Brau Brothers Brewing!

Not long ago my wife (Sarajo) and I took a field trip to the far and distant land of Marshall, MN to visit one of the more venerable craft breweries in the state--Brau Brothers Brewing Co.  I live in Waconia (a far far western suburb of Minneapolis) and Marshall is about a 2 hour and 15 minute drive (mostly) west of us--getting close to the South Dakota border.  No man's land.  This fine winter day, we warmed up the car and headed out over the frozen windswept tundra of Hoth Western Minnesota.  The car's windows creaked with the cold and dry gusts scattered granular snow in small drifts across the winding country roads before us.  The car's thermometer topped out at negative 13 degrees F along our frigid trek.  A thankfully bright sun warmed us inside the frosted windows of our vehicle, rainbow hued sun dogs shimmering in the air to each side of it in a miraculous fashion.

Across an abandoned wintry scene more reminiscent of a bleak desert, we wound our way through the countryside, snow crusted farms and fallow dune-like fields speeding by our windows.  Occasionally, we would have to jerk the car into the oncoming narrow lane to avoid an especially large snow drift.  This was truly remote, yet the hostile environment had a sort of wicked and pastoral beauty to it.  Finally, we entered the outskirts of Marshall, a larger city than I expected, with a population over 13,000.  Civilization at last!  We followed our trusty GPS to the "new" site of Brau Brothers.

A little history lesson before we continue.  Dustin and Mary Brau (along with help from his two brothers) started in 1999, opening a small brewpub called the BrauHaus in Lucan, a town with a population of just over 300 souls.  These guys were truly pioneers of craft brewing at the time.  With just a handful of breweries in Minnesota at the time (Schells, Summit, Town Hall, Great Waters, Fitgers, to name a few) starting a brewpub in the world's tiniest town was a bold move.  They continued on for a while, but in around mid-2000's with craft beer starting to "grow up" in the state they decided to expand into a true production brewery in order to supply beer to the budding tastes of the Metro area.  In 2006 they opened their larger brewery in Lucan and began packaging beer for us Minnesotans who were thirsty for a change.  I remember first trying the beer at a wine and beer event at the Arboretum (mainly wine at the time with just a couple of breweries involved.)  The Brau family were there in force, sampling their beers and trying to educate the palates of all those wine drinkers!  I loved the folks and enjoyed the beers, making a note to keep an eye on their progress.  A few years later, Sarajo and I were at a small beer dinner at the now defunct Pairings and got to talk with Dustin and Mary Brau quite a bit over some amazing food and great beers.

As the craft beer scene has continued to grow dramatically, the Braus have also continued to grow.  Their growth has been steady and sustainable, unlike some of the huge exponential growth of some of the bigger regional breweries in the state (Surly, Summit).  Taking advantage of their rural location, the brewery location in Lucan hosts its own hop yard--providing fresh hops for the seasonal IPA 100 Yard Dash--as well as its own barley fields.  In 2012 it was time to expand the brewery's footprint, and to get a bit closer to a larger city in order to capitalize on taproom and food sales.  The Braus bought a huge old Runnings (off-brand Fleet Farm for you city folk) building at the outskirts of town and starting brewing on a slightly larger scale.

Snapped with my phone and frostbitten fingers...

Here's where we come in!  Bundled against the bitter cold, dodging angry wampas and frozen tauntaun carcasses along the way, we made our way into the enormous building.  Within, I was struck immediately with just how massive the place really is!  Crazy high ceilings, girders, and either insulation or sound-baffling line the roof.  Across from the entrance is a small area filled with Brau Brothers swag (shirts, tin tacker signs, glassware, etc.)  But once you fully enter the space, the center point to the taproom comes into glorious view!  The 1956 Lucan firetruck that Dustin Brau used to fight fires on sits behind the long brick-fronted, stainless steel bar.  Even this large red firetruck is dwarfed by the available space in the taproom!  The serving taps actually come right out of the side of the truck, with restaurant storage available in the back of it.  This is an incredibly cool feature for a taproom and really makes it stand out.  Several large booths, high-tops, and regular sized tables provide copious amounts of seating around the taproom space.  We were there on a Sunday afternoon and the place wasn't especially busy, but they have space for large events if needed.  We met up there with our friends Tyrone and Annette Babione--fresh from helping out at a beer festival in Mankato--and quickly ordered some beers.  The taproom was a bit chilly, but frankly this wasn't surprising considering the outdoor temp.  Our server was a young guy, fairly new at the place but helpful and earnest, getting us our beers quickly and without fuss.

We were all excited that Dustin Brau himself was kind enough to come in on this Sunday to give us a personal tour of the place!  First he took us into the spacious brewery proper, pointing out their 1995 15 barrel brew system, rescued from a long-closed brewery in Richmond, VA.  "This isn't exactly a Cadillac system, but we've learned how to make it work for us," Dustin remarked as he told us the story.  The floor in the brewery had to be built up in order to provide drains for overflow, so you have to take a big step up when entering the brewery floor.  It was a bit chilly back there, and I wished I had not left my coat back at the booth!

Dustin Brau showing off the brewery!

Next we took a trip into the even cooler barrel storage room.  I believe they put out their first sour beer last year, and have been working at creating a small sour and barrel aging program for the brewery since.  Sealed off from the regular beers, this room was filled with several used barrels, most filled with slowly souring beer.  I'm a huge sour-head so this program gets me interested!  Surprisingly, Dustin commented about how quickly the locals took to the sour beer and wanted more when it was gone!



Moving on, we checked out the vintage 1975 bottling line.  They really don't make them like this anymore!  We also got to discuss the water treatment used in the brewery.  One thing that sets Brau beers apart from some of the other MN breweries is the fact that they use reverse osmosis water to start and then build up the water salts to suit each beer style they make.  This process apparently started back in Lucan where they had high radon levels in the water and the whole area was forced to do RO water treatment.  I think water and mineral salt control has a huge impact on the final quality of the beer--after all beer is over 90% water!

Dustin spent quite a bit of time with us, showing off all the nooks and crannies of this enormous brewery space.  We saw the small lab area, the label machine, the basketball hoop (yup this place is that big).  Whilst freezing our limbs off, we spent some time hanging out in the walk-in cooler while Dustin cracked open some beers to fill our now-empty glasses.  It was still balmy compared the outside temps!

Once the epic tour was over, we all settled into a large booth in the taproom and ordered some much needed food.  The menu is extensive and features a lot of locally raised bison.  I ordered a house cured pastrami sandwich that was quite good, but could have used a sturdier bun.  The hand cut fries were great and they also had sweet potato tater tots!






While waiting on our food, I tasted through much of the beer line-up.  Here are my bullet-point reviews.  I rate on a scale of 0-5 with 3 being standard OK beer, 4 I'll actively seek out, and 5 I'll hoard.

