Gilded Goat Brewing Co. - Building a Brewery

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It has been awhile, so here is a quick rundown of where we are currently sitting...

The TTB (agency that licenses and regulates alcohol) has had our application for about 90 days so far. It was submitted for final approval about 2 weeks ago. If it takes another 2 weeks to receive our license (maybe...I hope), we will still be under the average processing time of 160 days. So, I guess we are still ahead of the game there. We submitted a paper application, by the way, which is currently being phased out in favor of online submission. The paper application just allows a bit more flexibility when it comes to the way can answer particular questions; there is some interpretation involved.

We should be cutting concrete by early next week for our plumbing, while the exterior steel is installed. The perspective is looking out from the area where the brewhouse will be and looking towards the front of the house.

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Our building plans have been conditionally approved by the city, meaning we can start some of our tenant-finish projects (like plumbing). That process took about 4 weeks. We are still waiting on health department plan approval. Which may slow us down a bit, depending on when they get to our application.

The best news of the day involves the brewhouse! I just got some (average quality) images of our completed brewhouse. We ordered a 7bbl system, with a 10bbl mash tun from Alpha Brewing Ops our of Lincoln, NE. The entire system, including fermeters and serving tanks, is supposed to arrive by early July. I am so excited for all this shiny stainless steel to get here!

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We posted some job announcements as well. If anyone here is in the market, please check them out. :mug:
 
Hi. I'm here to apply for a position at Brown's Shoe Fit Co.
Is this the right place? I absolutely love feet
 
I'd be fascinated to hear about how filling the QC position goes for you. It sounds like it would be an excellent opportunity for a college student interested in beer, but I'm wondering how likely you are to find a candidate.

Edit: just saw your note about the CSU program, that's cool, and really improves the chance of that position being filled.
 
Schemy said:
What's the latest and greatest news ColoHox?
Click to expand...

Latest and greatest is that construction is behind, which is not really that unexpected. Part of the problem is that there is a ton of concurrent construction in our town, including a massive new football stadium. Subcontractors are not desperate for jobs and can overestimate their time and materials for projects. We (our builder) recently received plumbing and electrical bids which were exorbitant. Our second search for bids turned up even higher quotes. We are trying to combat this issue by doing more of the work ourselves. We have already done quite a bit ourselves, but we are limited to work that doesn't need to be licensed (or that a sub-contractor is willing to sign-off on after the fact).

Also, due to the unexpectedly high bids, our buildout cost has climbed from $70/sqft to nearly $90/sqft, which is much too high. We have had to cut some luxury items that we can no longer afford such as skylights, solar tubes, and a large fireplace/hearth.

This week, while concrete is being poured and steel erected, we are building the framing for our bar and moving equipment into our space to start assembly. I'll get some pictures up shortly.

We've received health department approval and fire marshal approval, but still waiting on the Feds (of course). We are at 111 days since submission and still waiting for that last signature. I talked to our specialist yesterday; She said that the approval managers have hundreds of applications to process and that I need to be patient, as we've already made it through the hard part. Fingers crossed!

Baja_Brewer said:
I'd be fascinated to hear about how filling the QC position goes for you. It sounds like it would be an excellent opportunity for a college student interested in beer, but I'm wondering how likely you are to find a candidate.

Edit: just saw your note about the CSU program, that's cool, and really improves the chance of that position being filled.
Click to expand...

We posted our position announcements a few weeks ago and have had a ton of interest. This week I have combed through 190 resumes for the various positions. Out of 30 applicants for the assistant brewer position, only 2 people had the primary qualifications we were looking for: commercial brewing experience and brewing-related higher education.

We've had about 15 applicants for the QC lab position, ranging in experience from a master's degree in biology to sophomores in the fermentation science program (FST) at CSU. The FST program encourages (or maybe requires) extracurricular internship or work experience as part of the program. We setup a few research-for-credit opportunities with the program as well, which will help those students get some hands on experience. So far, it looks like it is going to be easy to find qualified people for the position; making sure the applicants are the right fit for our business/culture is another deal. My background is in micro and molecular biology, so I am capable of assessing the applicant's skills and training the right person. Eventually, we would like to have a full-time QC manager. Ideally, that person would make the transition from intern to employee as we grow.
 
