The Blog

While the weather seems to tell us that it’s mid-spring already, don’t be fooled by Mother Nature’s trickery, it’s just the beginning of the season! And just as spring begins we are about to go in to full-throttle building out our brewery.

This week the Minnesota Department Agriculture signed-off on our production and tap room layout. The City of Minneapolis’ Planning & Development review signed-off on the building plans, which now clears the way for a building permit and for other trades permits like plumbing, electrical, and mechanical.

Since we announced our brewery in early February, we have painted the production area, sealed the packaging walls and ceiling, and also poured a new concrete slab that slopes to a trench drain. Demolition for a new slab near the brew house and trenching for the drainpipes started yesterday and has turned the floor into a slippery mess. But it’s a sign of progress!

Our behemoth boiler was delivered the other day and our chiller will be delivered next week. The canning line also is being fabricated as we speak down at Wild Goose Engineering in Boulder, Colo. Our friends to the north at Specific Mechanical are starting the fabrication of our brew house and hot/cold liquor tanks in Victoria, B.C., Canada, which puts us on track for a late April/early May delivery date.

We also bought a 16-foot GMC/Isuzu cube delivery truck. The turning radius on it would give your 1964 Volkswagen Beetle a run for its money in a u-turn competition in the busy streets of downtown Minneapolis.

So, while the temperatures may seem like it’s already summer at times (don’t be fooled by the early ice-out on White Bear Lake) we still plan to open our brewery in July. In the meantime you can get to work on your tan and get in shape to drink many-a-pint this summer. The heat and humidity will be here in no time, but don’t fret, our tap room will be air-conditioned!