1) Bohemian Pils--Light straw color.  Up front noble hopping.  Hint of DMS.  Crisp and drinkable.  3.5

2) Quad--Belgian strong ale.  Lighter in color than expected--more of a light amber.  Slightly hazy.  A bit boozy with a candy-like sweetness. Ends dry and a touch astringent.  I like this now but would love to try with 6 months of aging! 4

3) ESB--Bread, hint of caramel, hop bitterness well balanced.  Very nice and comforting.  4.25


4) White Cap--Belgian Wit with orange peel and coriander.  Spices certainly present without being overwhelming.  Mild Belgian yeast character.  A very summery beer--way better than Blue Moon. 3.75

5) D'thai--A lager made with Thai Jasmine rice.  Slightly fruity aroma.  Very light in color.  Brisk, hoppy, crisp and wonderful.  Anyone could (and should) drink this beer--even your craft beer hating neighbors.  4.25

6) Bancreagie--Scotch ale with peated malt.  Aroma of peat fire smoke.  Flavor is sweetish, but ends dry.  Smoky flavor but not overwhelming.  Mellow compared to the last time I had this (2 years ago).  A bit fruity as it warms up.  3.75

7) Old 56--Named after the fire truck, this is the beer aimed at non-craft beer drinkers. Some corn flavor.  Bright, very light (lite?) but actually has some grain flavors.  A very good light beer option.  I'd drink this over PBR or Coors any day. Very nice dry finish. 4

8) Bourbon Oak ESB on cask--Hint of tartness.  Oak is too strong and astringent.  Bourbon not really present.  Not my favorite, but not terrible.  3

9) Moo Joos--This one is the flagship milk stout.  Sweet, roast, coconut.  Hint of sweet tart.  Great creamy mouthfeel.  Milk chocolate flavors.  3.75

10) Ring Neck Braun--Brown ale.  Mellow, a bit sweet.  Hint of diacetyl.  3

11) Tiramisu--Version of Moo Joos.  Aroma of coconuts. Flavor is harsh dry cocoa.  Tart finish is off-putting.  2.75

12) Village Tart--A sour!  Aroma is barnyard (but in a good way!) Flavor is tart with some malt flavors to back it up and give body.  Mouthfeel is medium.  A good base sour that cries out for the addition of some fruit! 4

That is a lot of beers to try!  I was excited to see a couple of cask beers, as well as a good mix of lagers and ales.  Overall, I was very impressed with the quality of beer, especially the lagers, which tend to be harder to pull off.  My least favorites were the experimental versions of regular beers--which is often the case with such one-off experiments--but I appreciate them trying new things in the taproom.

Prior to my visit out to the taproom, and the occasional bottle of Moo Joos in The Cities, I had frankly almost forgotten about Brau Brothers.  They were at the forefront of the local craft beer boom in Minnesota, but seemed happy to stick with their rural location, not urgently pushing for more expansion and market share. In a way, this slow growth method is more sustainable and fits with their small town way of life.  Supply the locals.  Send some beer to the Twin Cities.  Do a little contract brewing for some other smaller breweries in MN and South Dakota.  Buy a giant building and grow into it.  I had thought recently (while sipping that Moo Joos at a friend's holiday party) "What ever happened to these guys?"  Now I know, and am quite happy with the progress they have made.  The beer quality is excellent overall, and they seem to be happy with what they are doing.  Dustin seemed as energetic and "into it" as he did back at the start of things.  He has plans for a fully Brau Estate beer made with their own hops and barley, as well as expanding the sour and barrel aging program.  Yes please!

I think it's safe to say that we all had a fantastic time visiting the brewery, and really appreciated the time that Dustin spent with us.  I highly recommend the place for food and beers, but it is a serious trek from the Twin Cities area!

Iron Tap: Bringing More Craft Beer to Waconia!

I moved out to Waconia in 2004.  Since then I've really grown to love my new town.  However, when I first moved here there was a serious lack of two things: craft beer and decent food.  In the past two years we've finally had some improvements in the beer front with Waconia Brewing J. Carver Distillery, and Schram Vineyards & Brewing popping up right in town.  These options have been a drastic improvement for me (a super beer geek) over the many "drinking-man's bar" options downtown. Not to disparage those particular establishments, but craft beer has not been a priority for them up to now.  But here we get to the focus of my story--Waconia now has its first craft beer bar and restaurant!

Iron Tap opened this summer in the space previously occupied by one of my favorite restaurants Terra Waconia.  [A little plug--Terra's new project Terra Truck now provides Chef Craig Sharp's excellent food around the West Metro.] The building has been a restaurant for over a hundred years and did require some significant remodeling and updating for Iron Tap to go in.  They also purchased the space next door and built a fairly impressive multi-tiered patio area which is bright and airy, and now includes an enclosed three-season section.  The actual indoor dining area is still somewhat small, with a long bar across from the doorway hosting 30 craft beer taps.  The floor is finished concrete and the walls are rough paneled wood.  Metal pipes form the Iron Tap sign behind the bar and also make up cool industrial looking light fixtures.  The overall effect is rustic but clean and comfortable--perfect for a small town like Waconia.

The owners of this new establishment are Greg and Bria James, and Greg was kind enough to share a beer or two and tell me more.  Greg himself grew up in Indiana, spent time in Colorado, and has now been here for about 9 years.  He's traveled extensively for work and has enjoyed checking out breweries in the places he visits.  Upon moving here, much like myself, he was dismayed at the lack of good food and drink options in our area.  Greg and Bria talked at that time and decided, "Waconia needs a restaurant!"  Other than working as a server in the past, Greg doesn't have much direct restaurant management experience.  To avoid many of the common pitfalls he's made sure to surround himself with people who have experience and know what they are doing.  The James' are also open to criticism and have already made several changes since opening based on feedback from visitors.

View from the top tier

Shall we talk food?  One of the things they've changed since opening is hiring a new chef--Robert Underwood, formerly at Crave.  With a seasoned chef at the helm they envision a changing menu over time with favorites and also new dishes depending on the time of year and ingredient availability.  At this point they have a focus on house smoked meats as well as classic fare like burgers, salads and pizzas.  From personal experience their beer battered onion rings are stellar!  I'm also a fan of their Big Tom--a brisket sandwich topped with white cheddar, bacon, BBQ, and one of those fantastic onion rings.

How about beer?  So many bars boast 20 taps but have all versions of macro lagers, or worse macro beers imitating craft beers.  When formulating their plan for Iron Tap, they specifically did not want to be "just another dive bar."  I can tell you this--Iron Tap has an Eric Wentling approved list of really good craft beers!  I've had Surly's Todd The Axe Man, Bourbon County Stout, Alesmith Speedway Stout, and more on tap there.  Greg notes that he wants to focus on local beers but doesn't want to lose sight of excellent regional breweries like Deschutes and New Belgium.  I would say at least half of the tap list is Minnesota based, often including things I haven't seen at other Western Suburb bars like Tin Whiskers' Wheatstone Bridge.  I asked Greg if he's had difficulty getting our smaller town drinkers into craft beer.  His response: "We started out carrying a few mass-market lagers but were able to pull Coors Light off the taps after 2 months.  People are buying Todd and other craft beers.  I'm happy that these beers are selling and that I can put on tap what I like!"  For those who need them (or who may be hipsters), Greg does keep a stock of macro cans including PBR ready for all takers.

So what kinds of beer does Greg like?  He mentions that his tastes change and he always likes trying new things, but right now his favorites are double IPAs and Russian Imperial Stouts.  Way to go big or go home!  I made sure to ask the difficult desert island beer question of him: coming from Indiana he has special place in his heart for Three Floyd's Zombie Dust.  I can't fault him on that choice!

