May 31st, 2008
Fire at Matt Brewing Company
Fire at Matt Brewing Company – Founded in 1888
POSTED May 27, 9:07 AM
Fire broke out at the Matt Brewing Company a family owned craft brewery in Utica New York founded in 1888. They are particularly well known nationally for their Saranac line of craft ales and lagers. The fire started yesterday early evening and firefighters have been working through the night to control the blaze.
Breaking out in a can packaging area the fire spread and has made a portion of the brewery not structurally sound. Video news clips show quite an intense conflagaration.
All brewery employees are safe with a few being treated for smoke inhalation at last report. All beer enthusiasts I’m sure are hoping that everyone remains safe and that they will be able to recover and resume production as soon as possible. (Photo from News Channel WKTV- Utica)
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What happens next?
POSTED May 30, 4:23 PM
If you follow the life of America’s craft brewers, this is worthy of your attention. Nick and Fred Matt, family leaders of the 120 year old family brewery recent comments.
From the Saranac Club Newsletter just issued:
As some of you may have heard, last evening, a major portion of our production facility was destroyed by fire. While the Brewery operations remain shutdown, it is our intention to rebuild our Brewery and plans are already underway to do so in the most efficient manner possible.
We cannot possibly thank everyone for their generous outpouring of support for our organization during this difficult time. We extend our deepest gratitude to the City of Utica Fire & Police Departments as well as surrounding municipal fire departments for their efforts to control this devastating situation. Having been faced with many challenges over our 120 year history, we are extremely confident in our ability to rebuild this area of our operations and come back stronger than ever. Thank you all for your support of Saranac Beer and Soft Drinks.