A few local entrepreneurs want to turn a West Side building that served as a storehouse and office for a malting company nearly a century ago into a small brewery.

The sponsors are hoping that the two-story structure at 13 Lafayette Ave., east of Niagara Street, will become the first in a chain of neighborhood-based "nanobreweries."

Nano-what? you ask.

A nanobrewery is a beermaking operation even smaller than popular microbreweries, and they are popping up across the country, according to Ethan A. Cox, a partner in Community Beer Works. These nanobreweries are attracting so much interest, that some regions even sponsor "nanobeer festivals," where tiny brewers showcase their specialized suds.

"Our hope is that we can grow quickly and efficiently," said Cox, who leads the group of nine individuals who have backgrounds that include home brewing, marketing and architecture.

The budding brewers aim to produce up to 1,100 kegs of beer in their first year -- or about 6,000 gallons -- assuming they secure the required approvals from city, state and federal regulators.

Within five years, they hope to produce about 34,000 gallons.

But even with some ambitious expansion targets, Cox stressed that there's no plan to try to turn the Lafayette Avenue site into a huge beer producer.

"We want to be a small neighborhood brewery and 10 years down the line have a series of Community Beer Works in other neighborhoods," he explained.

There are also plans to try to include community gardens and urban farms. For example, Cox has been talking with some local groups about transforming some vacant lots into a "brewers' garden," where hops would be grown. Urban farms could also grow some specialty grains that would be used to produce certain types of beer, Cox said.

When the brewing process is finished, Community Beer Works would like to supply its spent grain to urban gardeners for mulch.

"It would be like closing the circle," Cox said. "We're really aiming to be a socially conscious business."

A number of local bars have expressed enthusiasm for the project, Cox said. The business' main target audience would be bars, although individuals would also be able to come in and purchase beer by the growler. (A growler is a half-gallon glass jug used to transport draft beer.)

A contract already has been signed to purchase the building, and a closing is anticipated in late September, Cox said. In a best-case scenario, brewing operations would begin the middle of next year. The production facility would be located on the first floor of a building that is currently used for storage. Two apartments on the second floor would remain.

But the city Zoning Board must approve a variance that would allow the building to be used as a brewery. The board will review the project at a Sept. 8 meeting.

Project planners already have met with some neighbors and the local block club.

Barbara Rowe lives right next door to the proposed nanobrewery.

"I think it would be really positive for the community," Rowe said. "We're actually kind of excited about having a brewery in the neighborhood."

She noted that the area used to be home to the long-defunct Schaefer Brewery.

bmeyer@buffnews.comnull