This summer has been about getting the restaurant and bar open, but what lies in the future for Iron Tap?  Short term, they just enclosed that part of the outdoor seating area which should help out with capacity in the cold winter months.  They would also like to make sure their servers know more about craft beer, including brewery tours, tasting sessions, and possibly Ciccerone training.  I hope they follow up on this, as I've been to bars with large numbers of beers and servers who know nothing about them.

Thanks to Greg James for meeting up with me and taking the time to talk about Iron Tap!  I'm happy so far and have high hopes for the future.  If you are in Waconia, come check out our new craft beer and food destination--and try out the rest of the city's fun options while you are at it!

Drinkfly: Beer and Alcohol Delivered to Your Home!

I was recently contacted by the folks from Drinkfly, a new online service that promises to deliver beer, wine and liquor right to your door within 60 minutes.  Moving with the times and using people's smart phones and computers, the company aims to make getting your beverages quicker and easier.  Intrigued, I talked online with one of the the guys involved, Alex Cullen.

1) JABlog:  So give me a little background.  How does Drinkfly work?

Alex: Drinkfly is a free to download app and website that allows thirsty consumers the ability to order beer, wine, and liquor and get it delivered to their door in 60 minutes or less.  Consumers start off by inputting their delivery address, selecting a store, browsing the store's inventory (most stores have well over 1,000 items on the app) that includes pictures, prices, and descriptions, adding items to their cart, and then checking out.  Customers can pay with cash or with credit card.  There are no price markups, no delivery fees, or fees of any kind.  After the order is placed, it will arrive within 60 minutes (delivery time depends on how busy the store, delivery location proximity, and traffic).  

Website: http://drinkfly.com/

iPhone app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/drinkfly/id736062904?mt=8

2) JABlog: You guys have been up and running in New York and Chicago, why bring this service to Minnesota?

Alex:  We were looking for another Midwest city that would be a good fit, and landed on the Twin Cities.  There are also a good number of liquor stores in the Twin Cities that already deliver, so that makes it easier for us to find partner stores as well.  

3) JABlog:  What areas in the Twin Cities do you currently cover?

Alex:  The photo below is mostly up to date; however the current coverage area is even better as we have since signed up additional stores.  We have a total of 8 partner stores currently and are adding another two next week, one of which will cover all of downtown Minneapolis.  

4) JABlog:  This one ties in with the previous question.  I've only ever seen a similar service in Duluth with delivery of Fitgers Brewhouse growlers around town.  This is obviously a much more ambitious project.  I live out in the Western Suburbs (Waconia) and am out of your delivery range or I'd try you out and blog about it.  Do you have plans to expand your coverage to the suburbs of the Cities?

Alex: Yes!  We are constantly getting requests to extend our service to the suburbs around Minneapolis and St. Paul.  We will continue adding partner stores over the next month which will increase our delivery radius, allowing more people to use our service.  

5) JABlog: Are there any other thoughts you would like to discuss with my readers?

Alex:  We are looking to spread the word about our service because we truly think that it's pretty amazing.  I mean who wouldn't want to be able to order some delicious wine or craft beer while sitting on their coach while watching Netflix?  We also service a number of corporate clients here in Chicago.  These are companies (often tech companies) that do happy hours at the office and use our service to supply the party.  We would love to add some corporate orders in the Twin Cities as well!  

We would also like to offer a discount to JABlog readers!.  For a limited time you can use promo code JABlog for $10 off your first order! (as if free delivery weren't good enough, but hey, we're still in the Christmas spirit).

JABlog:  I'm very interested in the service and can imagine plenty of times where I'm not wanting to venture out into the cold for a beer!  More so I'm shocked that there are no hidden fees for this.  Since I'm outside the current delivery zone for Drinkfly, I'm counting on my readers to try this out and report back to me!  Use the coupon code and give it a shot.  

Let's finish up with a promotional video from my old home of Chicago...

Waconia Brewing Company Review

For those who missed it, I interviewed the owners of Waconia Brewing Company back in March of this year before they had started construction on their new building.  You can read my interview HERE if you want to learn more about Bob and Peter DeLange.  Since that interview I have been lucky enough to hang out more with them and their lovely wives (and co-owners) Kaye and Dee, and have been able to follow the progress of the brewery over time.  During the summer they offered up Founders Club packages (T-shirt, pint glass, bottle opener, sticker, and 12 growler fill tokens) for adventurous locals to buy into.  Founders also get a larger glass of beer at the taproom, which is never a bad thing.  I have membership number 1!  I figured I had to try to support these fine folks in my own town. 

The brewery had a soft opening just for Founders Club members the week prior to their official opening date October 22 of 2014.  I was able to swing in and try their first three batches of beer, but didn't want to do an official review until they were fully open and rolling.  I also got to take part in the Terra Waconia/Waconia Brewing beer dinner just before Halloween and blogged about that previously.  Just recently the brewery had their official Grand Opening bash featuring a pizza truck and live band.  I stopped by briefly and the place was standing room only!  So here is my "official" review so far of the brewery--keeping in mind that the place has only been open a month.

The brewery itself is located right in the middle of downtown Waconia, near Unhinged Pizza, taking the former space of a children's daycare.  So sad that they tore out the old tiny toilet seats.  It would have been hilarious watching taproom patrons trying to figure out how to deal with that!  The entrance is off to the side of the building, not incredibly visible from the parking lot. 

Entering into the taproom, I was impressed with the look right away.  While outside the place looked like any other strip mall, the inside transports you to another, more rustic land.  The walls are of reclaimed barn wood and offer a rural quality to the taproom that fits very well with our location out in the hinterlands of the Twin Cities.  Chairs and tables are massive things of solid steel and heavy distressed wood.  The bar itself is quite long and solid as well with plenty of seating.  A pop of technology in the rustic place are the two small iPad stations set up for credit card payments at the bar.  On one wall a large WBC logo made up of hundreds of blackened screws is drilled into the wood in an impressive work of artistry.  Some framed pictures of local photos take up space on unoccupied walls.  A cozy fireplace surrounded by four soft easy chairs takes up one corner near the entrance.  Overall one is struck by the natural and almost primitive look of the place, but beneath that is an eye to detail and sturdy construction.  This taproom is no slap-dash thrown-together afterthought, but rather a well thought-out comfortable place to share a beer and talk.  From my previous interview with the brothers, this is exactly the feel they were hoping to hit, and I think they have outdone themselves.  I find it aesthetically to be one of my favorite taprooms, right up there with Indeed for those who have been out there.

They have a good selection of WBC swag including t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hats in several different styles and colors.  Two TV's are mounted above the bar, for the odd "game" but this is no sports bar...we already have plenty of those in town. 

But what about the beer?  One can order nonic pint glasses or samplers to taste all the beers.  The samplers come out in a heavy locally made wooden tray with an inlaid steel Minnesota shaped plate.  At this point the folks at WBC aim to have four standard beers: IPA, amber, kolsch, and wheat, on tap all of the time.  They will be doing a constantly rotating bunch of seasonal and experimental beers as well throughout the year.  I have now had the beers a few times and am ready to give my review.  Keep in mind that these are the first batches of beer that the brewer Tom Schufman has made on this brand new system and that he is just now learning the in's and outs of the process and of our local water supply. 

