Cranes, beer and kilts: Move-in day at Schlafly Bottleworks

MAPLEWOOD - Dan Kopman looked up at the square hole in the roof of his brewery. High above, suspended by a massive crane and silhouetted against the blue November sky, was the latest addition to the Schlafly Bottleworks - a 200-barrel fermenting tank that would be the largest ever put in the building. Together with an identical tank also being delivered on Tuesday morning, it would help St. Louis' biggest craft brewery make more than 31,000 barrels of beer next year.
But first, the cylindrical tanks had to actually make it into the brewery. The opening in the roof left inches to spare on the sides of the tanks.
"It's gonna be tight," Kopman said as he eyed the first tank, suspended with cloth ropes 20 feet above the floor. Nervous?
"No." Pause. "I mean, a little bit."
St. Louis Brewery Inc., which makes Schlafly beer and owns the Bottleworks and Tap Room in downtown St. Louis, is expanding its production next year to keep up with demand. The new stainless steel tanks, stretching from floor to ceiling and weighing about 3.5 tons, are expected to be in service in two weeks. They help ferment and condition the beer.
For a brewery that maxed out at about 24,000 barrels this year, getting above 30,000 barrels is a big step. But Kopman, chief operating officer, is quick to point out that the new equipment is "tiny in the grand scheme of things." Anheuser-Busch, he said, has 6,000-barrel tanks - vessels so large, engineers assembled them on site and then erected a building around them.
The guys at Schlafly don't have that luxury. Up on the roof, chief brewer Stephen Hale pulled and pushed the first tank to get it perfectly aligned before the crane started lowering it. Hale was dressed in his customary kilt, but had donned long underwear and leather jacket as concessions to the cold. (Hale, a former chimney sweep, is apparently okay with heights and shaky ladders).
The tank started to move down through the skylight, inches at a time. After a few minutes, it landed softly on the concrete floor.
"We have landing!" said Kopman.
A little later, after the second tank was smoothly installed, he walked around the hoses and hydraulic lifts scattered around the shop floor.
"It's getting kinda cramped down here. Which was the idea."