Steelbound Brewery & Distillery Big Future Plans
Steelbound Brewery & Distillery Big Future Plans
It’s “Go Big or Go Home” as Steelbound Unveils What is Coming to Ellicottville
Photos Courtesy of Steelbound Brewery & Distillery
Get ready Ellicottville! Steelbound Brewery & Distillery is getting “bigger and better” at the intersection of Routes 219 and 242. Their team has been hard at work fine-tuning all the details of their planned expansion while keeping the quality at both their locations (Ellicottville, Springville and Dunkirk) on point. Owner Bill Bursee knows exactly what he wants and the vision to make it happen is on the horizon. ellicottvilleNOW recently connected with Bursee to discuss his plans and what his team is working on this summer. Go big or go home, right? Bill shared what the community can expect when all is said and done.
“We’ll add a new production facility to our current brewery and distillery,” he told ellicottvilleNOW. “This will expand our footprint by approximately 12,000 square feet. This project, which is anticipated to begin this fall, will allow us to add a state-of-the-art canning line, giving us the ability to produce various size cans that will include slim cans for our upcoming Ready-to-Drink Cocktails (RTDs). We will also be adding bottling lines and a complete blending facility for our distillery. One of the bottling lines will include unique equipment allowing us to bottle 50ml bottles. Another addition will be a 55,000 lb. grain silo and process equipment, allowing us to deliver grain directly to our vessels. With this expansion the community can expect Steelbound to open up many job opportunities for first and second shift employees interested in a career in manufacturing."
For those who have heard talk about a hotel, it gets even better! “Phase 2 of this expansion will begin in 2024 and will be the building of our hotel which will include a 300 to 400-person event center, three floors of hotel rooms totaling 80 suites, and a fourth floor with 11 condominiums that will have their own private elevator and an attached garage to the hotel,” Bursee said. “The most exciting part of this expansion will be the 75-foot sky bridge connecting the hotel to the current Steelbound restaurant. This sky bridge will house a celebrity chef open kitchen design, allowing us to bring in big name acts. We have been in discussions with some celebrity chefs that have traveled the world and appeared on the Food Network. This will be a one-of-a-kind culinary experience.”
With such a massive expansion project in the works, it only makes sense that Steebound concurrently implements a rebrand. “We are rebranding several of our signature beer and spirit products,” said Bursee. “Although these products have been popular in the current market, we feel the rebranding will reach a larger audience. We have improved our logo to make it a bit more approachable and easier digitize. This will bring Steelbound to the next level."
Even with their expansion plans underway, they haven’t lost focus on their actual brewing activity. They currently brew between 25-35 different products each month. Their newest beer creation is Tropical Bomb, which is a New England style IPA. Steelbound is always working on new seasonal flavors, which customers can enjoy throughout the year when visiting their locations. As for distilled products, Steelbound is excited to launch a New York style Tequila. What makes this tequila unique is that they use 75% NY corn and 25% Blue Agave from Mexico. They have a proprietary process that they’ve been working on for over 12 months to achieve an outstanding taste and flavor profile, by aging their Reposado Tequila in American oak barrels.
The beverages aren't the only thing that draws people in. Steebound’s restaurant is bursting with flavor as well. Bursee shared a little bit of their summer menu with us, stating, “Our menu consists of fresh, upscale pub-style foods. Some of our most sought-after items are our cheese curds, brick oven pizzas, fresh cut fries marinated in beer, and our whiskey batter fish fry, which comes from our whiskey mash. We try to use beer and spirits in everything we cook.” (Writer’s note: They also have some of the coolest wing sauce options in town, such as Tandoori.)
I had to ask Bursee what he thought separated Steelbound from our other local distilleries. “We feel Steelbound is set apart from other distilleries for several reasons,” he began to explain. “First, Steelbound is one of New York State’s first combination of brewery and distillery, bar and restaurant all located under one roof. Next, the passionate team that we have assembled from the brewery/distillery to the kitchen and dining room creates an amazing vibe for our customers to experience. We try to keep things fresh, new and unique for all to enjoy.”
Keep up to date on their hours, menu and expansion project by visiting steelboundevl.com.
