Right Brain Brewery put the Warehouse District on the map. Now, get ready for SoFo – that’s south of Front, for those of you not in the know.

The nearly five-year-old pub is picking up its tanks and taps and heading to 225 E. 16th Street in Traverse City – to a space ten times the size of its current location – on the west side of Boardman Lake.

Last call inside RBB’s current Garland Street location is Memorial Day (Mon. May 28). Lights go out at 10 p.m.; Right Brain will re-open in its new space June 15.

But before you start fantasizing about all that space for beer, know that some of that square footage is leased to other businesses, says Right Brain founder and owner Russell Springsteen. Salon Saloon, currently adjacent to Right Brain’s Garland Street space, will set up shop at the Boardman Lake location too. An architect has also signed on to move in, and a couple other tenants are in the works.

From 3,500 square feet to 36,000
So what brought on the big move? Sheer necessity, says Springsteen. The Warehouse District location offers no space for grain storage (which prevents bulk buys and raises costs), very limited space for barrel aging brews, and – a brewery no-no – tanks touch each other.

“We capped out [on space] two years ago,” says Springsteen. “I didn’t want to go out of business, so I started looking at other buildings.”

At the new location, Springsteen will have grain silos, enabling him to buy 20 pallets of grain at a time, rather than the four he’s limited to now. He’ll also be able to bottle and can Right Brain brews – hopefully four brands by fall, he says – as well as triple production capacity, triple the pub space, and offer a few things the brewery couldn’t before: TVs, space for live music and events, plus a 60-80 spot parking lot.

TVs and live music? Springsteen is quick to quell the fears of those who’ve grown to love the quiet, “unplugged” side of Right Brain, where conversation and board games reign. There is definitely room enough to please all tastes, he says. The music space will be separate from the main pub area, and Springsteen assures that elements of quiet will make the move, too.

An initial plan to include a roller derby track, however, is a 'no go.' “We tried really hard to make it work, but there were just too many requirements for their space,” he adds.

In the just released May-June issue of the Michigan Beer Guide, Right Brain is ranked 19th out of 66 on the list of the state’s microbreweries in terms of production. According to the guide’s 2011 industry report, Right Brain produced 1309.125 barrels of beer, up from 1216.906 barrels in 2010. Overall, the Michigan beer industry has grown by more than 26 percent in one year.

Right Brain’s new space will have a new 15-barrel system dedicated to production and distribution, plus the current seven-barrel system used exclusively for the pub.

The brewery will need it; Springsteen has just signed agreements to expand distribution to Oakland County, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. He currently has 100 Right Brain beer taps in restaurants and bars stretching from Benzie County to Mackinaw City.

Want to attend Right Brain’s Urban Challenge grand opening party on June 30? Stay tuned for details!