Chris Sikich

chris.sikich@indystar.com

Stone Brewing Co. has announced the three finalists for its new $20 million production brewery in the eastern half of the country.

Stone, the country's 10th-largest craft brewery by sales volume, will consider Richmond and Norfolk, Va., and Columbus, Ohio. The final decision will be made in the next two months.

Several Indianapolis metro-area communities who offered incentives to lure the brewery are sure to be disappointed by the news, including Noblesville, Anderson and Hancock County.

Stone might have had trouble building the brewery in Indiana under current state law, which restricts brewers to selling no more than 30,000 barrels of beer for in-state distribution.

Stone released a Request for Proposal earlier this year to build a brewery east of the Mississippi River, a facility with about 150 employees to produce and distribute 120,000 barrels of beer a year, eventually growing to 500,000 barrels.

Stone is based in Escondido, Calif., and already distributes beer in bottles and kegs to Indiana.

Founded in 1996, Stone brewed 213,000 barrels of beer and exceeded $135 million in revenue in 2013, according to the Request for Proposal. Stone employs about 900 people.

Call Star reporter Chris Sikich at (317) 444-6036. Follow him @ChrisSikich.