This post could alternately be titled:
Can you install a new doorknob?
Can you fix your daughter's flat tire on her bike?
Can you change the leaky toilet valve?
Actually, it should be called HAVE you done these things?
Because as a brewer, you MUST be comfortable doing all these things and more. There are a lot of "user servicable" parts in a brewery, and you will service EVERY. ONE. OF. THEM.
Having a problem solving mentality and mechanical aptitude is essential to launching a brewery.
Brewers get dirty. Their hands get cuts and scratches. Daily.
So read your Popular Mechanics magazines and get familiar with every part of every tool you own. It is one of my favorite parts of being a brewer, and something that every brewer should embrace. A visitor to my brewery described my setup as "Andrew's Erector set"
Damn right it is!
Friday, August 1, 2014
Friday, July 11, 2014
Where are we?
WOW! We have sold 3000 pints of beer in the last 3 weeks.
Here is one thing to consider: if you are opening a brewpub, be sure you have enough back-stock to get you through. The temptation (and pressure) is there to "Just put SOMETHING on tap" for many reasons- people want to try your beer FIRST! (they all really do)
Then there is "I need MONEY NOW!" Totally understand. Our model is a bit different, but a small brewpub has been SUCKING capital for a long time during planning and construction, and you want some actual INCOME.
If you pour one beer, everyone will drink it and it will be gone. Then people will be mad. If you have 2 beers, the pressure on the handles are reduced. If you have 3, now people have a choice and will drink more varieties.
We opened with 5, and I'm so very glad that we did. The first brand blew yesterday- Grilled lemon Cream Ale. That's OK though because by delaying until we were truly ready, we were able to spread the tap pressure among a bunch of brands. It also gave time to brew, ferment, and package the next couple batches so there wasn't a blank space.
It has been amazing the comments and positive thoughts from the community- I am truly in awe of all the support which has brought me to this place. I only hope that I can return the favor and help others grow in building their passion and having success.
Other posts will be coming soon regarding further challenges I have faced recently. After all, my ego isn't that I am the best planning brewer on Earth, just that others don't struggle with the same thing I have.
Note one: If you are serving on premises, do NOT get a "Brewery" license from the Feds. Their description of a brewpub was that beer is served out of serving tanks. Well, they also consider kegs "serving tanks". SO- now I have to submit an amendment to alter my license. Good times!
Here is one thing to consider: if you are opening a brewpub, be sure you have enough back-stock to get you through. The temptation (and pressure) is there to "Just put SOMETHING on tap" for many reasons- people want to try your beer FIRST! (they all really do)
Then there is "I need MONEY NOW!" Totally understand. Our model is a bit different, but a small brewpub has been SUCKING capital for a long time during planning and construction, and you want some actual INCOME.
If you pour one beer, everyone will drink it and it will be gone. Then people will be mad. If you have 2 beers, the pressure on the handles are reduced. If you have 3, now people have a choice and will drink more varieties.
We opened with 5, and I'm so very glad that we did. The first brand blew yesterday- Grilled lemon Cream Ale. That's OK though because by delaying until we were truly ready, we were able to spread the tap pressure among a bunch of brands. It also gave time to brew, ferment, and package the next couple batches so there wasn't a blank space.
It has been amazing the comments and positive thoughts from the community- I am truly in awe of all the support which has brought me to this place. I only hope that I can return the favor and help others grow in building their passion and having success.
Other posts will be coming soon regarding further challenges I have faced recently. After all, my ego isn't that I am the best planning brewer on Earth, just that others don't struggle with the same thing I have.
Note one: If you are serving on premises, do NOT get a "Brewery" license from the Feds. Their description of a brewpub was that beer is served out of serving tanks. Well, they also consider kegs "serving tanks". SO- now I have to submit an amendment to alter my license. Good times!
Monday, June 23, 2014
Honored
WOW!
So the GM decided to throw a "cleaning party"
These are known to people in the industry. Generally despised.
SERIOUSLY, there are 35 employees here scrubbing their lives away to get the pub ready for "my day".
Humbling
So the GM decided to throw a "cleaning party"
These are known to people in the industry. Generally despised.
SERIOUSLY, there are 35 employees here scrubbing their lives away to get the pub ready for "my day".
Humbling
It's time!
Tomorrow, June 24th, will be the official rollout of Perch beers!
5:00 PM tapping.
