Making of beer!

It is done.

Beer has been made.

The tax form has been... well, contemplated

Yesterday was the maiden voyage for The Perch Brewery!  Grains went in water, then the water came out sugary, and then hops went in, it got cooled down, and yeast went in.  It's now bubbling.

That's pretty much making beer, right?

Before brewing, 5 AM

First water filling the HLT

These are the breakers for the brewhouse

"I'm a safety girl!"

Pretty picture

Always with the hoses.  On. Off. Move. UGH!

This dosen't suck

Recirc thru the RIMS tube

HOT SCOTCHY!

That, my friends, is a boil

The brew is "Calibration Ale".  It's really just an attempt at seeing how the system work, what we are missing and how to fix it.

Imagine it like this: You are delivered a bunch of parts.  Some are partially assembled, and some are just there.  You KNOW this is supposed to be a car.  So- now put it together.  I mean, you HAVE driven a car before, right?  Well then you should have no problem.  ENJOY!

The glycol system had a slight problem which was fixed early in the day, so that was good.  The o2 system leaked like a sieve and we went through 20 cubic feet of pure oxygen in no time (need a new regulator) the heat exchanger went much slower than expected.  If the boil is going to vigorously, simply pop a breaker in the circuit panel and reduce the heat by 25%.  That's how it's SUPPOSED to work, right?

Learning moments were about every 3 minutes throughout the 16 hour day, so- it was a complete success!

So now what?

A letter to The Perch staff:

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“WHEN WILL WE HAVE PERCH BEER?!?!”

I know, folks.  You hear this many times a day.

So here we sit, waiting.  Longing.  NEEDING to quench our thirst with a delicious Perch handcrafted, delicious beer. HOW CAN YOU MAKE US WAIT MORE?!?!?!? ARE YOU THE DEVIL?!?!!?

Here it is- we are all signed off on licensing.  We are checked off by the people who say we can make alcohol (one of the most heavily regulated industries in the country).

There is no “user manual” for a new brewery. For the last few days, I have been learning the specifics of the brewery.  Each brewery is different, each with its own challenges and unique systems.  These are being discovered and created as I get ready to brew.

“HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?!?!?!”

Brewing will take about 12 hours the first time.  Because, well, I’m making it up.

After brewing, fermentation happens.  This can take from 7 to 21 days.  The first batch will be about 2 weeks, more or less. Each beer and each yeast has their own way to go, and even if everything else is the same, two beers exactly the same can take different time to complete the brewing process.  Because yeast is a living organism and though we try and understand it, it is still a bit mysterious.  Like Yoda.

After fermentation, the beer goes into the Brite Tank for a few days until it is carbonated and ready to go into kegs.  Then, it goes into kegs. Through MAAGGIICC...

“SO NOW WE HAVE BEER TO SERVE?!?!?!”

Well, almost.  If we put the first beer we make on draft, it will be gone in 2 days.  Then we will put another on, and it will be gone in 2 days. And we will be out of beer. And people will be pissed.

Rather than have that happen, we are going to finish 5 batches, THEN put Perch Beer on tap. I know that it seems like a LONG process, and yes. It is.  Once this process is going, we continue and make more beer.

Since we have so many other great beers available, it is unlikely that we will have problems keeping up with demand for Perch Beer.  I anticipate having 5 beers on at all times.  This is not a guarantee as we have a certain amount of fermenters and one brite tank, but it should roll along on schedule.

There is a lot of set-up to do and just me to do it, so trust me when I tell you I am moving as quickly as possible to get Perch Beer in the keg, glass, and your beerhole! As soon as we get to the big time, I am glad that Andrew Ortega will be stepping in as my assistant! Don’t worry though, I will be glad to (and NEED) additional help. I am still planning on doing classes for homebrewing.

So when will we have Perch Beer for guests?  Late May, early June.  We will share specifics as they become available, so keep checking the Facebook page!

“What is the first beer going to be?”  Rosemary IPA. Then Fluquat Belgian, then a Robust Porter.

“What kinds of beers are you going to make?” All of them.  We are completely flexible and able to brew ALL THE BEERS!

“Are you going to make IPA?  I love IPA. IPA. IPA. IPA.”  Ok, sure. Can I get you a beer? Rampage perhaps?

Parts parts parts

Received one of the 3 orders for part which I made last week.  These are essential for hooking up tingz.

I need additional ferrules for hoses.  That's number one.

Along with thermo-wells.

The sensors still have to be hooked up in order to automate, but I can brew manual.  Phil, the Bru Gear owner, has been spending a LOT of time at the brewery, and has a 10 day trip to China starting tomorrow, so either I figure out how to hook up the sensors, or go manual.

Tomorrow I will passivate the system.  Basically, run a cleaning run through.  Using acid to help the stainless build up a protective layer.

Approval!

Health inspection today was supposed to be a "Benchmark" where they look at what we have accomplished, add more little stuff, and then come back in 5 days to give final approval.

Instead, they gave me a list of 8 things to fix in 10 days, and APPROVAL!

I'm literally on hold right now waiting to pay my $260 permit fee, and I can (almost) start brewing!

The only thing I forgot was that we have to ACTIVATE our State Microbrew license, which we HAVE.