Just got an update on your brewery in my Fermentedly Challenged feed today. Sounds like things are moving along :mug:
 
chunkwagon said:
Just got an update on your brewery in my Fermentedly Challenged feed today. Sounds like things are moving along :mug:
Click to expand...

Excellent! There are a few people in the area that collect and post brewery news. It's really helpful.

We've made a lot of progress over the past few weeks, including the arrival of our equipment. I'll get some pictures up shortly. :mug:
 
Welcome to another installment of "over budget and behind schedule." It is a little frustrating to be at the mercy of subcontractors and their schedules, but a lot has happened recently.

We have finally received our federal brewing license...around 150 days after submission, so pretty close to their estimated processing time. From what we have heard, plenty of people start brewing or making "test batches" before they receive their license. While we can't start brewing even if we wanted to, I don't know if I would have skirted the regulations and started early. Doesn't matter now though; we can start as soon as our equipment is up and running.

The other big bit of news involves a redesign of our floorplan. Now that the liquor sales laws have changed in CO, we would like to make the footprint of the liquor store larger. If we go this route, the liquor store would extend into the service/keg washing/storage area of the brewery, requiring that we relocate these areas of the brewery. This is an opportunity for both the liquor store and the brewery to be a little bit larger to start. The redesign and expansion will cost an additional $80k. Doing it now will be far cheaper than renovating a year or two down the road. Our debate is do we spend more now and potentially delay our opening so we are better positioned for the future, or do we forge ahead with our plan and open on time, then close and renovate in the future? I am about 80% certain that we are going to expand now.

Now for some pictures:
This is nearly the same view as the picture further up the thread. You can see the concrete cuts for our plumbing and some of the exterior steel. This image is from 6/30.
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A month later, this is the view from the parking lot looking at the our front facade. Liquor store is the 20ft store front on the right, the brewery is the 30ft front on the left.
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This is the view from where the bar will be looking back to where the brewhouse will be. The steel is the structural support for our mezzanine, which will wrap around the taproom and brewhouse. You will be able to sit on the mezzanine and look over a railing into the brewhouse.
14rxydP.jpg


And finally, our brewhouse! I posted some pictures earlier, but here she is in our location. We are probably 2-3 weeks away from commissioning the equipment and starting to brew. Our fermenters, serving tanks, and HLT arrive next Wednesday.
IHv0uW6.jpg


Our current task, outside of herding cats on the construction site, is hiring. We have made a few offers after interviewing nearly 15 people. I think we found our taproom manager last night. It was a great interview. Brew on.
 
Awesome progress!
Crowler options seem to be taking off in the area. Is this something you're considering? Just curious. I know it's something I much prefer over glass growlers. Plus they just look so damn cool lol. :mug:
 
I don't remember reading about the liqour store was that always in the plan? Sorry been a little while since I started following this thread. Are you going to be a bottle shop or all liqour?
 
That is an awesome building. It's great it's a new space you can make the way you want. I know you got to be frustrated to your wits end, but it will pay off when it's finished and the way you envisioned it! Man that 7 bbl system looks amazing! I hope the rest of the process goes smooth for you!

John
 
chunkwagon said:
Awesome progress!
Crowler options seem to be taking off in the area. Is this something you're considering? Just curious. I know it's something I much prefer over glass growlers. Plus they just look so damn cool lol. :mug:
Click to expand...

Yes, definitely. The seamers are pricey but the cans are so much more portable.

FoCobrewguy said:
I don't remember reading about the liqour store was that always in the plan? Sorry been a little while since I started following this thread. Are you going to be a bottle shop or all liqour?
Click to expand...

Yes, always in the plan. My brothers own and (will) operate the liquor store. It will be craft beer focused, including a large walk-in bomber cooler, but they will also have a wide selection of wine and spirits. Lots of local local and regional products too.

jcav said:
That is an awesome building. It's great it's a new space you can make the way you want. I know you got to be frustrated to your wits end, but it will pay off when it's finished and the way you envisioned it! Man that 7 bbl system looks amazing! I hope the rest of the process goes smooth for you!

John
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words John. We are very excited to finally see our vision become reality.
 
chunkwagon said:
How goes the battle?
Click to expand...

Okay, you asked for it. Where do I begin...

On the construction side, we (and our builder) have made a ton of progress. The overall theme is still over budget and late, however. People aren't kidding when they say, "take your budget and timeline and double it." In this market in particular, there is no way you can open something on a shoestring. Many people try in other markets, and sometimes it can work.

