By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The new brewery located on Main Street in Great Bend is expected to open this fall. Dry Lake Brewing is taking the necessary steps to fully equip and prepare the old Brown’s Shoe Fit store into a functioning brewery.
Dry Lake learned their electric demand will be greater than Wheatland Electric can furnish on the installed electric service. Great Bend City Attorney Bob Suelter noted Dry Lake had two options to meet their energy needs.
"They could put poles on each side of the alley with a platform across and stick all the electrical equipment up there, or they could set it in one of our parking spaces and run underground electricity to the building," said Suelter.
The Great Bend City Council approved the right of easement, granting Wheatland permission to place a 7’ x 9’ transformer for the brewery in the City’s parking lot to the west of the building.
"In either event, we would probably lose a parking space, so we thought the best idea would be to let them set it on our parking lot," said Suelter.
Great Bend Building Inspector Logan Burns says
Dry Lake originally thought their operation would need 600 amps, but after a
load calculation by an electrical engineer, the demand will be between 800 and
1,000 amps.
"We will already have the alley open," said Burns. "There will be a new sewer line and fire line for the sprinklers inside. While that alley is open, we want to get that all underground that way we are not cutting up the alley twice."
The electrical service box will take up one parking space.