So- our new, rust-free heating elements are in, and the replacement caps for the crappy ones are on the way.  I must HAMMER Phil to be sure they get here SOON!

Then it's beer time, kids!

GRAAAIIIIINNNNSSSSSS!

Yes, the pallet of grains came in today.  It's pretty damn awesome.  Also- Hops.  And... other stuff.

You know what that means- Beer is Imminent!

Thank you to my good friends Christian Chandler and Jeremy Jones for helping out at the brewery today.

There really isn't much more for "handy" people to do now- electrical and a tiny bit of plumbing is all that remains!  Then it's Brew time!

My birthday is Sunday.  Is it possible?  Will I make it?  Only fate and the Health Department knows...

The Lesson of Proper Planning

Today, dear people, we are going to learn about planning.

Planning a restaurant/brewery takes a coordinated effort of many people working together and creating a realistic vision of the eventual product.

It takes a long-term vision to succeed.

The original plan for this location was to have 30 tapped kegs and all the food for a 300 seat restaurant in a single, 8x11 walk-in cooler.  Now, some of you might do MATH and say... golly!  In order to do that, you would... well... probably expect a complete and utter disaster!

Those people would be correct.

So we are now erecting an additional walk-in cooler, 3 months after we opened.  We had some equipment which wasn't working (yes, 3 months after we opened.  Actually, a month after we opened.  Sometimes buying used JUST doesn't pay...) and traded it for a walk-in cooler box and compressor.

In order to install the walk-in, it must be on a concrete "curb" or pad.  This means making a form, getting the concrete, finishing the concrete, and then allowing it to cure.  Generally this is a 3 day process.

Pouring the pad was done on Thursday, and here we are on Sunday.  The guys arrive at 7 AM to erect the walk-in box, and low and behold- the walk in is not 10x12 as the pad is poured to accommodate, rather it is 12x15 !

This means that we have to expand the pad.  So- go through the 3 day process again.  ON THE OTHER HAND, it is 50% larger than we had originally projected, so it will make life a WHOLE lot easier.

A little short term pain in delay, for a LOT of gain with the additional space.

Such is the continual and ongoing adventure of opening the brewery.  "ALMOST there!!!!..." If you are thinking about opening a brewery / restaurant combo, I would suggest that you would possibly work with a Project Manager.  Yes, that's an actual job title and some might even work for trade in kegs.

Getting Things Done

I have been pretty much the only person building the brewery up to this point.  When I call my electrician, he comes in and does his thing so that is nice.  When I call the plumber, he typically shows up 2 days later and does his thing.  Which is annoying.  When I call the GC for the restaurant project overall, he might show up a week later so if I want something done, I better do it myself.

This week my very good friend Jeremy has come in to help me.  The great thing about Jeremy is not only does he understand the brewing process, he had been in construction trade years ago and has skills and knowledge I do not.  I can give Jeremy a task, and I know it's going to get done right, without me having to answer 50 questions, disrupting what I'm working on.

Since we are only waiting for the Health Department approval now, I am messing with the brew system.  You know- heating water, pumping things here and there, timing heat cycles and chill cycles, things like that.

So what do I have to do for the health department?

One thing is that the hot water heater is undersized.  This is to serve the employee restroom, the hand sink in the brewhouse, and the triple sink in the brew house.  The water heater is 20 gallons.  To fill all 3 of the triple sinks, is 20 gallons.  However, each hand sink requires 5 gallons of capacity.  Which means we need a 30 gallon water heater.

We have to build a walk- in cooler for clean and full keg storage. I don't have a room for clean empty kegs as required by AZ law, so the plan is to store them in the cooler.  It's inefficient, but... oh well.  This cooler has to be built.  The contractor says he can't do it till Thursday.  The walk-in box guy is scheduled for the following Monday.  THEN we have to build a roof over it.  THEN we have to place the compressor on the roof. THEN we have to have the electrician wire the compressor.  THEN the refrigeration guy has to hook it all up.

Nothing moves fast.

Fly fans are mounted

The three compartment sink is in place but needs to be hooked up to water and the drain pipe (running across the floor) needs to be secured

I have to caulk all the seams in the FRP

The second sliding door is bolted shut

Soap and Towels and SELF CLOSING trashcans are in place at hand sinks.  SELF CLOSING.  It's a big deal, apparently.

Mini hot water heater in place at fermentation hand sink

All wood in the grain storage room is sealed

Cove base installed in grain storage

Insulation on transfer and glycol lines need to be wrapped in Gorilla tape and labeled

Window A/C's are installed

Ingredients arrive Tues or Wed.

"HOT" signs are ordered.  Everyone walks in to the brewery and instantly leans against the boil kettle to peer over and see what's in there.  HOT signs.  On the back, "DUMBASS" signs

Still need to repaint all 80 kegs and get them washed at San Tan

Mom is making curtains for the windows- afternoon sun in the grain room and fermentation would have been REALLY rough otherwise.

Here is a link to the Big List of Stuff to Do!

It's certainly not complete.  I deleted all the C of O stuff when we passed inspection.  In retrospect, should have kept it.

Putting lists in plain view, keeps people on task!