Enki Brewing: Open For Business!

Back in January of this year I had the fortune to meet up with Dan Norton to discuss his upcoming scheme of opening a brewery in either Victoria or Waconia.  I posted the results and their cool logo in this blog and have been impressed with how many hits I continue to get on that posting.  In fact that post has the most hits of any I have written in the past two years!  Since January I have had a chance to hang out with Dan, his partner in crime John Hayes, and brewmaster Jason Davis several times.  I feel privileged to have been included in some of the planning and unrolling of the brewery and have been thrilled at their involvement with Jack Of All Brews.  I think this will be a great long term partnership for all of us! 

Enki Brewing is housed within the circa 1917 historic Creamery Building in Victoria (West of Chanhassen on HWY 5.)  I posted a mid-construction update a ways back that includes some pictures of the massive demolition and remodel required to get the building up to code for a modern age: check it out here.  Since then, they have continued to work long hours getting the place in shape to open for the Summer months.

Dan in front of the newly installed brewery prior to the opening

I stopped by the brewery on the night of their first batch, an evening fraught difficulty due to equipment issues, but giving them good experience on the new brew system.  When they initially told me that the goal was to open in June or July I thought they were insane...especially after seeing some other new breweries take well over a year to get going.  But in mid-June they quietly unrolled their first beer on a small local audience and have continued to have the tap room open for business!  At the time of this writing they are open Thursday and Friday from 4-10, Saturday Noon-10 and every other Wednesday for Victoria's classic car night.

Recently I have been traveling a lot (see my extensive notes on the Oregon beer scene and discussion drinking with geeks in previous entries) and actually missed the opening for the brewery.  I'm happy to say that I finally had a chance to get out there this Wednesday during the classic car night event.  The difference between the previous visits and today is extensive!  They have put in a small bar with tap connections directly to large serving tanks in a cooler behind the bar.  A door opens from the tap room to an outdoor Biergarten area that I think they will need to enlarge to make room for crowds.  The location is fantastic: right in the middle of the quaint downtown area and walking distance from School of the Wise and Floyd's for those who want some food after visiting the tap room.

John and Kent manning the bar!

At this writing, they had two beers on tap with more planned for the future.  Their first is called Citric Journey and is really not a beer that fits a current style.  By color I'd call it an American Amber, but the flavor profile is much more malty and toasty than that, ending with an almost roasted note.  Hops are present and contribute some bitterness and aroma, but this is not a very hoppy beer overall.  Clocking in at around 7% ABV it really goes down smoothly and the alcohol is very subtle.  For a first outing, I think this beer is a great start!  The second beer was just released this weekend and is an unusual Auburn Kolsch.  There was some issue with the filter not working right and the beer is a bit more cloudy than they wanted, but it does not affect the flavor at all.  A red kolsch is an interesting idea and one I have never seen before.  To me it lacks some of the fruity yeast character I expect in a kolsch and has a hint of roast that makes this taste more like an Irish red.  Don't get me wrong I like it, but I think it could do with a bit of tweaking to get the character they are looking for.  Overall for the first two beers to come out of the brewery, these guys are putting out interesting and very drinkable beers.  Their next is going to be a golden ale with the goal of having at least four beers on tap at a time.  Based on this visit, I'm excited to try more.

Biergarten

Compared to where Enki started, there has been much change to the brewery building, but it has kept some of the old feel including the rough walls, open timbers, reclaimed stained glass and the weird gargoyle faces on the side of the building.  The only issue I see with the place is that they may get popular enough to run out of space!  But that is a good problem to have for a brewery.  I'm very pleased with the tap room, the beers and the vibe here.  I'll admit I can't be a totally unbiased observer since I have known these guys for a while, but I try to be honest with myself and my readers.  Visit the brewery and tell me what you think!  Check them out on the Web, and Facebook.  Tell them I sent you!

Enki Brewing Update! Construction and Deconstruction

The creamery building--future site of Enki Brewery

A while ago I posted the first official press info about the upcoming Enki Brewing in Victoria, Minnesota.  Since then, I have consistently had about 30-100 hits on that particular blog post daily, showing a continued interest in this planned local brewery.  The brewery is being opened by current Victoria residents Dan Norton and John Hayes.  Dan has recently relocated here from Texas:  the poor guy probably expected summer by now!

Just this past Friday, Dan and Enki's Brewer, Jason Davis were able to join up with the monthly Jack Of All Brews meeting and give us a bit of an update on how things are going with the brewery.  Dan also invited me over to the building itself on Sunday and I was able to take some pictures of the process and show me the blueprints.

Really cool and slightly creepy exterior of the creamery!

The brewery building is a historic creamery that was built around 1917, and has been empty of activity for many years.  There is an apartment upstairs, and by Minnesota law the stairs connecting the residence to the inside of the brewery had to be torn down.  That was one of the first things that Dan and John did to get the building up to code.  Still, living upstairs from a brewery sounds like heaven to me, even if you do have to get in via the outside doorway!  As a very old building, there were some serious structural issues that the guys discovered over the last few months.  The roof has been replaced, holes in the walls and ceiling patched, painting, new windows, new doors, etc.  The electrical system needed an upgrade to handle the type of voltage necessary to run the mechanicals in the brewery as well.  They needed to invest in a huge new boiler, since much of the energy for their brewing system is steam generated. 

Massive new boiler

Local and state codes have resulted in some issues as well, leading to surprise costs and timing problems.  The taproom requires separate bathrooms for men and women, which led to the discovery that much of the antediluvian sewer piping needed to be replaced, resulting in having to tear through up to 10 inches of solid concrete!  Better now than later I guess, but not fun.  The mill room requires a lot of work to make it dust proof (and hence explosion proof!)  With all the structural work needing to be done, they have a tight schedule to get things finished.  The fermentation tanks are due for arrival in about a week and the guys are very excited about that!

The view from above before demo...

After the plumbing revamp...

More plumbing related destruction!

I was able to see (but not taste) the first few homebrew sized test batches that were brewed at the brewery.  Ah, reminds me of my old basement!  I plan to do an interview here with Jason Davis at some point to get more info about him and his plans for the beers, but I thought I'd give him a little time to get settled before I hold him to anything.

Overall, the Enki guys have made a lot of progress, but still have a lot of work ahead of them to get things up and running by summer.  The building is very cool and has a lot of character, which will really make this venue stand out amongst all the other Minnesota breweries.  I'm very excited to see what kind of traffic and business that Enki will bring to the tiny downtown Victoria area.  I know that I plan on having a beer at Enki and then heading right across the street for a sandwich at School of the Wise.  I aim to continue bringing you details and updates about this brewery over the next few months when things really get rolling.  Thanks again to Dan, John and Jason for including me (and my readers) in the process.  It isn't every day I get to document the entire process opening a brewery and taproom!  Oh, and check out Enki on their Facebook page as well for more up to date info.

Future patio where I can have an Enki beer while looking down at the lake!