When Eric and Beth Bean settled on buying the former Hill Distributing Co. building on the West Side to house their business, Columbus Brewing Co., they saw it as more than just room to grow. "The whole plan was to reinvent this brewery," Eric Bean said. "This is a rebirth."

When Eric and Beth Bean settled on buying the former Hill Distributing Co. building on the West Side to house their business, Columbus Brewing Co., they saw it as more than just room to grow.

�The whole plan was to reinvent this brewery,� Eric Bean said. �This is a rebirth.�

The Beans bought the 50,000 square-foot building in 2014 and have sunk about $5 million into the project, including new, computer controlled 30-barrell German-made brewing equipment, four enormous 120-barrell fermentation tanks, and several new employees.

On Wednesday, the last piece of the puzzle fit into place. The brewery�s new bottling line was tested at full capacity and the first cases of the company�s signature India pale ale, in new bottles with new, eye-catching labels were packaged.

The new line can fill 1,000 cases in four hours compared to the old line that filled 700 cases across two shifts. �This lets us make some beer,� Eric Bean said.

Apart from making a lot more beer � there is enough room to more than quadruple the old brewery�s 12,000 barrel capacity � the move allowed the Beans to remake the somewhat stodgy public image of Columbus Brewing Co., from its old wooden tap handles, simple labels, and decades-old green and red color scheme. Since they bought Columbus in 2011 they had felt handcuffed to the branding and designs that built the business.

A new building was a new start, Beth Bean said, �It is finally our own.�

The new labels and bottles, a shorter �heritage� style, and new six-pack carriers, will roll out in the coming weeks. New tap handles have already spread across town.

The Beans have been working on the new branding for almost two years and worried at first that they might turn off some customers. In a craft-beer market that is growing by double-digits every year, and last year reached an all-time high for number of breweries at more than 4,000 nationally, finding a new way to stand out is important.

�Shoppers consider shopping for craft beers a treasure hunt, and they typically buy with their eyes,� said Tim Powell, vice president of consulting for Q1 Productions, a food and beverage analyst. �(Columbus) is making the right move. There are so many outrageous names and colorful labels, brands need to stand out among the clutter.�

Besides rebranding its beers, the new brewery will let them make a lot more styles of beer and to bottle those beers for retail. Known for India pale ales, Columbus Brewing will continue to make its flagship bitter beers, but also a coffee-infused stout, a Scottish ale, a farmhouse ale, and more regular seasonal styles. A dark Belgian ale was fermenting in a tank. Beer sellers want more variety from names they trust.

�We�re happy to put pretty much anything they make on tap and give it a go,� said John Blakely, owner of the Daily Growler, a craft beer bar with locations in Upper Arlington and Powell.

That said, Blakely also hopes the new brewery gives Columbus Brewing the ability to make more IPAs, especially the much sought-after Bodhi.

�Variety is the name of the game at our place,� Blakely said, �but Bodhi is our best-selling beer, far and away. The idea that Columbus is putting out more beer is a huge plus for us.�

Thanks to that new bottling line, retail customers will find a lot more Columbus Berwing beer at stores as well. India pale ale, Summer Teeth, pale ale, and much more, including four-packs of Bodhi, which should hit shelves this summer.

�We don�t want to get too far ahead of ourselves,� Eric Bean said.

�But people might kill us if we don�t bottle Bodhi soon,� Beth Bean said.

jmalone@dispatch.com

@j_d_malone