Stonecloud Brewing Co. is hiring taproom bartenders, and they will have to know more than how to pull a tap and draw a beer.

Owner Joel Irby sees the position as an "ambassador" not only for Stonecloud — opening imminent at 1012 NW 1 in the old Sunshine Laundry-Cleaners — but for brewing and craft beer in general.

It wouldn't hurt if they know something about infill real estate development, if Irby's spirited promotion of microbreweries at the Mayor's Development Roundtable was meant as an example.

If they don't when they first walk in, they will before long. Stonecloud's partnership with redevelopment firm Pivot Project at the former Sunshine Laundry is a working model.

The brick, Art Deco-style industrial building, constructed in 1929, listed on the National Register of Historic Places last year, stood vacant and exposed for years until Pivot Project bought it to turn it around and put it back in use.

"Breweries have long had a history of being early movers into what have traditionally been blighted areas in cities," Irby said in his presentation at Cox Convention Center, where the Oklahoma City Craft Beer Festival wraps up Saturday. "There's a certain adventurous spirit at most breweries, and obviously, the need for relatively cheap industrial space doesn't hurt, either."

Irby moved back here from Boulder, Colorado, where he worked for a decade for Avery Brewing Co. He watched the microbrewery movement grow nationally, often in neglected industrial areas, from 2,000 breweries in 2011, to 5,300 last year, to an expected 6,000-plus by the end of this year.

It happened in Denver, and when craft brewery taproom sales were made legal last year in Oklahoma, he came home to help the state get up to speed in a booming industry that will bring much needed tax revenue, job creation, economic diversification and property redevelopment.

‍

Tapping OKC's potential

Oklahoma has just 20 breweries now, dead last in the nation if not for Mississippi, he said. Craft beer pioneers COOP Ale Works here and Marshall Brewing Co. in Tulsa, he pointed out, are not yet 10 years old.

Irby said several new craft breweries in addition to Stonecloud are in the works in Oklahoma City, and the business is about to explode.

That's a lot of potential revitalization in old industrial parts of town.

In Denver, "Areas that five years ago were legitimately dangerous places to be in have been completely turned around by visionary brewers," Irby said. "At Stonecloud, we've tried to continue that tradition with our choice of building and location. We want to be part of the driving force behind the change in Oklahoma City.

"We are extremely fortunate to have partnered with Pivot Project to help bring the old Sunshine Laundry-Cleaners back to life. The first time I entered the building, there was more tetanus and trees in the building than electricity and plumbing. The walls and trusses were essentially the only salvageable parts of the building. But through a huge collaborative effort, it's been brought back to life, and we believe we'll help drive revitalization on the west side of downtown."

Revitalization requires more than building renovation. Revitalization means new life, and that means people.

Taprooms are people magnets.

"What makes breweries different from most manufacturers goes back to the taproom as a community gathering spot," Irby said. "We aren't just making a product to sell on site. We've created a space where friends and family can come together and meet up and enjoy each other's company. We want to be part of the community at its most personal level."

As a fan of good beer and community — and to celebrate writing 616 words about beer and real estate without a single pun or other play on words — let me add: I'll drink to that!

‍