Brew Days

It's hard to believe that these days are really here. After all the blood, sweat and tears it felt like we may never see the day where we put all of this hard labor and equipment to work for us. But the day has come.... and don't think for a second that it was smooth sailing.

We crammed to get everything ready for the weekend. Mr. Stewart pulled out all the stops and had all the brewing materials lined up to arrive Friday morning. I was enjoying a brew and chatting about the brew day to come with my friend Laura and her family when I got the call, the grain didn’t show. Bummer.

Believe it or not there are some great people (and great brewers) in this World. One shining example is Patrick Rue from The Bruery. The man hooked us up and supplied us with the grain we need to get through our first batch, saving us days of waiting time.

Once up and running everything went surprisingly well. The brewing went off without a hitch and the wort was looking pristine during the whirlpool when the pump crapped out at about midnight. Bummer x2. We had to bypass the heat exchanger, it took 48hrs to cool and let’s just say we are a bit skeptical about the fermentation, although it seems to be kicking ass.

All in all everything is working well with a few more bugs to work out. Now on to batch 2, chocolate vanilla swirll…

It's just a little paint right?

Uh, ya... like four days worth. This was the biggest surprise to us from the health board. "You guys like painting, right?" uhhhhh "Of course we do! Ceilings are our favorite!"

Truth of the matter is everything went very well and if a little white paint is going to make it possible for us to brew, consider it done. 5 guys 5 days, done.

A couple more loose ends to tie down including our city permit and that’s it. With all that behind us we are getting ready to whip up our first batches this weekend.

The Ominous Rain

Today brought rain to the brewery. I watched in awe as a river formed and engulfed the planter next to my truck, and then the side walk. As the flash flood approached the door I decided that it was time build a raft, and then the hail started.

As I hastily tied together empty kegs with brewer’s hose, the skylight began to drip on my head. I looked back toward the tasting room and I notice the front window was beginning to burst at the seams. This is the end I thought, as my phone buzzed in my pocket. Sure enough it was a text from the citizen warning me of a tornado notice that was just posted to the national weather service site, fuck.

Well, I thought at least the EverSoft service guy will be here to save my ass shortly. The phone begins another round of buzzing and this time it’s a call… EverSoft dispatch. Apparently, the driver was swept way by the torrential down pour on the 405 in his service truck and wasn’t going to be able to make it, fuck.

That’s when I decided it was time to start loading the animals in two by two. Buzz… another text from the citizen, “There are a lot of wet beavers out there today.” I wasn’t sure if I should be pissed off or laugh, doesn’t that asshole know that I’m nearing the end?

This all must be some kind of horrific omen of what is to come tomorrow, inspection day.

-The Cismontane Stewart

The Real Thing

Our Common Californian is one of the Worlds greatest beers, although it is not known to many. The reality is that it is anything but common and this last batch is just a bit further out of the ordinary. We used about 75% fresh hops, straight off the vine, the real thing.

It a takes quite a bit more fresh hops than dry whole or pellet hops to get the same effect, about 6:1. The hops also impart some very different flavors because the acids and oils have not been degraded during the drying process and there is still water in the flowers.

A unique beer style to California, California Common or Steam Beer, will be one of our staples. We think it is delicious and so do you! We have experimented with all kinds of ingredient and yeast combinations with great results and will continue to do so. I once witnessed a young lady throw out a disgruntled “Shit” when she realized the keg was empty. She refused to drink anything else for the rest of the night. That’s a true Californian!

Yeast Wrangl'n

That's right kids, we got yeast corrals. May as well be dude ranch with beer hot tubs. Sound good? That's because it is.

These puppies came in from Kansas, and even though I had the flu when they showed up I didn't hesitate to man the forklift. Three tanks at 559.7 gallons of joy a piece. That's a full 1677.1 gallons we can crank out every week.

So put on yer cowboy hat, boots, and get ready to earn your saddle soars. We're gonna be wrangl'n yeast in them there hills. Yeehaw!

Tell ya'll one thing, uncle Rosco sure was fired up on bring'n um home.

The Best Place to Put Your Beer

Yes, it's sensationalist, inspiring and down right radical. What did you think? This is some kind of joke?

Look we are as dead serious about beer as the next guy and we built this bar to prove it. Red oak, birch, and mahogany make the skeleton of this fancy beer stand. If we have our way it will hold up the occasional wine glass as well.

All in all we had a blast building this puppy and will hopefully have more fun using it.
What do they say in Hollywood.... oh ya "For Your Consideration"

Burn Baby Burn!

No... I'm not just talking about what I did to myself this weekend although; I did have the pleasure of experiencing the 1st and 2nd degree flavors of burn. Don’t worry, it was nothing major.

What is far more interesting and brewery relevant is the ridiculous heat generating machines that we installed over the last few weeks. I think that we are getting close to 500K BTU in fire power, literally. Check this puppy out. It’s a venerable fire breathing dragon. In fact they call that black part on the top a power burner; essentially it’s a flame thrower. It blows hell fire straight into everything else you see below, which is the chaos containment unit that diverts the explosive force toward the brewhouse.

So the next step is to idiot proof the whole room so I don’t burn myself to a crisp. If the last 72 hours is any indicator of the future, I’m surely screwed.