Our opening has been pushed back to mid-November, which is hopefully the last time we have to delay things. We got our walk-in cooler installed. This is being shared (and legally divided) by the two businesses. The liquor store gets the 1/3 of the cooler which has the doors for retail. Inside, a chainlink fence separates the 2/3 that the brewery is using for serving tanks, kegs, and our draft lines. The cooler is the corner stone of the two businesses, more or less. We have seating above the cooler, looking over the taproom, so we had to have a fairly large steel support beam running through the middle...meaning we had to custom fit the cooler into the space, adapting nearly every panel. We also had to quickly make sure that all of our cooler compressors (we have 3 walk-in coolers total) were cleaned, serviced, and ready to be installed, as a crane was arriving to lift our HVAC units to the roof. Using this crane saved us $1000 by not having to schedule our own; we are looking for anyway we can save money in various places, usually without much luck.

The landlord has nearly completed our demising walls, so the space actually looks like a building. The same guy is framing our interior walls and second floor. Sharing subcontractors between us and the landlord has pros and cons. Sometimes they get pulled away from our build to do other things. The greatest benefit of completed demising walls is that utility lines can be run, getting us one step closer to brewing.

We prepped the brewery and cooler floor for sealant. We did a ton of research, and heard just as many anecdotes, so it was difficult to decide on our best option. We chose a commercial grade, 2-step epoxy sealant for the floors. There were just as many people who told us to go cheap because it will wear out anyway, as there were that said spend a bunch to protect it. It is going to run about $5psf to seal it if we apply it ourselves, versus about $15psf for a professionally applied sealant. Time will tell if this was the right decision.

We need to make a ton of decisions about paint colors and various decorative elements. Our bar top is finished and will be picked up this week. I don't have any pictures of it yet, but wait until you see it. You'll be all "damn I want to sit it at that." Once the bar top is in, we can do a better job matching colors and all that ****.

On the brewing side of things, we have combed through our nearly 2 dozen recipes, adjusting the scaling of various malts and scheduling of the brews to pack in as much as we can. I am meeting with a few local maltsters this week to chat about prices and varieties. I would like to use local products, but the price has to be right. Outside of that, we are ordering the bulk of our malt through the large distributors: Country Malt Group, BSG, and a few others. We have hop contracts setup starting in 2017. Until they start, we have to buy all of our hops on spot. So far, I've purchased nearly 250 pounds of hops from other breweries or via a local hop broker, and it is all sitting in the fridge in my garage. We have plenty of storage space and I'd like to get all of our raw materials in so that once the brewhouse is operational we get get rolling. About a month ago, we hired an assistant brewer out of New York. He is young, eager, and jumping in head first. I think he is going to be a great fit. He has already shown a ton of initiative, and I am sure he is anxious to get brewing. We are both anxious to start assembling the brewhouse and pushing buttons.

This post doesn't do justice the pages and pages of little things that we are trying to work through...license amendments, purchase agreements, SBA audit (don't get me stahted), inspections, SOPs, hiring, misc equipment, website, SEO, social media, etc. We manage to check some big things off here and there, which is pretty rewarding.

Here are a few pics, from nearly the same perspective as my last post.

Pick looking at our bar mockup and shared walk-in cooler. You can see the framed holes in the cooler for our tap panels and the joists for the second floor.
PlZN3BA.jpg


This is from the bar looking back into the brewery.
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This is us dragging our serving tanks out of the shipping container so we could lift them into our space.
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All the tanks safely out and stored, for now.
o5T8AJg.jpg


Our (relative) behemoth of a fermenter. Yes, only 15bbl, but this sucker was a handful to drag out of the back of the container and get inside.
7XYTcVL.jpg


I'll get into some gritty details once we start brewing, or into whatever anyone wants me to get into. This has already been quite the adventure and we are only just beginning. Thanks for reading. :mug:
 
Awesome read and thread. I might have missed it in the thread somewhere but is this going to be your only source of income? Like quitting regular job and brewery full time?

Also, my other hobby is metal work. You're a bit far but I regularly ship 36" cnc cut signs all over the country. If you can find anyone to make your sign let me know. I have a 5x10 plasma table and a 6x4x6 powder coating oven.