This is sometimes odd for me. I am not one to look for accolades or "credit" for things. Yes, I do get acknowledged and recognized everywhere I go and yes, I get that. However, everyone keeps saying they are so excited for ME. I'm not really even that excited for me. It is, after all, a job. I am VERY excited for what this can do for The Perch and for Rebecca who has put her soul, a LOT of her money, and has gotten a very difficult education on what it means to own a restaurant. I have to write a speech and stuff. I mean, I have no problem talking in front of crowds, I just don't know how to position it. People expect me to go into talking about ME, and I simply don't do that.
HOORAY BEER!
5:00 PM tapping.
This is sometimes odd for me. I am not one to look for accolades or "credit" for things. Yes, I do get acknowledged and recognized everywhere I go and yes, I get that. However, everyone keeps saying they are so excited for ME. I'm not really even that excited for me. It is, after all, a job. I am VERY excited for what this can do for The Perch and for Rebecca who has put her soul, a LOT of her money, and has gotten a very difficult education on what it means to own a restaurant. I have to write a speech and stuff. I mean, I have no problem talking in front of crowds, I just don't know how to position it. People expect me to go into talking about ME, and I simply don't do that.
HOORAY BEER!
Friday, May 30, 2014
Great Community
During the tumult of yesterday, I am reminded at how awesome the beer community is.
Three local brewers deserve special note:
Doc, the Director of Brewery Operations for BJ's national chain, has been incredibly supportive through the entire brewhouse fabrication process. He loaned me some yeast, has walked through several times to suggest process improvements, and is overall an awesome dude.
Jonathan Buford from Arizona Wilderness talked me through some issues last night and shares his entire brewery with me. I stop there at least every week to look at a process which I need to fix. He and Patrick, the Head Brewer, and Brett the Operations Manager all give me hugs and encouragement whenever I see them.
Anthony and Gabe at San Tan Brewing, our neighbor 3 blocks away, are a couple of the guys who got me into brewing in the first place. I brewed at San Tan as my first brewing experience, bought the first keg they ever sold (5 years ago) and the first 6-pack they sold at the brewery. They have generously offered to let us clean kegs at their facility, allowing us to use a fully automated keg washer without having to make the enormous investment. This saves us a LOT of time and chemicals.
This is simply a mention to the three organizations and people who have given over and over and over. MANY local brewers have stopped by and every one of them have offered genuine and sincere help.
Thank you all!
Three local brewers deserve special note:
Doc, the Director of Brewery Operations for BJ's national chain, has been incredibly supportive through the entire brewhouse fabrication process. He loaned me some yeast, has walked through several times to suggest process improvements, and is overall an awesome dude.
Jonathan Buford from Arizona Wilderness talked me through some issues last night and shares his entire brewery with me. I stop there at least every week to look at a process which I need to fix. He and Patrick, the Head Brewer, and Brett the Operations Manager all give me hugs and encouragement whenever I see them.
Anthony and Gabe at San Tan Brewing, our neighbor 3 blocks away, are a couple of the guys who got me into brewing in the first place. I brewed at San Tan as my first brewing experience, bought the first keg they ever sold (5 years ago) and the first 6-pack they sold at the brewery. They have generously offered to let us clean kegs at their facility, allowing us to use a fully automated keg washer without having to make the enormous investment. This saves us a LOT of time and chemicals.
This is simply a mention to the three organizations and people who have given over and over and over. MANY local brewers have stopped by and every one of them have offered genuine and sincere help.
Thank you all!
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Batch Number 4
Seriously, I hold faith that eventually this will get easier.
This is ONLY the 4th batch.
So today's "learning moments"...
I do double batches. The grain can clog up the false bottom. Next time, remove and COMPLETELY CLEAN OUT the false bottom. I had to stir the entire hour of the mash, just to keep the false bottom clear. AND YET, it sucked dry at one point and SCORCH! went the element in the RIMS tube. Luckily, I just turned it off and no wort went over the scorch. So- wort saved.
Oxygen lines can grow slime mold very quickly. Do NOT let this happen to you. I saw it as I was setting up the O2 for today, and fixed it.
No matter how "Oversized" your heat exchanger is, IT'S NOT. Don't believe the hype. For some mysterious reason, the heat exchanger has been chugging along for 4 hours and I'm at 80 degrees. This is not good. Must find solution.
Currently that has allowed batch 2, to mash for 4 hours so I'm PRETTY sure it's converted :)
Got here at 5 AM and it's 6 PM. I'm going to send the 80 degree wort over to the fermenter to continue chilling, and lauter out batch number 2 so HOPEFULLY I can be home by midnight. Probably not, but I hope so.
Still have
1) Mash out and bring up to a boil - 1 hour
2) Boil- 90 minutes
3) Chill - um.... 2 hours?
4) Transfer
5) Pitch yeast
6) CLEAN ALL THE THINGS - 2 hours
Maybe 2 AM. We shall see.
