Yards Brewing Company Revenue and Competitors

YARDS BREWING COMPANY was founded in Philadelphia in 1994 and began brewing in 1995. The original brewery was located in the city's Manayunk section and cost a modest $20,000 to construct. The facility was only 900 square feet and most of the equipment was engineered and built by brewery personnel, along with help from some very dedicated friends. YARDS debuted its flagship beer, Extra Special Ale, at the Philadelphia Craft Brewers Festival in April, 1995. The response was overwhelming. Following this successful debut, local taverns actually called the brewery to buy beer. YARDS brought the return of cask ales to Philadelphia and beer engines began popping up all over the City. There are currently 20+ beer engines in the Philadelphia area, YARDS ruling most of them! YARDS began producing about 10 barrels a week and from there soon reached the production capacity of 18 barrels a week (eighteen barrels per week translates to 936 barrels per year or 1,872 1/2 kegs per year). At the same time YARDS continued to receive praise and rave reviews from local publications such as the Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Magazine. It soon became clear that the company needed to expand its production facilities in order to satisfy growing demand for its product. In November of 1996, construction began at the second brewery in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia. Just as the first brewery, the company self-designed the new facility and had local tradesmen fabricate the equipment. A bottling line was added and tank capacity was increased to 3,500 barrels per year. This expansion enabled YARDS to produce more beer and also expand its product line. In 1998 YARDS won the Best of Philly award for "Best Local Beer" (Philadelphia Magazine, August 1998). In 2001 Philadelphia Magazine again included a beer category and again YARDS won for "Best Local Beer" (Philadelphia Magazine, August 2001).