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| Spencer Brewer, the first Trappist Brewery ever constructed in the United Stateson the grounds of St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, MA (Photo by Nick Hiller) |
BEDFORD, MA – C.E. Floyd is
celebrating the completion of the first Trappist Brewery ever constructed in
the United States.
The opening of this
state-of-the-art facility signals a new era in the American beer industry, as Spencer
Brewery begins distributing limited quantities of its much-anticipated Spencer
Trappist Ale to stores last week.
Brother Daniel inspecting the boil at the newly built Spencer Brewery on the grounds
of St. Joseph’s Abbey. (Photo by Nick Hiller)
C.E Floyd Company, Inc., a Bedford-based general
contractor, overcame numerous challenges while building this complex brewery,
from the time ground was broken in September, 2012 to brewing the first batch
of ale 14-months later.
The brewery is located on the
grounds of St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, MA.
The client, St. Joseph’s Abbey,
tapped the general contractor to build and manage the process equipment
installation of what is now a magnificent and historic brewery.
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| Chris Floyd |
The need to support a simple monastic lifestyle is what
led St. Joseph’s Abby to move forward with constructing the 36,000 square-foot
brewery modeled after facilities in Europe.
Members of the St. Joseph’s
monastery toured several other Trappist breweries in the world, located in
Belgium, Holland and Austria, to help shape their vision for creating a
first-of-its-kind facility in America after these breweries.
In accordance with the
International Trappist Association, all beers bearing their label must be
brewed in the confines of a monastery, produced in keeping with the practices
of a monastic life, and be sold for the sole purpose of supporting maintenance
of the monastery and its charities.
Trappist beers have a reputation
of being some the most renowned in the world.
“To have the opportunity to be a
part of an historic project that is unprecedented in the United States was
incredibly exciting for C.E. Floyd,” said C.E. Floyd Vice President Chris
Floyd. “Our client was seeking a product that reflects their lifestyle—both
excellent and simple—and we are very proud of the results.”
C.E. Floyd has constructed hundreds of buildings
throughout their nearly 25-year history including many in the commercial and
hospitality sectors.
The company delivers the highest
quality building at the best value without compromising the integrity of the
design. C.E. Floyd also takes pride in outstanding communications with their
clients.
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| St. Joseph's Abbey, Spencer, MA |
The Spencer Brewery project was a unique challenge for
the general contracting and construction management firm. The end result was an
advanced micro-brewery with automated control systems designed for high quality
output. The brewery has the capacity to
generate 40,000 barrels per year.
“For starters, the coordination
that was needed was extensive between the brew house manufacturer in Germany
and the bottling line in Italy, to ensure that the equipment was laid out and
installed to a very specific standard using very tight tolerances,” said C.E.
Floyd Senior Project Manager Chris Merrick.
Building Information Modeling
(BIM), a 3-D computer modeling system, was utilized to coordinate the building
and brewing equipment layout.
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| Spencer Trappist Ale display line |
Eight fermentation tanks are
housed in the brewery which also features stainless steel process piping, fully
vitrified octagonal tiles in the brewing area that provide a connection to the
European roots of the brewery, and a removable curtain-wall system and
removable roof panel to allow for future equipment replacement and expansion.
“We partnered with LLT
Architects and Kellar Associates to deliver an interior that reflects the
simplicity of the monastic life at the abbey in an understated but timeless
design, while incorporating high-quality and long lasting materials,” said
Chris Floyd.
Another challenge given the
remote location of the brewery was to develop a new public water supply system
to meet domestic, process and fire suppression requirements. This included the
installation of a 90,000 gallon underground water storage tank system.
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| Spencer Preserves |
Construction was completed in
late 2013 and the brewing process began shortly after that time.
Last week a
limited amount of the bottled product began to arrive in Massachusetts retail
stores and keg barrels are anticipated to arrive in local taverns in late
February or early March..
“It is rewarding to see the
vision of our client become a reality through the product launch, especially
knowing how hard the entire project team worked to deliver this unprecedented
project,” said Chris Floyd. “We are very appreciative of the opportunity to
have constructed this brewery and wish St. Joseph’s Abbey the very best.”
For over 60 years, the monks at
St. Joseph’s Abbey have cooked and packed jams and jellies at the monastery
under the Trappist Preserves label. This business allowed them to support
themselves, while providing wholesome monastic work and charitable assistance
to the poorer communities and persons in need.
Trappist communities observe the
counsel of the Rule of St. Benedict, a 6th century guide for monastic life,
that stresses the importance of ora et labora or “pray and work.” Monks are
encouraged to be self-supportive and offer charitable assistance to others by
producing and selling goods to the public.
C.E. Floyd takes pride in
delivering quality buildings with exemplary customer service.
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| Charles Floyd, President and CEO, C.E. Floyd Co. Inc. |
While hired to construct
buildings, they do so much more than that. C.E. Floyd aspires to form a true
partnership with both the owner and architect on every project in order to
provide the highest quality building at the best value without surrendering the
integrity of the design.
In order to not only meet but to exceed the expectations of both
owner and architect, C.E. Floyd needs to understand their needs and desires.
Listening and communicating effectively are essential to achieving this goal.
For more information on Spencer
Trappist Ale or St. Joseph’s Abbey please email Mary Jeffcoat at mjeffcoat@spencerbrewery.com.
For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:
Matthew Watkins
President | Watkins Strategies
83 Fairoaks Lane
Cohasset, MA 02025
617-571-4582