UPDATE!
Well, the HX is performing as poorly as the first run.
I did realize that the reason the mash kept getting compacted is because, duh, pumping instead of using a grant. So- this second batch will just be first runnings. YUM!
Also- the solenoid on the fermenter glycol jacket is stuck, closed. So- no glycol. This is quite a thing. I have no other fermenter ready (not passivated yet) though I just thought of something- I can send it to the bright tank. It's at 32, but it would at least be cold enough to hold for a day until I can get the solenoid fixed. That way the beer (and the day, and the precious grain) would not be lost. I can switch the solenoid from F3 to F5 and pump BACK to it.
Huh. That may just work for now. The next problem would be heating the wort back up from 32, to 65. Glycol is very good at the chilling, but not so much at the heating. At least simultaneously. Interesting. Another challenge.
UPDATE!!!
So I opened the Johnson controller up , and another one which was working, and compared the wiring. MUCH easier than swapping solenoids. BINGO! There was one wire which was incorrectly connected to the board. ALL FIXED!
And the reason the HX is going so slowly- probably- is because the HX is clogged with a bit of grain or something. So I have to figure that one out (with some help from my friends, most likely...)
More learning. Good times. Good times.
This is ONLY the 4th batch.
So today's "learning moments"...
I do double batches. The grain can clog up the false bottom. Next time, remove and COMPLETELY CLEAN OUT the false bottom. I had to stir the entire hour of the mash, just to keep the false bottom clear. AND YET, it sucked dry at one point and SCORCH! went the element in the RIMS tube. Luckily, I just turned it off and no wort went over the scorch. So- wort saved.
Oxygen lines can grow slime mold very quickly. Do NOT let this happen to you. I saw it as I was setting up the O2 for today, and fixed it.
No matter how "Oversized" your heat exchanger is, IT'S NOT. Don't believe the hype. For some mysterious reason, the heat exchanger has been chugging along for 4 hours and I'm at 80 degrees. This is not good. Must find solution.
Currently that has allowed batch 2, to mash for 4 hours so I'm PRETTY sure it's converted :)
Got here at 5 AM and it's 6 PM. I'm going to send the 80 degree wort over to the fermenter to continue chilling, and lauter out batch number 2 so HOPEFULLY I can be home by midnight. Probably not, but I hope so.
Still have
1) Mash out and bring up to a boil - 1 hour
2) Boil- 90 minutes
3) Chill - um.... 2 hours?
4) Transfer
5) Pitch yeast
6) CLEAN ALL THE THINGS - 2 hours
Maybe 2 AM. We shall see.
UPDATE!
Well, the HX is performing as poorly as the first run.
I did realize that the reason the mash kept getting compacted is because, duh, pumping instead of using a grant. So- this second batch will just be first runnings. YUM!
Also- the solenoid on the fermenter glycol jacket is stuck, closed. So- no glycol. This is quite a thing. I have no other fermenter ready (not passivated yet) though I just thought of something- I can send it to the bright tank. It's at 32, but it would at least be cold enough to hold for a day until I can get the solenoid fixed. That way the beer (and the day, and the precious grain) would not be lost. I can switch the solenoid from F3 to F5 and pump BACK to it.
Huh. That may just work for now. The next problem would be heating the wort back up from 32, to 65. Glycol is very good at the chilling, but not so much at the heating. At least simultaneously. Interesting. Another challenge.
UPDATE!!!
So I opened the Johnson controller up , and another one which was working, and compared the wiring. MUCH easier than swapping solenoids. BINGO! There was one wire which was incorrectly connected to the board. ALL FIXED!
And the reason the HX is going so slowly- probably- is because the HX is clogged with a bit of grain or something. So I have to figure that one out (with some help from my friends, most likely...)
More learning. Good times. Good times.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Glycol Shower
In moving the fermenters in our small space, it was decided that one should be rotated slightly.
Unfortunately, the rotation of the fermenter SNAPPED the pipe connecting it to the glycol.
Directly above my head.
So I got a nice glycol shower as my friend ran to turn off the glycol unit.
About 4 or 5 gallons of 27 degree gycol SHOT out at me, drenching me quite thoroughly.
Of course, this happens as we are leaving and the repair took 3 hours.
Shucks.
Unfortunately, the rotation of the fermenter SNAPPED the pipe connecting it to the glycol.
Directly above my head.
So I got a nice glycol shower as my friend ran to turn off the glycol unit.
About 4 or 5 gallons of 27 degree gycol SHOT out at me, drenching me quite thoroughly.
Of course, this happens as we are leaving and the repair took 3 hours.
Shucks.
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