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.

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 

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.