I'm bad with the updates

Baby P. Yes, I was reading
The Plague to her.

Sorry for going radio silent over the last few months here, on the twitter, etc.  I've been busy, but not always with the brewery planning. Upon leaving Qualifacts I spent some time getting the house in order, playing with baby Parker, and perfecting my beer and bread recipes.

For the brewery, I've spent time meeting other brewers (and proto-brewers like me), getting the money together, looking at a TON of buildings for lease, choosing equipment, checking references, etc. I've got accounting and CRM systems in place, graphic design in the works and did a BBQ and beer tasting party last weekend with friends and former co-workers.

Today I finally ordered the equipment and I'm wishing I had done it two months ago instead of waiting. I'm getting a 15 barrel steam brewhouse (465 gallons of delicious beer per batch) from Premier Stainless in San Diego.  I looked at a number of companies, got quotes, and checked with their customers. I only heard and read good things about Premier and their price was right.  We'll have four fermentation tanks to start and one finishing tank, which is more than enough to get things off the ground.

The only thing that is frustrating is the lead time on getting everything delivered...folks are telling me that a year ago it took 12 weeks to delivery and it is twice that now.  Apparently there are a lot of start-ups out there this fall, putting heavy demand on manufacturers and the used equipment market.  And then, once everything is delivered and hooked up, I still have to wait for the Feds to give me permission to operate which could take months. My planned April opening is looking pretty unlikely right now.

Ambiguous interior shot.
Doesn't look like much, yet.

In other news, I've got a (great) location lined up. I don't want to announce anything yet, as the lease has not been signed, but everything is negotiated and I expect to sign in the next day or two.  The architect has been through and done preliminary drawings and we will file for building permits in the next 30 days.

Think happy thoughts for the next 9 months: we'll have a beer garden, sausage, cheese, olives, pickled vegetables and fresh bread. And beer, lots of beer.

I'm getting pretty excited.