I wouldn't suggest stainless unless you have deep pockets. Brushing regular cold rolled mild steel then shooting a clear powder on it is way cheaper, probably a 3rd of the price. I have a few rust looking powders that look good if that's your end goal. If you can't find anyone local shoot me a message I'd be happy to help.
 
02RedWS6TA said:
Awesome read and thread. I might have missed it in the thread somewhere but is this going to be your only source of income? Like quitting regular job and brewery full time?

Also, my other hobby is metal work. You're a bit far but I regularly ship 36" cnc cut signs all over the country. If you can find anyone to make your sign let me know. I have a 5x10 plasma table and a 6x4x6 powder coating oven.

I wouldn't suggest stainless unless you have deep pockets. Brushing regular cold rolled mild steel then shooting a clear powder on it is way cheaper, probably a 3rd of the price. I have a few rust looking powders that look good if that's your end goal. If you can't find anyone local shoot me a message I'd be happy to help.
Click to expand...

Hey thanks! I am a contractor for the federal government, and have been for the last few years. I just negotiated a reduction to 50% time starting this week. I wasn't sure if they would take it, but they did! This means that I will be a Fed on M/T/and 1/2 of W, and a small business owner the rest of the time. It also means that I will have steady (albeit reduced) income while we get operational. I will try to do both for as long as I can, then move over to the brewery full time.

We actually need some metal work done would love to use a HBT friend. If the shipping doesn't make things cost prohibitive, this could be perfect. We need a ~24" diameter sign of our circular logo. We were thinking mild steel then apply our own patina, as you mentioned. I am not sure what gauge is appropriate, but it will be outside and attached to our entrance arch. There might be a rendered picture of this earlier in the thread. We also need the same logo in 4-6 4" diameter pieces. Can you make brands? Both my brother (liquor store) and I would like to get brands made of our logo so we can brand some of the wood we are using. Send me a PM and we can hash out some details. Cheers!
 
ColoHox said:
Hey thanks! I am a contractor for the federal government, and have been for the last few years. I just negotiated a reduction to 50% time starting this week. I wasn't sure if they would take it, but they did! This means that I will be a Fed on M/T/and 1/2 of W, and a small business owner the rest of the time. It also means that I will have steady (albeit reduced) income while we get operational. I will try to do both for as long as I can, then move over to the brewery full time.

We actually need some metal work done would love to use a HBT friend. If the shipping doesn't make things cost prohibitive, this could be perfect. We need a ~24" diameter sign of our circular logo. We were thinking mild steel then apply our own patina, as you mentioned. I am not sure what gauge is appropriate, but it will be outside and attached to our entrance arch. There might be a rendered picture of this earlier in the thread. We also need the same logo in 4-6 4" diameter pieces. Can you make brands? Both my brother (liquor store) and I would like to get brands made of our logo so we can brand some of the wood we are using. Send me a PM and we can hash out some details. Cheers!
Click to expand...

Shot you a PM but any updates? I followed you guys on Facebook.
 
02RedWS6TA said:
Shot you a PM but any updates? I followed you guys on Facebook.
Click to expand...

Hey! Yes, sorry, saw the PM but haven't had a chance to go through details. We are still plowing through construction; trying to stay on track.

Our framing is finished and we just passed our in-wall electrical and plumbing inspection, so we are starting to button up the walls as of today.

ux5DIUO.jpg


We spent the weekend sealing the brewhouse floors. Once they cure, we will move our equipment in. Once the equipment is in place, we can run the power, water, and gas to the brewhouse.

1aXGKL3.jpg


Our latest opening estimate is Mid-late December. At this point, there isn't anything we can do about the delays besides try to be flexible and realize that the we are nearing the end of the process. :mug:
 
Holy crap this is awesome! I love reading about your progress, all the planning and snags that you've run into. I'm only just starting with homebrewing... I can't even imagine the work that goes into a commercial brewery.

I have family that live in the area, and will definitely stop in for a pint or two once you finally open.
 
Hey man, cool stuff on the progress. Seriously excited for you.

I was actually in the Ft Collins, Boulder, and Denver area for the GABF weei. I told the brewery I was with Id like to swing by a nearly-opened brewery called "Browns Shoe Fit Co"... and it turns out it was less than 10min from the BnB we were staying at!

