The Ass Clown is on the move.

Matt Glidden, founder, CEO, CFO, brewmaster, marketing director, official taster, office decorator and chief bottle (and growler) washer at Cornelius-based Ass Clown Brewery expanding the company into larger quarters.

Glidden says his brewing operation has finalized a lease agreement on office and manufacturing space at 10620 Bailey Road between U.S. 21 and N.C. 115. Suites E and F in the facility will provide about 5,000 square feet of production, office and sampling space for the brewery.

Currently, Ass Clown operates out of much smaller surroundings in Kenton Place. In the office-turned-brewhouse off Kenton Drive, Glidden began his brewing company earlier this year, raising eyebrows with the name and turning heads and bending elbows with his product at area festivals, including the North Carolina Brewers and Music Festival at Historic Rural Hill.

Ass Clown’s one-man show currently produces five-gallon batches of individually flavored beers conjured up by Glidden using small-scale brewing equipment. Glidden experiments with different spices and ingredients to create his beer varieties and plans to continue that practice when his company starts producing much larger quantities of custom beer.

“I don’t want to get bogged down in making just one variety,” Glidden says. “I know some people might think I’m crazy, and maybe they’re right, but this is how I want to do it.”

Word of mouth and a popular tasting room at the current location have helped spread the popularity of Ass Clown concoctions and Glidden says the biggest obstacle he faces right now is meeting demand.

“I’ve got arrangements in place to have the beer available in a few local restaurants,” he says, “but around the weekends I get wiped out in the tasting room. It’s a good problem to have but I’m having a little problem keeping up.”

Flatiron Kitchen + Taphouse in Davidson has Ass Clown products on tap, and Brixx in Birkdale has added the locally made beer to its menu. Glidden says several other establishments in the region have also been in contact about the assortment and availability of his varieties.

When the move to Bailey Road wraps up in late October or early November, Ass Clown’s brewing capacity will grow significantly. Empty kegs are stored and waiting at the new facility along with a large walk-in cooler, and Glidden has already started tinkering with the office layout to design a comfortable sampling room complete with a view of the brewing machinery. Vats and all other brewing-related equipment needed to produce much larger batches of brew should arrive and be installed in the new location in the coming weeks.

While slowly relocating, Glidden is also trying to build up inventory for an assortment of festivals coming this fall. The Lake Norman Beer Festival in September, based at the Galway Hooker across the street from Ass Clown’s current Kenton Place location, “Octoberfest” celebrations throughout the region and a beer festival in Tennessee are among the highlighted events. And Glidden is also planning to unveil a new, signature brew perfect for fall.

“It’s an oaked pumpkin variety,” he says of his new mixture, “and I’m hoping to have it perfected for the holidays.”

Glidden knows when the relocation is complete and Ass Clown begins production on a much larger scale, the one-man staff will also have to expand, but he plans to retain his detailed, handsand tastebuds-on approach to beer production.

“I like being the one who creates it and the first one to know what it tastes like,” he says referring to every batch of Ass Clown beer, “because if it’s mediocre, I can throw it out.”

And even while demand is outracing supply, he says that standard will not change.

“I’m dealing with a little learning curve in trying to keep up right now,” Glidden says, “but I’m not going to change the overall plans for the business.”

Those plans include eventually having a brewery surrounded by acreage to grow hops and other ingredients to guarantee the quality and freshness of his product.

“With the big dreams I have for this business,” he says, “I’m not going to lower expectations for the beer.”

For additional information about the brewery, contact Glidden at 704-995-7767.