Carver County Kolsch: I like this beer.  It has a little bitterness on the tail end that is out of style that is likely from our very hard Waconia water.  The beer has a very clean and drinkable character that will appeal to folks used to drinking fizzy American lager beers.  I do get a hint of the fruitiness that comes from the kolsch yeast and sets it above those lagers in my opinion. 

255 Amber: A well done American amber that combines light hopping with a malty caramel backbone.  This is easy to drink but has some color and more distinctive ale flavors to appeal to a different audience.  A good transitional beer for sure.

Waconia Wit: This one wasn't my favorite.  Cloudy (but is actually required for the style) with lots of citrus flavor from orange peel in the boil.  I get too much sulfur from the aroma and flavor, probably from yeast.  I know that this one has not been as popular and they have already replaced it with WacTown Wheat--a more traditional and well done American Wheat beer served in a tall weizen glass.

90 K IPA: This is my favorite of the bunch!  A solid IPA that rides right in the middle of the style.  It has a very strong citrus hop aroma and flavor, but is not astringently bitter like some versions.  There is a bit of malty sweetness to balance the beer out.  Very easy to drink a pint of.  Interestingly I have talked to several people who think it is either too sweet or too bitter, proving that taste is very subjective for this style of beer! 

Belgian 342:  This was an experimental Belgian pale ale made with an experimental unnamed hop number 342.  It doesn't have quite as much Belgian yeast character as I'd like, but this probably makes it more palatable to more taproom patrons!  A sharp but pleasant hop bitterness pushes the boundary of the style, but in the end this beer is quite nice. 

Overall I think the beer quality already exceeds my initial expectations for a new brewery, but could certainly be tweaked a bit to make the recipes even better.  I actually try not to judge the beers from breweries under 4 months old and was going to wait on writing this up, but decided that they were good enough already to go ahead and do so.  I think that the current round of beers is better than several Minnesota breweries that have been open more than a year.  This gives me high hopes for the upcoming beers from WBC!

The brewery itself is a sparkling new stainless system that boasts a whirlpool tank for clarifying (and for hopping) the beers.  This is one of most spotless and well-lit breweries I've seen!  They serve beers directly from large serving tanks located in the walk-in refrigerator behind the bar. 

(Deliberately blurry…for that dreamy "I'm in a brewery" feel!)

I finally got a chance to meet up with Head Brewer Tom Schufman and ask him a few questions about himself and his ideas about brewing. 

1) JABlog: Tell us a little bit about your background: what did you do before coming to work for Waconia Brewing Company?

1) Tom:  I grew up in Eden Prairie (graduated 2000) then went to school at Bemidji State to pursue an Environmental Studies degree. Did a little work in that field and found I needed to go back to school in order to find a decent job. I decided to keep working odd jobs until I took a tour at Summit Brewing. There, I inquired about a temporary packaging position they were looking to fill, which I landed! Mostly grunt work, but I loved being there and got to leave with a few cases of beer at the end of my shift. It also helped my resume for an opening at Northern Brewer Minneapolis as a full time employee. There I got to brew multiple times a week and create recipes for people every day. It was a great job. New products to play with, new hop varieties always coming out, Blichmann Top tier in the classroom to pilot batch...again, great job. I also got to meet a ton of cool homebrewers & professional brewers while there. Brian Hoffman of Fulton often showed up to shop for the brewery and he posted an assistant brewer position on the cork board. I went for it, had a great interview, and got the job...part time to start. So full time at Northern Brewer, part time assistant at Fulton...living for beer! That lasted a few months before I quit Northern Brewer and went on full time at Fulton. As a fast paced & growing company, I moved up the ladder quickly learning a lot from Peter Grande (owner and brewmaster). I got promoted to shift lead brewer and got to work with a great crew before I heard of the Head Brewer at Waconia Brewing job. I live in St. Boni, so felt obligated and excited to apply. The dream of being so close to home, doing what I love and having a ton of control on the beer was a possible reality. I had a fun & professional interview with Bob & Pete and they ultimately chose me for the role, and I could not be any happier!

2) JABlog:  What is your favorite beer style to drink? (Or to brew for that matter!)  Also what are you planning on brewing us over the next few months?

2) Tom: I'm a seasonal drinker. Right now I'm digging on maltier beers and holiday spiced beers...but you can't deny Sierra Nevada Celebration in winter! I like to brew seasonally too. I'm brining in an English yeast strain soon & am planning on some dark beers for Dec/Jan. English beers are some of my personal favorites (Fullers ESB was my gateway beer). Expect some lower ABV hoppy beers for spring as well as a Maibock towards May. December will also bring our first single hop IPA series. Australian Topaz will be the first of many cool hops I've nabbed over the last few months. It gets me excited to try all the new hops out there and some JAB guys agree with me it's a cool experience to get to know hops like that. Small batches (10BBL) so they stay fresh but won't be here long and a small number of growlers will be sold. Watch our website and facebook/twitter for new releases in that series.

3) JAB:  How about longer term plans for the brewery?  Any barrel aged or strong ales on the horizon?

3) Tom:  With J. Carver Distillery down the road & a ton of wineries around us...barrel aging seems like a no brainer! Right now, we don't have the space for a serious program but I do plan on having a small fleet of barrels to play around with. I'm a big fan of brett barrel aged beers so down the road we will do that :) Also, with that English strain in house I'll definitely be making a Barleywine or RIS, I just don't know exactly when--as we need to keep up on our production beers which you can now find at some local bars & restaurants. I will find room to play around though! Oktoberfest for 2015 too!

4) JAB:  Have you had any new revelations/discoveries/fiascos since starting to brew on your new system?

4) Tom:  No new revelations, but it keeps me up at night sometimes trying to figure out a solution to some of our problems. I knew it was going to be tough to get it all running smoothly & keep it running smoothly. Our boiler had the wrong pressure sensor installed, and when I tried boiling water, it wouldn't boil. Dan at Enki had told me to check the boiler because the same thing happened to them, so tip of the hat to him!

Fulton had a 20BBL system and we have a 10BBL so it's was easier to go a bit smaller that it would be to go larger. Bob really has helped me a ton with troubleshooting help, running lines, keeping me sane while the buildout was in progress. The TEK mechanical guys out of Hutchinson did a great job for us too. You never know what's going to happen, but there is always a fist pound after Bob and I have a successful brew-day where minimally to nothing bad happens. If you ask other brewers, they will tell you "it's always something...." For real though, things seem to be running smooth now.

JAB:  Thanks Tom, so much for taking the time to respond and give us more info about you and the brewery!  I look forward to seeing what you do in the coming years!

For a newly opened brewery Waconia Brewing Company seems to be on the right track.  I like the beers overall, and love the feel of the place.  This is exactly what I was hoping for when I first heard rumors of someone opening a brewery in my town.  The DeLange family has done things right and one can tell that they put not just their money, but their hearts into this enterprise.  Since I have gotten to know the folks involved here, I can no longer claim to be perfectly unbiased, but I try to be honest with myself and my readers.  At this point as a Founders Club member, I'm invested in this!  I WANT to be excited about getting a growler of WBC beer to take home.  I WANT to hang out in this taproom with my friends.  So far so good!

