Common Roots now a two-building brewery in South Glens Falls

SOUTH GLENS FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) - A couple short years ago, the family behind Common Roots Brewing Company welcomed the community into its rebuilt taproom and restaurant, after the original was destroyed by a fire in 2019. This week, that same family cut the ribbon on a new building that almost mirrors the other - and is located just across the parking lot.

On a rainy Monday, the Weber family welcomed supporters of all kinds inside Common Roots' new Bierhall Barrel House. The new facility is located on the same side of Saratoga Avenue as the restaurant and brewery that has filled up beer cans and served fresh pizza since the end of COVID-19 lockdown. This one turns the brewery's little segment of South Glens Falls into something of its own campus - and allows for a fresh look into the future.

"My 90-year-old grandmother was visiting last night - you would totally think she was only 81," said Common Roots co-owner Christian Weber. "After she left that night, I was thinking a lot about her, and that made me think about my grandfather, who's no longer around. The one thing he always said was, 'Do the right thing because it's the right thing to do.' That resonated deeply because that's really the underlying ethos here at Common Roots."

The Barrel House building is 10,000 square feet, made of the same shapes as its mirror - warm colors and triangular corners in the front, steel walls in the back, creating a mix of taproom and industrial space. The new facility's front-facing side may look like the bar and restaurant that already exists across the way, but this one has been built with public and private events in mind. In the back, a tremendous amount of new beer storage will help Common Roots work its 30-barrel brewing system to maximum capacity, and offers space for barrel aging.

Growth doesn't come cheap, but as has been the case before, Common Roots has gotten there with some well-timed help. The $3.6 million construction project was supplemented by a $250,000 capital grant from Empire State Development, along with another $200,000 in Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits. Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado made the trip from Albany to congratulate the Weber family himself.

"As I'm sitting here, Christian, and I'm hearing you talk about your family, and about the way communities come together and the ethos of the work, I was trying to process the name: 'Common Roots,'" Delgado said. "The more I thought about that, and the more I listened to you speak, it made me think about humanity as a common root. That touch of humanity, that can-do spirit, is inside every one of us. It's always a real privilege to be in the company of somebody, and of a community, that has tapped into that."

Common Roots says that the new building will create eight new full-time positions, added to the 26 full-time employees who already work there. Common Roots beers are served and sold in seven states around the northeast, and are also found in certain parts of Canada.

The brewery is marking a decade in business this year - and the new building isn't the only thing that's changed. In 2013, Common Roots produced 500 barrels of beer over a year - compared to 10,000 today. When the fire hit in 2019, the brewery worked with others to keep its beer flowing. Common Roots also has plans in place to take over operations at the Albany Pump Station, formerly home to C.H. Evans Brewing.

Common Roots Brewing Company is open every day except Tuesday at 58 Saratoga Ave. in South Glens Falls.