decking removed from the former patio, concrete pads and gas hookups indicate the placement of five circular cabanas, each with their own fire pit, flat-screen TV, sound system, and roof shade.
3. The beer garden
Another area of the former patio (the dirt square in the photo above) that will be filled with long rows of communal tables on brick pavers. The poles sticking up are electrical wiring for library-style lamps.
4. The games area
The former outdoor bar (about where was where I was standing to take the previous photo) has been removed. To the north (left side of photo) of the beer garden, there will be ping-pong tables that can be removed to create a stage area for bands on special occasions. To the west (foreground) of the beer garden is a grassy area for corn hole.
5. The beer bar
One of the two interior bars (pictured above) has been rebuilt to serve both inside and outside. The niche on the left will be for retail items (shirts, hats, etc.) while, to the right, a new roll-up door will open to the patio.
Here’s a look at the 24-tap beer bar from another angle. Besides bar stools, the seating is this area will be all communal tables. The outdoor seating at the bar is covered with the bicycle tire panels that formerly hung over the entrance. Eventually, they will be covered with ivy.
6. The private room
Every new restaurant and brewery seems to have a private room now. Sliding glass doors will create privacy for those looking for a roomy but quiet meeting spot at Pedal Haus. Furnishings will include a conference table, an high-definition TV screen, and audio-visual hookups.
7. The dining area
The original 5,000 or so square feet dedicated to indoor dining area has been reduced by almost half. This space (shown above) will feature three booths (behind where the lift is parked), some four-top tables, and …
… a chef’s counter with butcher-block-style top.
8. The lounge
The other interior bar, formerly just inside the entrance to the brewery, will become more of what Wright calls ‘‘a cocktail lounge’’ with sofa-ish seating snaking throughout. The newly enclosed former entryway (pictured on the far side) will be a shuffleboard court.
Finally, the brewing system gets that major expansion with the addition of another 30-barrel and three more 15-barrel fermenters, increasing its capacity from 4,400 to 7,700 kegs. Existing tanks have been repositioned with more space between them to better accommodate brewery tours.
Those who frequented Pedal Haus know some changes started well before June’s closure. The Belgian-inspired menu, for example, got an overhaul when original chef Matt McLinn left late last year.
And despite plans to focus solely on European-style beers, Pedal Haus brewed an American IPA that has become its bestseller. Brewmaster Derek ‘‘Doc’’ Osbourne also is adding an American lager to the lineup.
‘‘But those European beers sold well and differentiated us,’’ Osborne says. ‘‘So count on them still being there. We’re also adding a pilot system so we can so some more eccentric beers as well.’’
Pedal Haus will have its soft re-opening Sept. 27 and its grand re-opening Oct. 15.