Lazy Loon Brewing: Victoria, MN

So back to beer related stuff!  I was recently excited to discover that one of my homebrew club members was secretly converting his garage into a production brewery...unexpected and very cool!  I met with owner and brewmaster Jonathan Lueck to check out his facility and get the skinny. 

Proud papa showing off his beery offspring!

Getting to Jonathan's home in Victoria, MN was a pretty quick trip for me from Waconia.  His home is on a lot that used to host a decrepit farmhouse and some of the left-over debris remains...currently being used as a haunted house for Halloween.  In the attached garage of this unassuming but nice home lurks stainless steel, pallets of cans, and large lager coolers.  The door to the house from the garage apparently had to be sealed over to conform to regulations for a production brewery.   I have to say that this brewery garage is the first of its kind that I have ever visited--and after visiting hundreds of breweries, that is saying something!  Not only is Lueck brewing small batches there, he has his own Cask manual canning line as well.  The canning line has the ability to convert to an automated system in the future and handles 12 and 16 oz cans.  Each can is labeled by hand in advance of filling.

Canning beer on a small scale!

Jonathan has a degree in Economics, and is a practicing CPA and Attorney focused on small business consulting.  With said background he certainly has the knowledge needed to start a successful small business, something that many brewery owners lack.  He spent a great deal of time and effort looking into the necessary laws and requirements needed for opening his brewery and as a result was able to get his home brewery going fairly quickly. 

When asked about the origins of his interest in beer, Jonathan responded: "
With a German farming background, I seemed destined to have an interest in beer.  My hobbies have always involved being a “creative craftsman”.   As I started to learn more about how beer is made, the more I appreciated the craft of brewing.  The  potential for creativity is endless."  His favorite beers to drink are lagers and change with the seasons.  He mentions specifically migrating back to Schells since they have done an amazing job at developing craft lagers.

Not only does Jonathan like to drink lagers, but also to brew them.  I asked him about his decision to focus on those styles for his brewery, and his response was very technical:  "Craft breweries currently have roughly 10% if the market.  The craft brewing industry continues to go after and gain additional market share.  However, the trend is to continue to seek additional market share with the same approach.  I took a step back and analyzed the market to identify an approach to reach the part of the market that craft beer has not focused on.  The answer was obvious, lagers."

The biggest question I had for him was "Why build your brewery in your own garage?"  In typical fashion he returned with a well thought-out and economics minded answer:

"Establishing a brewery on my property allowed me the opportunity to enter the industry without the pressure of producing at levels necessary to cover the fixed occupancy costs.  This gives me the ability to be flexible and creative.  The small batches and labeling of cans provides the freedom to continue to develop the brand through many styles of beer, rather than being married to a minimum order of over 90,000 pre-printed cans.  If you think about it, we have the flexibility of a taproom with the portability of a full production brewery.   The establishment of this brewery is also a proof of concept that a nano-brewery model can produce and package.  We are now in a position to consult with others who wish to enter the brewing industry, but do not want to mortgage their future to do so."

"The long term goal is to continue to work the business plan with a focus of moving the location off site.  The future location will be a production facility with a tap room.   We are seeking a location that will allow us to have a tap room that is an experience, rather than just another room to drink beer."

To me this sounds like a good plan for a small business--gaining a following and name recognition with the eventual plan to increase production over time.  This has a similar feel to contract brewing with another brewery, but with the benefit of having more control over your beer and the brewing process from the beginning. 

So what about the beer you ask?  Jonathan let me try out a few of his test batches before their unveiling to the beer world.  Up front, I'm not as much of a lager guy, but I do respect and appreciate well crafted lagers.  Lueck's flagship beer is the Lazy Loon Lager--an American pilsner style that will have a broad appeal to those who are wary of "Craft Beer."  I liked the taste I had, enjoying it more than some American lagers from the big guys. 

The next taste was a summer version of the Lazy Loon with lime.  I got to try two different batches, each using a different technique for adding the lime flavor.  Both were bright and refreshing, but my favorite was actually when I blended the two samples together!  Haters may hate, but there is something happy about a hint of lime in a lighter lager.  The base beer for this has more flavor and body than another popular "lite" version of lime lager.

The Volksfest is his version of a maltier lager for fall, not quite an Octoberfest/Marzen but in the same vein.  This was also a decent and drinkable beer, but a bit too sweet for my personal tastes.

His Hat Trick is a label that will potentially be like Schells Snowstorm--a seasonal beer that may be an entirely different style and experience each time.  An intriguing prospect for those who tire easily of the same old thing, and one that allows him some opportunity for experimentation in recipe design.  This is early in the life of Lazy Loon Brewing and Jonathan is clearly working on dialing in his small 1 barrel brew system and lagering methods.  As a result of this, there is going to be a bit more variability batch to batch than in larger production breweries.  He seems open to suggestions and is interested in trying new things.  He has some interesting ideas involving collaborations with Jack Of All Brews homebrew club that I'm excited about!
To finish Jonathan wanted to make sure to thank the folks at Surly for their assistance,  Mike at Vintage in Chanhassen,  and Jason at MGM (Chanhassen, Chaska, Waconia, and Spring Park).  His beers are already on the shelves, so you don't have to take my word on it: try them yourselves and tell me (and him) what you think. 

 

J. Carver Distillery: A Teaser

One of the biggest questions I've been getting from my readers and friends over the past 4 months is "What do you know about the new distillery they are building in Waconia?"  Since I live within walking distance from the site and am usually on top of this type of thing, I decided that I should look into this mysterious project more closely!  Founder and partner Bill Miller and Gina Holman, founding partner and manager were kind enough to invite me out to the J. Carver Distillery for a tour and interview.

The site itself is somewhat unusual, taking up the old car dealership just off Highway 5.  When I visited, the place was bustling with activity and construction.  Tradesmen of various types came and went constantly, flitting about like busy worker bees.  Bill and Gina frequently took calls, met people, and made sure things were running smoothly.  Amongst this controlled chaos I received some cool background on this bold project!

Given free reign to talk about his dream, Bill really had a lot to say.  From his passionate and affable discussion I could tell that he was not just financially invested in this concept, but fully emotionally invested as well.  Conceptually he has really taken on the mantle of pioneer and explorer from the distillery's (and our county's) namesake Jonathan Carver.  He admits that opening a craft distillery in our state and our town is covering new ground and requires a lot of exploration and learning.  Not put off by this, he is embracing the challenge and making it part of their mandate!  Bill, a big fan of hospitality and the social aspect of drinking, remembers having cocktail parties for friends and teaching everyone about different drinks like Mojitos.  He enjoys watching people learn about something new and plans to make this aspect a large part of their distillery plans.