Just saying, it's not too late to change the name, or at least name a brown ale or something accordingly...


But seriously, best of luck dude. I have a good friend in Denver that is overdo for a visit. If I go, I will make sure to visit your place
 
mikeshoup said:
Holy crap this is awesome! I love reading about your progress, all the planning and snags that you've run into. I'm only just starting with homebrewing... I can't even imagine the work that goes into a commercial brewery.

I have family that live in the area, and will definitely stop in for a pint or two once you finally open.
Click to expand...

Snags...ha. If only they were just snags. Let me tell you about a recent "snag": 1 of our 3 walk-in coolers uses the old R22 refrigerant instead of the new R44 (?) type. HVAC company wants $8k just to commission the cooler unit use R22. First company wanted $12k! It's not a floccing car, it's a cooler! The lesson here is to incorporate all costs associated with getting equipment running when buying used stuff. Yes, we got a sweet deal on this used walk-in, but our savings were not nearly as significant (we did still save by buying used) when all the other costs are included.

The other bit, which we were scratching our heads over, was the placement of the fire suppression pipes. The sprinkler guys ran these massive cast iron pipes (some are 6-8" diameter) right through the middle of hallways and rooms. When we pointed this out, and how it might be difficult for our customers to walk around without concussions, they thought it might be a good idea to move them out of the way. :smack: Yes! Great idea! Now, do it for free!

If you are able to make it in, please ask for me and I will show you around.

m00ps said:
Hey man, cool stuff on the progress. Seriously excited for you.

I was actually in the Ft Collins, Boulder, and Denver area for the GABF weei. I told the brewery I was with Id like to swing by a nearly-opened brewery called "Browns Shoe Fit Co"... and it turns out it was less than 10min from the BnB we were staying at!

Just saying, it's not too late to change the name, or at least name a brown ale or something accordingly...


But seriously, best of luck dude. I have a good friend in Denver that is overdo for a visit. If I go, I will make sure to visit your place
Click to expand...

Thanks moops. If you do make it back up here, let me know and we can walk down to the shoe store and have a beer. I think that's as close as I want you to my brewery. :tank:
 
ColoHox said:
Hey! Yes, sorry, saw the PM but haven't had a chance to go through details. We are still plowing through construction; trying to stay on track.

Our framing is finished and we just passed our in-wall electrical and plumbing inspection, so we are starting to button up the walls as of today.

http://i.imgur.com/ux5DIUO.jpg[/IM

We spent the weekend sealing the brewhouse floors. Once they cure, we will move our equipment in. Once the equipment is in place, we can run the power, water, and gas to the brewhouse.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/1aXGKL3.jpg[/IM

Our latest opening estimate is Mid-late December. At this point, there isn't anything we can do about the delays besides try to be flexible and realize that the we are nearing the end of the process. :mug:[/quote]

No problem, awesome man is looking great. Hopefully I can make my way across country and check it out. Looks super cool.

Have your stated test batches or anything yet?
Click to expand...
 
Status Check! Hope things are going well and really looking forward to your opening.

Merry Christmas!
 
I think today is the grand opening. I've got growler in tow and hope to stop by for my 1st goat fill today :rockin:
 
I stopped in on my way home today. It was about 330 and packed! I was in a bit of a rush so just got a growler fill of the Eldora Pale Ale. Place looks great. The staff was eager to help, smiling and a pleasure to deal with. I noticed @Colohox and others by all the photos that have been floating around locally. I met John from the brewery in the parking lot on my long trek across it to my car. Was great, someone noticing I had come out of their brewery with a growler in hand, to come over and introduce himself and just say hi.
Congrats on the opening! Must be a fantastic feeling seeing your dreams live!
Looking foward to the flanders red and kolsch!
...and pale ale with brett :D

 
The place is awesome! They did such a good job inside and all the staff that I talked to were super nice. Can't wait to start trying some of their sour and funky brews coming up
 
Checked out the place last night. Did a great job with the taproom. Nice and open comfortable feel and the fishbowl upstairs is pretty sweet. Would be cool to come in on a brew day. Enjoyed the beer sure they will only get better with experience and dialing in the system. Will say the server's could speed it up a little but sure that will come with time as well.
 
Stopped by last night. Agree re the tap room. We got a flight and my favorite was acitra hopped sour.

Sorry, no pics!
 

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