And From Ohio

Hello all,

My name is Steve, and I am studying to be a mechanical engineer at the University of Toledo. I plan on starting my own business in something, because I don't like being at the mercy of other people. My dad has farmed and owned his own business since he was 19. Thats were I get it from.

Now to why I am on this site.
One night, while drinking a couple of beers , two of my good friends (Kyle and Ryan) and I were sitting on a roof top in Georgetown, KY (a dry town) shooting the breeze. (we were visiting an old high school friend and I really don't remember why we were on the roof). Anyhow, we got to talking about beer and how it is monopolized. After hours of drinking and talking, we came to the conclusion that we should start our own brewery. We live in a rural area that consumes our fair share of beer. Our county is second only to Orange County in alcohol sales per population. I guess that is something to be proud of. lol. I have talked to a wide array of people in our area about this idea, and the response has been very encouraging. There is a great deal of community pride and local pride.

Anyhow, this is the dream of myself and those two friends. We have been attacking this subject as we would my school work, learning and absorbing all that we can. We realized this is a huge task and undertaking but I know we can make it happen. We have already made a couple of batches of extract recipes. We are moving on to an all grain setup now. We are setting the system up in Kyle's parents old milking parlor. We recently purchased a kegging system and a couple of propane burner's. We wil be ordering grain from morebeer.com when our system is closer to being finished. We are also building a walk in cooler for lagering. We had some connections to get a free cooling unit, it is brand new. We also planted our first set of hop rhizomes this spring, and they are starting to grow. We are currently researching grain mills, as that will be our next investment.

My two partners in crime, Kyle (Keelboss Brew) and Ryan, are both studying to be mechanical engineers as well. Since their is so much to learn and know, we have divided the duties up. I am in charge of ingredients and recipes, Kyle is in charge of the equipment, and Ryan is in charge of sanitation and a few other misc. things. We all hail from the same rural area and have the same dream.

I have been reading books and surfing the net for info, but this forum is by FAR the GREATEST asset I have found in my quest for brewing knowledge. I want to thank all those who post and share their wisdom to beginners like me.

Thank you and may God bless America and homebrewers.

Welcome aboard, Steve!

Sounds like you're way motivated! That's good, but don't forget to have fun with it, first and foremost.

Hey, just wanted to wish you guys the best of luck.
There may be another Sierra Nevada success story in the making.....hmmmm

-DBA

good luck and welcome aboard brother-man! keep the passion and brew the beer YOU want to brew and sell. don't try to battle the big 3, find your nich and make it work. you will be suprised at the people that will like it, follow it, and become loyal to it. be serious about the beer, but don't take yourself too serious. if you have not already, read "Brewing Up A Business". Great book by the guy that started Dogfish Head Brewery and Eats in Deleware. I recommend it to any homebrewer !!!!!

Cheers! (and keep us posted on the progress!)
DeRoux's Broux

Thanks for the support, I will be sure to keep you guys updated. If anyone happens to come across anything that would be of some help to me. I would greatly appreciate the info. DeRoux's Broux, I'll be sure to read and add that book to my ever growing brewing library.

I just wish school didn't take up so much of my time. I guess that is why I have weekends.

Man, they say kids today don't have their heads on straight. It does my heart good to hear what you guys are doing. If you would , please post regularly to keep us in touch with how things are progressing. I'm sure you've thought of it already, but this could be a good distribution network for you. You can't sell it here, but most HB stores carry some microbrews. It has to come from somewhere, right? Keep on keeping on and good luck!







Envious Sudsmonkey

We have spent the last couple of weekends cleaning out an old milking parlor on Kyle's family farm. We are starting to build our walk in fridge and we will have the refridgeration unit at the beginning of September.

Last thursday, Kyle and I took a trip over to Sabco Industries (www.kegs.com) to check our their merchandise. They make a lot of fermenters and kettles out of kegs. They also build a mashing system that is quite sweet. Check out the above site for pictures and information. Anyhow, we talked to President Bob Sulier about the "Showcase" version. It is heavier duty than the "Pro-Brewer" version but doesn't have the stainless steel frame like the "Commercial" version. We are in negotiations now on pricing and such. This system is the first purchase by Sam Calagione and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. It has been sold to 15 different countries and nearly all 50 states. They are also coming out with a plate chiller in about a month or so, so we are also looking at that as well. We are trying to eliminate all variables in the brewing process. This will enable us to make consistent batches. Otherwise you don't know if its your process or the ingredients that are causing the problems.

We are also looking at buying the "Barely Crusher" and some fermenting tanks. We currently have 11 corny kegs and my dad can't wait to turn our old fridge in the garage to a kegerator. He is loving this adventure.

We have been making a lot of "business" trips to local bars and events talking to people about what we are trying to do. The feedback has been encouraging. We have even talked to some bar owners about possibly serving our beer on tap. Of course that is a little ways away yet, but we are just trying to plant a seed in their minds. Half the battle in selling a product is spreading the word. We have another big social event coming up this weekend, Country Concert '05 (www.countryconcert.com). It is one huge drunken 4 day party. The lineup includes the likes of Sara Evans, Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw, Brooks and Dunn, Montgomery Gentry and others. Of course I am going for business reasons only. I recommend this event to anyone who likes country music or just likes to party. Everyone camps out in the fields with rv's and tents.

I have started reading "Brewing up a Business", great book, can hardly set it down.

Anyhow, that is where we are at now. Thanks for the support, I will keep you guys posted.

Sounds great! Have you done any more brewing, or done a lot of research?

Sorry for the slow reply, things have been a little busy.

We bought the "Showcase" version of the brewmagic system, along with two of their keg fermenters last week. We should recieve the system around August 20 or so. The first batch we brew will be a red ale, and the second will be an oatmeal stout. The same day I hope. If anyone has any great all-grain recipes for these styles, I would be all ears.

We also started building our walk-in cooler last weekend. The refridgeration unit came early (last weekend) so we are trying to finish this project up before the system arrives. We hope to finish the room up next weekend, as we are staying up at school this weekend (finals next week).

In order to ferment and hold the vast amounts of beer we hope to brew, we are buying about 20 6-gallon buckets with lids (they come in packs of 20). We will use the extras to store grains and such. It seems like a cheap and logical way to do it.

We have two five gallon extract batches in the secondary, an Irish Stout and a Dortmunder. I am really looking forward to the Irish Stout. It was black as night.

Since we are up at school and away from our brewing supplies, we started building a website. It is at the beginning stages as neither Kyle nor I have any background in this area. We are just messing around with it. We hope to include a bunch of pictures so you will better understand and see what we are talking about. I will post the website when we have something worth looking at.

Thanks for the support and help you all provide on this site.

man, sounds like you guy's are cruising along pretty good. i'd suggest locating some 6.5 gallon carboy's or big 14-16 gallon demi-johns to use for primary activity. better for the beer in the long run. just my $0.02.

keep us posted on the web page. i'd love to see some pic's of all that action!

good luck w/ finals!