LOML and my daughter took me to the tour at Aviator Brewery yesterday for Father's day. (http://www.aviatorbrew.com/shop/start There are just outside Raleigh in Fuquay Varina.
Basically the "brewery" is a large newly built warehouse, with a pretty basic taproom as you walk in the door, which opens out into the warehouse floor and brewing space. Only about 1/2 of the space is used by the brewery and coolers.
Buy a beer, wait for the tour. We had their summer wheat, and then one of the "Devils Stomping Ground Tripel" (9%, belgian golden). Its named for a local mystery spot--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil's_Tramping_Ground
Standing next to the corn hole games in the warehouse are the bright tanks, with a row of stainless conicals behind them.
The "tour" is one of the brewers saying "hey why don't about 30 of you come around here" and leads us around the conicals. They have a 20 barrel system, with a natural gas fed boil kettle. Really small operation---1 owner, 2 brewers, 2-3 sales guys, and someone to drive the truck. They just hired the 2nd brewer this year.
They brew 3 times a week--they have a plate cooler the size of a large suitcase, and use the waste water to fill up and clean the mash tun. Spent grain goes to local farmers. Many of the local restaurants have their beer on tap, so to expand they need to make more beer. They seem to be pretty much at capacity right now, limited by the size of the conicals.
Currently they have 4 glycol jacketed fermentors--2 are 26 barrel and 2 are 30 barrel. From there the beer goes to 4 bright tanks, then is kegged. No bottles.
Big plans for expansion--they are moving to a 30 barrel or larger system end of this year, which will mean larger conicals. Also looking at a canning line, to put their beer in cans to go to the beach. Not sure how I feel about that, but they feel that if it is done "right" the beer is just as good as bottles and lasts longer (of course, only beer in cans right now is crappy BMC stuff that tastes bad from bottles or kegs too)
Brought home a growler of the Triple, definitely going going back to sample the seasonal beers.
Basically the "brewery" is a large newly built warehouse, with a pretty basic taproom as you walk in the door, which opens out into the warehouse floor and brewing space. Only about 1/2 of the space is used by the brewery and coolers.
Buy a beer, wait for the tour. We had their summer wheat, and then one of the "Devils Stomping Ground Tripel" (9%, belgian golden). Its named for a local mystery spot--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil's_Tramping_Ground
Standing next to the corn hole games in the warehouse are the bright tanks, with a row of stainless conicals behind them.
The "tour" is one of the brewers saying "hey why don't about 30 of you come around here" and leads us around the conicals. They have a 20 barrel system, with a natural gas fed boil kettle. Really small operation---1 owner, 2 brewers, 2-3 sales guys, and someone to drive the truck. They just hired the 2nd brewer this year.
They brew 3 times a week--they have a plate cooler the size of a large suitcase, and use the waste water to fill up and clean the mash tun. Spent grain goes to local farmers. Many of the local restaurants have their beer on tap, so to expand they need to make more beer. They seem to be pretty much at capacity right now, limited by the size of the conicals.
Currently they have 4 glycol jacketed fermentors--2 are 26 barrel and 2 are 30 barrel. From there the beer goes to 4 bright tanks, then is kegged. No bottles.
Big plans for expansion--they are moving to a 30 barrel or larger system end of this year, which will mean larger conicals. Also looking at a canning line, to put their beer in cans to go to the beach. Not sure how I feel about that, but they feel that if it is done "right" the beer is just as good as bottles and lasts longer (of course, only beer in cans right now is crappy BMC stuff that tastes bad from bottles or kegs too)
Brought home a growler of the Triple, definitely going going back to sample the seasonal beers.
