Shoe Tree Brewery planning to expand Carson operations

A local brewery is looking to expand its Carson City operations into a neighboring parcel and increase production for greater retail opportunities.
“This will allow us to continue to meet their needs and the community’s desires and add another aspect of development out there,” Mark Begich, owner of Carson Hot Springs and landlord to Shoe Tree Brewing, said by phone Thursday.
Located on Old Hot Springs Road next to the existing Shoe Tree Brewing, the property for the expansion is zoned tourist commercial and has an approximately 5,000-square-foot warehouse that could be developed into a production facility—with a permanent canning operation—and a tasting room, Begich said.
“A lot of people would like to see production and how it works,” Begich said. “Canning and a tasting room are different than a bar. They might do an event once a week, a special tasting of new products.”
Begich has requested a zoning change to allow a brewery and tasting room in the tourist commercial zoning district. Carson City planning commissioners will consider the request Sept. 28 at their regular meeting before making a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.
“It’s not anything unusual to other communities that recognize how breweries play a role in development,” Begich said.
Begich noted the existing Shoe Tree bar was a two-car garage when he bought the property in 1998. He takes pride in converting unusual properties into mixed-used developments. Besides the hot springs and Shoe Tree, the property includes Sassafras Eclectic Joint Food.
“This adds to an employment center that has really grown,” he said, counting upwards of 50 employees among the cluster of businesses. “If you’re a visitor to Carson, you can go to a great restaurant, see music play, go to the bar, see the operations, then go to the pool.”
Since opening in 2017, Shoe Tree has made a name for itself with distinct craft beers. The company has earned several awards for its offerings and last year opened a second location in Minden.
“Basically, this would double our production,” Shoe Tree co-owner Paul Young said by phone Friday.
Young said the company currently sells beer in local outlets like Trader Joe’s, Save Mart, and Aloha Liquor, among others, but that outside retail still makes up a small percentage of overall sales.
“We purchased a larger canning machine this summer, but we’re only running a fraction of it,” Young said, adding that the new facility would house canning and additional brewing tanks.
Shoe Tree makes seasonal beers, but their signature drinks are the Brunswick Blonde Ale, the Ash Canyon Amber, and the Shoehorn Double I.P.A. They’d like to sell more product in Reno and Las Vegas, Young said.
“We continue to bring jobs to the city,” he said. “We’re a homegrown company. It just makes sense to grow here.”
For more information, visit https://shoetreebrewing.com/.