Probably the biggest thing J. Carver is going to have to educate people on is just what exactly a distillery is!  Coming from the craft beer and homebrewing world as I do, this seems like an easy one to me, but many people do not have that background and would like to know more.  Now that the craft beer movement has finally taken off in Minnesota, many people assume that J. Carver is a brewery.  Nope!  Beers will usually only get up to about 15% alcohol by volume by natural fermentation by yeast.  Taking a base fermented mash (made from barley, wheat, potato, corn, etc.) the distiller will then run this through a still.  These are cool looking contraptions with coils and columns, usually made of copper.  Alcohol has a lower evaporation point than water and turns to steam first, then condenses as it cools in the coils, collecting again as a more concentrated liquid as it runs through the still.  The result is a much stronger (feel the burn!) alcohol product called a distilled spirit.  While homebrewing beer has been legal since the 1970's (thanks Jimmy Carter!), the distilling process has been highly regulated by the government since the repeal of Prohibition.  Though people do still make bootleg hooch like Moonshine even in this day and age...  As a result of this tougher regulation, J. Carver has had to wade through some very old and often conflicting laws in their quest to open their new small distillery.  Luckily they have had a lot of support from our local state and city government and seem on track to open soon!

What types of spirits are they planning to make?  They have three different stills, each using a different method of distillation to create a different product.  They plan on doing a good mix of vodka, bourbon, rye whiskey, gin, and some liqueurs.  Their third still is much smaller than the other two and they plan to do many small and experimental batches with that one--embracing the pioneering aspect of "craft" to try new and interesting things.  They have already been tossing around ideas for this last still and I am certainly intrigued to see what they decide to make!  They may end up trying flavor infused spirits over time, but want to get their basic process down before they step too far outside their comfort zone.  Bill also remarked that he enjoys the process of mixing a drink and having the flavors already in there takes out some of the fun and potentially the freshness of flavor. 

Why start a distillery in the small Western Suburb of Waconia?  The basic answer is because most of the people involved live out here and didn't want to move or commute.  I understand that!  In addition to that, it sounds like our local town government has really embraced the idea and worked hard to keep this new small business in our town instead of moving to Minneapolis or St. Paul. 

When asked who would actually be doing the distilling, Bill told me that his brother Matt has had several years of experience working at the Catskill Distilling Company in upstate New York and will be the head distiller for J. Carver.  They have also hired on another local Waconia fellow, Dan Niesen to help out with the process.  Bill also told me that the whole group will work together to come up with ideas for spirits. 

The owners of J. Carver seem ready to embrace the nearby Waconia wineries and breweries as fellow travelers and hope that in time our town will be a destination for fermented and distilled beverage tourists.  I'm already cracking my knuckles and laughing evilly thinking about the potential for wonderful collaborations between these local alcohol producers.  There is still some question about how the distillery will be handling on site sales and tastings.  They do hope to have some local visitor options to try the spirits they produce, but this process is somewhat of a Wild West situation and final decisions are still up in the air.  I did get to see a beautiful dark wood bar under construction during my visit and have high hopes that they are able to use it to full effect! 

Based on this tour and interview with Bill and Gina I have a lot of respect for what they have planned for the J. Carver Distillery.  I think they are coming from a place of true respect for the product and a desire to make a successful new business in the town of Waconia.  I will try to get back in touch with them as things continue along and update my readers with new pictures and information as it becomes available.  Thanks again to Bill and Gina for taking time out of their very busy day for me!

Schram Vineyards Winery & Brewery

As most of my readers know by now, I'm a super enormous beer geek and live in the far Western reaches of the Twin Cities.  As a consequence, I can't just hop on my single gear New Belgium Cruiser (yes I have one) and ride over to Dangerous Man or Indeed for a pint of beer.  So when I get contacted with news of another impending brewery out my direction I end up pointing like a fine hunting dog on the scent of a plump pheasant!  For those readers located on the other side of the Cities, the Western Hinterlands have recently had Enki Brewing open in Victoria, and Roets Jordan Brewery should open soon as well.  We have a couple other breweries opening down Shakopee way that I need to investigate further.  And most recently I interviewed the brothers DeLange about Waconia Brewing (check Here for that interview.)  Now, my adopted home town of Waconia will also be home to Minnesota's first combination of vineyard and brewery:  Schram Vineyards Winery & Brewery!

Not too long ago Aaron Schram contacted me about his plans to expand into brewing, and I met with him just the other day to talk about the details.  I've actually known Aaron and his wife Ashley for a while but none of us had recognized our mutual interest in beer and brewing until quite recently.  In this interview, we'll cover some information about the vineyards, then move into more details on the brewery!

I showed up to the vineyards in the afternoon to a scene of frenzied construction and landscaping.  The winter had been long and difficult, slowing plans for the winery tasting room and cellars, as well as deep frost limiting landscaping efforts.  Then the monsoons began, bringing mud pits and Bobcat malfunctions, continuing the difficulties.  Ashley met with me as I drove up, inviting me onto the property and greeting me warmly.  She is a very sharp and stylish mother of two who works hard on the winery and excellent website, but also has a day job for a financial company! 

Soon Aaron ambled up from the thick of the construction zone, decked out in battered workman's duds and having just lost a vicious battle with some blackboard paint.  With a wry grin, he showed me his blackened and sticky hands, indicating that a handshake was out of the question for now.  I was struck by Aaron's happiness in the midst of all this chaos.  When discussing any issues that have arisen with construction, planting, or even paperwork, he seemed to take everything in stride as simply an obstacle to surmount and get on with their plans.  Currently he works full time in project management and all of the effort he puts into the Winery is on his own limited free time.

With an air of an excited school child showing off his new tree house or fort, he began taking me through the current winery and the future brewing area.  During this tour I got some background on the whole venture.  Aaron had wanted to do something like this for years, and he and Ashley started planting vines on their Waconia farm in 2008.  They currently have an area of about 6 acres and over 4000 vines of different cold-hardy varietals, and hope to expand even more in the future.  They currently grow the grapes for about a third of their wines, buying another third from other Minnesota growers and yet another third from Washington state.  Aaron likes to get those West Coast varietals to blend with some of his Minnesota grapes, resulting in more balanced finished wines.  Aaron has had some experience working at St. Croix Vineyard but most of his knowledge at this point is self taught by researching, reading, and experimentation.  He is considered the head wine maker, but has other assistants who help out with the process as well.

The winery tasting room (and cellaring area below), are set into the hillside, with an excellent view of Reitz Lake and the spreading rows of grapevines across the hills.  Currently there is a fair amount of work to be done yet on that large project, but the location really will be amazing when it is finished.  On the hill above the future tasting room is the current open air covered pavilion.  This is where most of the beer serving will take place once both areas are finished, separating the wine and brewery experience a bit.  When I was out there, they were painting (that cantankerous chalk board paint!) and I could see over 10 spots for taps on a serving wall!  The Schrams hope to have about 4-5 regular house beers and another 5-6 frequently rotating beers available.  They also make some lower alcohol melomels (honey wines with fruit) that they initially started selling on tap only, but have been popular enough that they needed to start bottling them!  They get their honey from a local Minnesota producer.  As a mead-maker myself, I look forward to trying those soon. 

Opening for business in the summer of 2013, the Schrams currently make six other wines, with the full range from white to rose to reds.  When asked what his favorite wine was, Aaron responded easily and without hesitation, "The Marquette."  He then went on to tell me that it had won a silver medal at the International Cold Climate Competition last year!  "I've been saving a couple of our best barrels and plan to release them as a special Reserve batch this year," he continued, patting one of those barrels affectionately.

