In January 2018, Fonta Flora expects to open a new production space that will increase annual volumes from about 400 to 2,500 barrels, allowing for more kegs, bottles and additional R&D. It’ll all be done in a uniquely Fonta Flora way with a focus on agriculture and connection to land situated on a historic farm site in nearby Nebo, with its taproom and farm opening to the public in April.

“I don't think that we ever dreamed of how well we would do and how much attention we would get from just being a little three-and-a-half barrel brewery in a sleepy, 15,000-person town,” says Fonta Flora co-founder and brewer Todd Steven Boera. “That kind of continues to enamor me.”

Business partners and co-founders David and Mark Bennett secured around $1.1 million via bank loans to fund a purchase of nine acres of land as well as cover construction and equipment costs for the new 15-barrel brewhouse. The deal was made in partnership with the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina, which purchased 40 acres in conjunction with the Fonta Flora deal, then donated their land to Lake James State Park. A grant from Burke County provides the brewery potential to recoup up to $150,000 depending on the number of jobs created once the brewery is operational. Boera says at least seven new positions will be offered, from financial officer and sales coordinator to brewer.

The 6,000-square-foot space will allow for brewing and fermenting clean and wild beers, with additional historic stone barns housing a coolship, a barrel-aging and sour facility, an office, and an additional 2,000-square-foot pole barn for bottle conditioning. Right now, Fonta Flora has about 100 barrels scattered across their taproom and basement storage spaces in downtown Morganton.

For drinkers, an increased production capacity means that in-state markets in Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Durham will receive curated allotments of beer self-distributed by Fonta Flora. Right now, the occasional bottle may show up in these markets, but not with any regularity and usually because of legwork by bottle shop owners.

Outside of North Carolina, Fonta Flora will look to send small amounts of brands to Charleston, South Carolina, Atlanta, New York City, and Portland, ME. Fonta Flora currently works with Rafa Distributing in South Carolina and Liberator Distributing in Georgia. Shipping beers outside Morganton is expected to start sometime in spring 2018.