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!

School II and Haskell's Chanhassen Scotch Tasting

A friend of mine (thanks Keith!) clued me in to this event out in my neck of the woods.  The Haskell's in Chanhassen apparently does weekly wine, beer and spirit classes on Wednesdays and is wanting to start some tasting events/dinners with local restaurants.  This scotch tasting was the first of these events.

I have to say that being able to spend 20 minutes to get to the location sure beats driving all the way to St. Paul or Minneapolis where most of the beer dinners are held!  School Of The Wise II, (or simply School II based on their sign,) is located right next to the movie theater in Chanhassen.  Entering the building, one is struck by a pleasant and homey feel.  Dark woods, low lighting and warmth are comforting, especially after coming in from the winter chill.  Our tasting was set in one corner of the bar side, with a film screen set up for power-point.  Seating was at our choice and several folks sat with strangers and made friends.  Sj and I both ordered a Big Eddy Baltic Porter to start and soon after were poured some scotch.  The restaurant had some appetizers set up at the back of the seating area.

Ed Kohl, the distributor of the spirits, was there to do a presentation.  Unfortunately for him, his microphone wasn't working and the restaurant became louder (the other end of the bar and music from the other dining room mostly,) as the evening went on.  Voice getting rougher from talking loudly, he was a trooper and got through his presentation.  I actually learned a great deal about the process of scotch making, and what factors change the mouthfeel, flavors and aroma of the final product. 

Sweet Cheesy Scotsman!

Our scotches were served in a Riedel scotch tasting glass that really accentuated the aromas in the spirits, and at the end of the night we were able to take them home with us.  I am pleased.  Most of the scotch was from the Isle of Arran off the Western edge of Scotland, and were not peaty at all due to the grains being toasted with gas fires instead of coal and peat.  The 10 year was a bit rough, but the 14 was much nicer.  There were versions finished in Sautern, Port and Sherry casks which really added some different character to the base scotch.  My favorite of those was the Port.  One from the Isle of Skye was a blended Scotch (the horror!) and was a fantastic blend of the smokiness of a Talisker and the sweet vanilla of a bourbon.  It was the cheapest and our favorite...that never happens!  I was also a fan of the over-the-top peat in the Kilchoman, but Sj was making so many gagging expressions that some of our fellow tasters had to stop their drinking in order to laugh at her.  Mark from Haskell's was there to answer questions and we talked at some length about beer and booze.  He was offering discounted rates on bottles of the scotches we tried that evening and I ordered the blend and the peat-beast.  I know Sj won't be drinking that!

The dinner portion of the evening was not quite what I had hoped for.  They had a nice spread of cheese, crackers and meats as appetizers and a salad and chicken alfredo pasta, all served buffet style.  Having lactose intolerance and no lactaid with me made this a tough meal for me.  Not the restaurant's fault, but I would have liked options.   

Over all a nice way to spend a cold evening.  I could tell that this was a first time event, as things were a little disorganized, but not in a way that ruined the fun.  I think some more dinner options (or a plated three course dinner) would do wonders for this type of higher-end event, and a working PA system.  I would certainly go to another of these, and would really like to see one done at Terra Waconia.