36 and Counting

A few months ago we finally achieved our goal of building a pilot system for our brewery.  Initially, we just cut the tops off of a couple of our old kegs and used those for the kettle and mash tun. Eventually, however, we realized that the popularity of these small, one-off brews was exceeding the supply our little 10-12 gallon system could turn out.  So, after a swap with our friend Paul at Baying Hound Ale Works and a generous contribution from the Growlers ownership we got our hands on a 40 gallon kettle and a 55 gallon mash tun that enabled us to turn out 1 barrel pilot batches.  Since then, the pilot system has become a hot bed of activity that accounted for nearly 15 percent of our production last month.
The only rule on the pilot system is simple: There are no rules.  Any reasonable idea gets brewed, including crazy things like a Thai beer that was flavored with galangal, lemon grass, tamarind, coconut palm sugar and Srirach chili sauce.  Or, a prickly pear ale sweetened with agave, cactus honey and piloncillo sugar.  But, we are not mad scientists with a grudge against our craft.  We also try our hand at classic styles like schwarzbier, baltic porter and belgian pale ale to test our classical brewing prowess.
The reason we are doing all of this is many fold.  First, we are a bit petulant and get bored if we aren't constantly doing new stuff all the time.  Also, we want to push the boundaries of our own abilities and see what we are capable of doing.  Finally, we have found that our customers crave the constant excitement of finding out what's next at their neighborhood pub.  We love love love that!  It creates a real connection between us and the good people on the other side of the brew house glass and that is exactly what we want.  Your local brewer should be an active part of your community and be there to hear your input, good, bad, or indifferent.
So, when you see Eric or me don't be shy.  Come say hi, share your thoughts, make a request, ask for a tour and ask all the questions you want.  We have no secrets about our beer or process.  We will even show you our recipes if you want. Seriously.
So, with all of that being said, I expect every single person that ever reads this to come in and have a pint and a chat with us.  That's an order.
Cheers,
Bret