Getting There

Hello Beer lovers! We're getting close!! Carbonix. which sells C02, nitrogen and helium (no N02, in case you were wondering) has been here all day hooking up the carbon dioxide and oxygen tanks. I wonder if I should ask him to comp me some helium for my son's birthday party balloons (he turns 5 tomorrow, 4/16). Earlier this week, the two liquor tanks, reused from Georgetwon Brewing, arrived. It was fun to watch Matt, Devin and Kemp unload those two 450-gallon tanks with the tiny forklift and some really fat straps. Keith, our ass-kicking plumber (and stainless steel welder) has been here all week attaching copper pipes to the wall and running the glycol lines. Matt got a new/used stereo to keep the place rocking all day. Our friend Dan is throwing his 40th birthday party here so Matt's brewing a test batch of beer on the old "husband land" system. That's what I called Matt's original set-up that was first in our garage and then in the outside shed (the boys are very happy to have that newly empty space for a fort to sneak their Easter candy). Practice makes perfect, you know.

And the checks keep rolling in -- which is what I predicted (see my Feb. 6 post below). In this down economy, people want somewhere to invest their money that's not gonna disappear before their retirement. And rather than buy gold bars (which I hear is the all-time safest investment), they want something cooler, colder, tastier -- like gold beer.

So the place is looking like a real brewery, with all this stuff around. Very little room for scootering which was fun in the big empty space of yore. It's anticipated that Matt will run the first batch in two weeks. First, he and our oldest son are going to the Craft Brewers Conference in Boston (and to hang with his brother and see his new niece). When he gets back, they will run the test batch and beer will follow shortly. Yummy. I'm going to keep my text brief and fill up this space with some exciting visuals for you. But first, if you're jonesing from the action of the last campaign season and looking for a worthy cause to get involved in, consider supporting the reelection campaign of my old boss, Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin. He's an effective leader with politics that any sustainable beer fan could get behind. Check out http://www.richardconlin.com/

That's all, folks.

Montana Dreaming

  It happened! He's back (see photo) and the brewhouse is on the way home. Tuesday is the big day! Thanks to the guys and gals at Red Lodge Brewing for helping and sharing a large amount of their tasty IPA, the Broken Nail.

Construction Update from Matt

....and for those that are following the hardcore construction, we've put together the walk in cold room. Note the green, very green paint job. Painting the cold room was a slog but Devin from Blue Marble stepped up to the task and, three coats later, got the job done and done well. Thanks, Devin. Rick and I put the cold room together one weekend and then Kemp and I fine tuned the rest until she was just right. Kemp (see photo of Kemp trapped on the fork lift) and I then set about, with Devin's help, constructing decking for the glycol chiller and compressor, which were put into place yesterday. Today, Devin, Kemp and I picked up the antique refrigerator (see picture) from the ReStore and planned out her restoration. This refrigerator will hold our growlers for sale in the retail area and we are very excited to restore it to it's former glory. It was made sometime in the 1930's here in Seattle by Marine Refrigeration and was previously in use at Pies and Pints in the Roosevelt neighborhood. Coincidentally, Pies and Pints was started and run by one of Sara's childhood friends from Sacramento. You can also see in the picture below, Mike, our landlord, driving the forklift and hauling out the concrete blocks left behind from cutting the trench drains. Mike came early in the morning and worked all day, even providing the dump truck and driving said death trap to one of his lots where he is storing them for a future use. Thanks, Mike. Our hats off to Mike and the Fremont Dock Company (our landlord) for believing in what we're doing and for going the extra mile. We've also finished demoing (thanks, Devin) the area that will be our temporary retail sales room and will begin build out next week. Kemp is drawing up a material list and our friends at Bitters Co. will help with the design. With friends like these, it's easy to believe that this community will pull through these hard times. We're humbled. So, now the big news: the brewhouse is set to arrive on March 23rd and we're very ready to make some beer. Why? Because Beer Matters. So, a big thanks to Kemp for working in the trenches EVERY DAY through surgery, kidney stones and some really bad music; to Rick for picking up the ball on marketing and for digging, building and endless planning; to Devin for painting everything and not breaking too many of our tools, to Sara for holding down the fort, the blog and putting up with me and all this insanity, to Terry, Mike, Roger, Manny, and Bret for helping out with all the little questions that are a big deal and for allowing us to treat their company like a big brewery Costco; to our investors who have put their faith in our vision and to the many volunteers who have pitched in with a smile. We would not be here today without each and every one of you.

Random updates: we've singed up to sponsor the Fremont 5K which is the Friday night before the Fremont Fair and are the proud sponsors of the Seattle Art Car show during the Fair.

Well, that's a little more than a construction update, but there it is. Next week, we'll dial in the last of the plumbing, get our new gas service and spiffy up our retail section. Thanks for staying tuned...now back to Sara's regular blogging.

What Recession?

Hello. This is Matt's wife, Sara, blogging today (he's busy). Like you, I've been reading the blow-by-blow of the brewery construction: electricians, plumbers, trenches, drains, and next week - concrete pouring! Not that this isn't fascinating, but I thought you might be interested in something else. Hey, did you hear the economy shed almost 600,000 jobs in January. Good thing I didn't have one to lose. And by the way, don't you think the word "shedding" has a rather positive connotation, as in "shedding pounds"? Maybe they're trying to soften the blow; whatever happened to the old stand-by "lost"? 

