SALLY POLLAKFree Press Staff Writer

The Alchemist applied Monday to the town of Stowe for a construction permit to build a 14,652-square-foot building off Cottage Club Road, according to Rich Baker, zoning director for Stowe. The Alchemist is the Waterbury brewery that makes Heady Topper beer, a highly popular double IPA.

The site is off the Mountain Road (Vermont 108) across from a cemetery and just before the Sunset Grill, according to Alchemist co-owner Jen Kimmich. The project involves a purchase contract to buy the land from Stoweflake Mountain Resort and Spa, a resort on the Mountain Road.

The application calls for a commercial building for beer production and a retail outlet on a proposed 4-acre site, Baker said. The application will go to the town’s seven-member Development Review Board June 3, Baker said.

Act 250 approval is also required, according to Baker and Kimmich, who owns the Alchemist with her husband, brewer John Kimmich.

“We love the spot,” Kimmich said. “We had a list of criteria we needed for our new brewery, probably a list of 10 different items that were critical. Most important were traffic, access to village water and sewer, and plenty of land for growing hops and cherry trees.”

The Kimmich family lives in Stowe less than four miles from the proposed site. “We didn’t want to be in a strip mall,” Kimmich said.

An exciting part of the project is a water treatment/recovery system in which the water that drains from the brewery will be clean and potable, Kimmich said.

“The town of Stowe and the Agency of Natural Resources are super-supportive and excited about this,” she said.

The footprint of the proposed building is 9,600-square-feet, Baker said. The building would have a mezzanine level, he said.

Heady Topper will continue to be produced at the Alchemist’s Waterbury brewery, Kimmich said. But the double IPA in the 16-ounce cans will be sold at the retail outlet/visitor center that is part of the proposed project, she said. The Alchemist brews about 9,000 barrels of Heady Topper a year for distribution within 30 miles of the Waterbury brewery.

Seasonal beers and other brews, including Focal Banger and Holy Cow IPAs, would be produced at the Stowe brewery, Kimmich said. There is no timeline in place pending approval of various applications, Kimmich said. But if construction were to proceed as broadly envisioned, the facility would likely not open until spring 2015, she said.

The Alchemist stopped retail sales of Heady Topper at its Waterbury brewery in November, citing traffic and crowd concerns.

Contact Sally Pollak at spollak@freepressmedia.com or 660-1859