With all that effort going on for the wine side of things, Aaron has also set his sights on beer.  "I've been thinking about adding a brewery since I accumulated some used winery equipment in South Dakota about 2-3 years ago that also has great potential for use in brewing.  Initially the laws in Minnesota just weren't where they needed to be, but things have changed a lot recently here."  Nicholas Smith, a Cicerone trained homebrewer, will be taking on the reigns of Head Brewer.  I've actually met Nick before.  He is a very knowledgeable guy who has been doing research and wine chemistry for the U of M for over 8 years after working briefly for Beringer Vineyards.  It looks like Phil Peterson and a couple other staff members will also be assisting in the brewing process.

The current brewery is a Franken-Brew system, meaning they have cobbled it together from different objects and created their own functional stainless steel art!  The electric brew kettle is one of the smallest I've seen in professional use--only 1.5 barrels!  That comes to roughly 46.5 gallons per batch.  Popular Minnesota craft brewery Summit has a 150 bbl brew system.  You don't even want to think about what size AB-Inbev uses!  Schram's fermenters are over 80 gallons so they can brew two batches and put both into one fermenter to double the final batch size, but this is still very small.  I have a 10 gallon stainless steel brew system at home that is only about a quarter of the size!  One positive to doing this small batch technique is being able to brew batches frequently and really dial in the system and get those beers perfect.  The negative is also that you need to brew very often to keep up with demand!  Aaron and his brew crew have a plan to create a large selection of specialty and small batch brews, and having a smaller system certainly makes this an easier proposition.  They plan on having a saison, porter, pale ale, blonde and possibly a cherry wheat as their house beers, with a frequently rotating selection of others.  They do hope to expand the brewery at some point if things are going well, perhaps keeping the current brew system for doing test batches.  With their head brewer's history as a wine scientist, they already have things set up for a small lab to deal with cell counts, yeast health and quality control.

When asked about his personal favorite beers, Aaron mentions German wheat beers as something he hopes to do right by.  He discovered this style in Germany and feels that most American versions lack the character of the true German Hefes.  I tend to agree with him on this! 

They plan on initially just selling beers by the pint and the sampler at the brewery, and will likely sell growlers there as well.  Aaron has home intriguing ideas for either hosting homebrewers to scale up their recipes for use at the tasting room, or even having novices work with his brewers to brew personalized batches.  The idea of personal boutique batches is more of a wine concept, but with the nearly infinite range of beer styles, I think this may be a great niche to fill in our brewery market.  Aaron says, "Most of the beer business is so over commercialized.  I want our brewery to be different and much more local." 

Besides these different ideas for his brewery, Aaron has some intriguing plans for his beers.  His eyes lit up when he started talking about some of these experimental beers, and the excitement is certainly infectious!  He hopes to try some beer/wine hybrids, which is a fairly rare style in the commercial world.  I've tried 61 Minute from Dogfish Head that combines a pale ale with Syrah grapes, and that was interesting.  I've heard recently of Lucid trying out a beer using Parley Lake grape juice, but haven't been able to try it yet.  And of course the Schrams would be wasting a great opportunity if they didn't try aging some beers in their used wine barrels!  I suggest trying some Belgian styles for that.  Jon Schmidt from Waconia's local coffee house the Mocha Monkey has already partnered with the Schrams to work on a collaboration coffee beer!  I got to try a preliminary homebrewed test batch of this on my visit, and look forward to trying the final scaled up beer. 

Since Schram Vineyard & Brewery is poised to be the first of its kind in the state, I asked if they have had any difficulties along the way.  Weather issues notwithstanding, they have certainly been breaking new ground when it comes to paperwork and licensing!  With different laws and requirements for wineries and breweries many things have had to be tweaked.  Some equipment can't be shared between both, requiring the Schrams to purchase a second expensive pump or tank, simply because of current laws.  Some areas of the brewery and winery have to be separated by walls, requiring more build-in.  Others areas are required to be in a completely different building.  Also when discussing this type of project with City, County, State, and Federal offices, one can discover different and even conflicting laws and rules.  Despite these concerns, it seems like things are currently going pretty smoothly and Aaron still has hopes to open the brewery by mid June of this year. 

One concern I've heard in the Beer-Geek-Isphere is about saturation of the market for craft beer and about increasing competition between breweries for a limited audience.  I've discussed this concept in previous posts, but I think it bears some more scrutiny.  I think there is certainly a cap on the number of bottles a liquor store can stock and sell.  This is why the big guys like Bud/Miller/Coors each have ten different types of cans and bottles--to take up more shelf space!  Larger craft breweries also fight for shelf space against them and now also other craft breweries.  A small upstart local brewery is going to have a hard time competing with all of that.  It is precisely this issue that has prompted many smaller town breweries to focus more on the local sales to get them into the marketplace.  Some are content to supply that local market without plans of expansion.  Look at Steel Toe--they could easily increase in size and distribution, but want to stay small and local.  Others, like Enki and Excelsior, started with local sales but have already expanded more into tap sales and even bottles once their popularity and name recognition have grown. 

Are two breweries in Waconia too much?  As a resident of the city who will be in a mood for different experiences and beers at different times, I say "No Way!"  The experience and tap room at Waconia Brewing will surely be a different one than the Schram's.  Also having met all the people involved in both of these ventures, I really admire them all and think they will bring different things to the table.  The more breweries we have out in the West, the more beer tourism we will see.  Look at all the bike pub-crawls, pedal-pubs, beer buses, etc. to breweries in Northeast Minneapolis!   Take also, the case of the Waconia wineries--we now have three in our small town.  Each of them are different: Parley Lake has a more rustic feel and is located within Deardorff Orchard; Sovereign Estate has a more classic French Chalet feel; and now Schram will appeal to both the wine and beer drinker.  Talking to Steve Zeller of Parley Lake recently, he mentioned that they had seen an increase in traffic to their winery since the opening of the other two vineyards, as well as more "wine trail" visitors to the area.  He seemed to feel that more local wineries would draw more people to all of them, and not have a huge direct competition effect.  In fact the three wineries are cooperatively hosting a progressive dinner in June with stops at each of the wineries for a different meal course! 

Having seen the work in progress at Schram Vineyard and Brewery, I have high hopes for their success.  I didn't take many pictures at this point since things were not in their final places and much landscaping was still in process.  According to Ashley, they really made a lot of progress that week and things are already looking much better out there.  The winery itself is now open for business, so please go check them out!  I plan to go back for a full review later this summer, once the brewery itself is up and running.  I would actually like to do a series of reviews (and perhaps interviews) of the other Waconia wineries around the same time as well. 

Aaron and Ashley have a lot on their plates with the winery and brewery expansion, raising two wonderful children, and both working busy day jobs.  They have heart, drive and a palpable excitement for this dream of theirs--and that will have to be enough to get them through this tough start!  I'm looking forward to seeing how they handle the challenges before them and really want to see Minnesota's first winery and brewery in action! 

Bank Brewing to Open Brewery in Hendricks, MN!