Just kidding. I know this isn't supposed to be about politics-it's about BEER and a sweet new brewery. But as a political junkie, I can tie anything to politics, broadly speaking, and the Fremont Brewing Company in particular provides lots of fodder for someone like me. So if you'll indulge me a minute, I'll give you some good news of political relevance-about beer:

1. Beer is recession proof, according to people who get to speak on NPR. It's not that Fremont's beer will convert Miller drinkers, but folks feeling the pinch will choose a frothy pint of Fremont's UniversAle over a $40 bottle of wine for a dinner gathering.

2. Once FBC ramps up, we will be hiring people, contributing to the economic upswing (that is sure to occur before I cave in and cash out all my nose-diving assets).

3. And speaking of assets, Fremont is a great place to park some cash if you're looking for something to invest in, since you're not going to buy that investment condo any time soon. You'll think it's cool to tell folks you sent your kids to college on beer money.

4. Fremont is going to contribute to less global warming than it could because of all the carbon-neutral processes and local, organic ingredient sourcing that Matt has put in place (see www.fremontbrewing.com). This makes for less guilty consumption.

5. In hard times, or any times, community-hanging out with friends, meeting new people, being part of something beyond your daily grind-makes life more fun. And nothing created community better that a local microbrewery. Fremont Brewing wants to lubricate Seattle's social life. In the end, all you need is love...and good, local beer.

I'll stop now. Don't worry, next time you'll get the construction updates you came here for-that is, if Matt isn't overwhelmed by requests for more of yours truly (see picture here because there are no pics of me yet on this blog. Hmm....).

Trench Drains

As we inch closer to actually making beer, some construction projects are more exciting than others. Setting the trench drains gets our blood boiling down here at Fremont Brewing. Yes, it doesn't take much. This week, we'll set finish in the rough in of plumbing, receive our cold room (hopefully) and spend the weekend setting the trench drains. Next week, we'll set up the cold room and pour the concrete for the trench drains. Stay tuned...in the first picture, you can get a glimpse of the future tasting room in our mezzanine. From the windows, you can sip a cold beer (special Brewer's Series available only at the brewery), look at Mt. Rainier over Lake Union or turn around and watch us make beer. Good times.

Trench Drains

As we inch closer to actually making beer, some construction projects are more exciting than others. Setting the trench drains gets our blood boiling down here at Fremont Brewing. Yes, it doesn't take much. This week, we'll set 

Trench digging

Will we ever make beer again? Yes. And we will have wonderful trench drains to help keep the brewery clean. Cutting over 300 feet of 6 inch concrete and digging into the hard, winter dirt of Seattle proves to be a very big job. And, what does every big job need? Bigger tools. We enjoyed the excavators and took 4 days to dig out the trenches. Now, we're ready to set the drains and prepare for the concrete to be poured back in.....closer to beer now.

Standing up the fermentation tanks

After they arrived, the job of unloading the tanks consumes our full attention. Since the tanks were already damaged in transit, we were focused on making sure no more came to our new babies. Luckily, the unloading and standing up of the tanks went relatively smoothly. Note the newly painted walls....We look forward to putting our first batch of beer in the tanks soon.

Fermentation Tanks arrive!

The two 3o BBL fermentation tanks are finally in the brewery. We got the tanks from the fine folks at Georgetown Brewing (darn tasty beer) and these pics show the loading and unloading process. Unfortunately, the tanks were damaged in transit. We are in the process of determining exactly how bad the damage is. 

And so we paint...

At this point in time, starting a brewery is beginning to seem more like a very large construction project than the art of making quality beer and the skill of running a business. Still, fun is had and in these photos we are painting the enormous wall we built and the ugly cement walls. Notice the first shipment of kegs arrived; now it begins to feel like the brewery!

Construction Begins

It begins. Construction at the brewery officially kicked off this weekend with the wall dividing the brewery space and our tenant's space (Blue Marble Energy). The wall went up quicker than we thought and should be finished by the end of the week. A great Thanksgiving treat. Now, we move on to laying out the plumbing and electrical and start cutting the drains for the brewery, cleaning station and keg filler. We've posted some pictures of the wall construction to give a flavor of the space.

Random news:

A local artist and friend asked us to brew up some UniversAle (the flagship beer) for his gallery opening on December 6. The beer has happily finished primary fermentation and is now dryhopping and maturing in anticipation of its happy consumption. The first edition t-shirts and pint glasses have arrived and are available at the brewery. Please contact Matt at matt@fremontbrewing.com if you would like to grab one of the limited edition long-sleeve shirts or pint glasses.                                                                                   

Green Lake Brewing Co - Virgin Post

Welcome to the Green Lake Brewing Company blog.  Over the course of the next several months, we will post stories, laughs and gaffs along the road to establishing the microbrewery, brewing beer and selling the hallowed ale in good beer's backyard, Seattle. The Green Lake Brewing Company...because beer matters.

Beer Offerings:  Pale Ale, Classic American Pilsner, India Pale Ale, Biere de Garde, Saison. 

We're working on fancy, meaningful names for the beers as we speak but please do provide suggestions for names...we always like to have more information to ignore...um, consider.