In my attempt to cover upcoming breweries, I came across Richard Drawdy, the brewer for the soon to open Bank Brewing.  The brewery is located in the small border town of Hendricks, MN and I'll let Richard tell you more about that in his own words!  When I first looked up the brewery I discovered that they are responsible for the Beer for Wildlife series of beers that include Rooster Lager and Walleye Chop.  They have been donating to wildlife conservation with profits from those beers for a couple of years now.  A friend of mine won a whole case of Rooster Lager at a Pheasants Forever benefit and shared a bunch with me a while ago.  These are pretty easy drinking lagers (and I have to admit that I had so many that I boiled up some amazing locally made brats in some of it!) that certainly appeal to the majority of beer drinkers.  The company is poised to make some big changes in the coming months!

So without further ado, here is the interview:

JABlog:  I like the wildlife conservation aspect of your current beers.  What made you want to take that path? 

RD:  The Beer for Wildlife line of lagers were born out of love for hunting, fishing, beer, and the desire to develop a way to give back to the land and preserve hunting areas.  When our proprietor Jason Markkula was on a hunting trip to Hendricks, MN there was a unique conversation that occurred in an old bank building turned hunting lodge.  Jason and his hunting buddies decided that he should start a beer company, brew his favorite home brew recipes at local breweries and sell the beer to local hunting enthusiasts, contributing a portion of every sale to land purchase and wildlife preservation.  Since 2009 these brands have been brewed seasonally to coincide with the hunting season they represent and the passion for crafting beer grew.  The old bank building, turned hunting lodge, has now been turned into the taproom at 200 S Main St. in Hendricks, MN.

JABlog:  I'm assuming that the previously mentioned beers were contract brewed off-site since you are now planning to brew on premise.  What led you to make that change?  Also do you plan to brew those beers at your new site?

RD:  You are right, the beers for wildlife are made in 15 BBL batches at Brau Brewing Company in the 12oz bottle and Keg formats and the Walleye Chop cans are coming out of Cold Spring, MN being brewed 75 BBL at a time.  The decision to move to a brew on-premise was driven by an opportunity that presented itself in Hendricks.  The historic creamery building at the other end of the same city block as the bank taproom was screaming to have a brewery in it.  After years of renovations it has a new life making beverages for fans to enjoy much like it once did as a creamery, now with beer instead of dairy.  It’s been fully restored with a 15 BBL brew length, 1500 BBL capacity brewing system on the main level and a loft with apartment and office space as well as rooftop patio on the upper level.  

The beers for wildlife will continue to be brewed the way our fans have always enjoyed them, out of the Brau facility.  This will free up the Bank Brewing Company to start fresh with new beers, facility, and brewing team.   

JABlog:  Hendricks, Minnesota is long ways from the present craft brewery action of Minneapolis and Duluth!  Why open a brewery in a small town nestled on the South Dakota border?

RD:  The location was a derived out of a love for the area and the people of Hendricks. The two abandoned spaces on main street were begging for a new life. In working with area economic development associations and historic preservation organizations we were able to give these two buildings a new purpose.  Hendricks is a great, supportive community that has been extremely excited to see this to completion from day one.  We have a burgeoning craft beer boom of our own over here on the border, with Brau just east in Marshall, MN, Wooden Legs Brewing to our east in Brookings, SD, Take 16 Brewing soon to open in Luverne, MN, as well as Gandy Dancer in Sioux Falls, SD, among others also in planning like Remedy Brewing of Sioux Falls, SD.

JABlog:  I like to know who my beer comes from!  Tell me a little about your brewing history.

RD:  I am a home brewer and will always be one.  It is really a homebrewer's dream come true to be given the opportunity to take over a commercial system.  I'm currently taking a Chemistry of Beer course with the University of Oklahoma, as well as studying all the brewing texts I can get my hands on.  I've watched or listened to every episode of of Brewing TV, Basic Brewing Radio, and The Brewing Network and have learned an amazing amount from those sources as well.  In addition to those learning opportunities I have been helping the guys at Brau to brew out wildlife lagers once in a while to gain some commercial brewing experience.

JABlog:  Tell me a bit about your personal connection to brewing and craft beer.

RD:  Brewing to me has become an obsession, something that I think about doing all day every day.  It has captivated me with its raw simplicity and its archaic techniques, while its intricacies, complexities, and unknowns are what keep me coming back for more.  I know that there is no way that one person could possibly know what all the different combinations of water, grain, hops, and yeast taste like.  However, I see it as a challenge to try and figure out many of themes that form those relationships.  I love being a craft beer fan and am guilty for getting caught in the frenzy of always wanting to try the latest and greatest things that breweries dream up.  I will carry this desire into my role as brewer, always pushing the envelope of innovation and creativity while brewing new and exciting things regularly. I want to focus the majority of our time on brewing interesting, exciting, thought provoking, conversation worthy beers.  Not only that, I look forward to developing the community of craft beer in and around the Southeast Minnesota/ Southwest South Dakota area.  I believe that offering a wide variety of palate entertaining and educating beers will be a fun and exciting experience for everyone.  I am excited to brew beers that will span the gamut from classic to eccentric and everything in between.  What you can expect from me as a person is friendliness, openness, humor and fun.  I truly believe that life should be fun everyday and if its not then you are doing something wrong, this is why I am so grateful to be given the opportunity of taking a dream to reality and brew beer for a living!  

I am a very open person, willing to share anything and everything with you about our brewery, our beers, and myself so please don't hesitate to contact me via email, Facebook, Twitter, Untappd or in-person at the brewery and taproom.

Brewmaster@bankbeer.com

@bankbrewer

@bankbrewingco

Facebook.com/bankbrewingco

https://Untappd.com/BankBeerCompany

JABlog:  What types of beer are you planning on releasing from your new brewery?  Are you aiming at the serious craft beer geek or more at the local casual beer drinker?  

RD:  I touched on this above as well but really what you can expect from us is things that excite the craft beer geeks and aim please the casual drinker with exciting flavors that temp their palates into further exploration.  There are a couple styles we plan to lead with the first of which is Wanted - a tropical hoppy punch of a session IPA.  This is a style that I have found myself wanting the most in the last year.  A beer that has all the hop punch and amazing aromatics you get in a Double IPA while allowing you to have a few amongst friends without worrying about the inebriation that comes with the DIPA.  Another beer that I have focused a lot of time on refining recently is Sour Bomb - a lemony, intensely tart beer that quenches my thirst for sours while being an everyday drinker. I look forward to playing with fruit variations on this one as well. 

JABlog:  How do you plan on  marketing your beer?  Taproom, bottles, cans, kegs?

RD:  I may be crazy with this idea but my initial plan is to take 80% of every batch into kegs and sell in the taproom as well as draft accounts.  The remaining 20% of each batch will be going into the 750 ml format with some great new label art, sold in the taproom only. So we will then be developing an archive of our bottle product since we will be taking some from each batch we can monitor how the beers develop over time. 

JABlog:  When do you plan to be up and running?

RD:  The facilities are nearing completion and we should be cranking out the first batches early this summer.

JABlog:  Thanks so much for the informative interview Richard!  I look forward to trying the beers and seeing how this new move for the brewery will go.  There may have to be a road trip involved!  I'll post an update here when the brewery opens as well.  For my readers, if you visit the brewery please post back here and tell us how it is!