Main construction finally done!
So the brewery space is finally done! No more crew to feed everyday! We are pretty happy with how it turned out. Tiles are pretty, paint is nice and bloody expensive. The reason it IS so bloody expensive is that it’s a government mandated epoxy paint for food safety and necessary for licensing. Which makes sense as it’s way more durable for heat, steam, and the usual kitchen culprits than normal paint. But it’s just a shock to see the components and industrial thinner for over $150 when normal latex paint usually runs $25-$40 depending on the colour mix. Yay! Anyhoo, the walls are done, dry and Roger has brewed and bottled several small batches in there already to test out the space and come up with a good flow for the eventual brew rig to hold the pots and mash tun.
Also already planning for larger equipment as we already know our existing equipment is very tiny and won’t sustain us for long. We’re already having trouble keeping up with demand even from the folks who’ve been buying from us. Which is both not great and awesome simultaneously.
We still have more work to do but the worst is passed.
New stainless steel sink
We had to go to another town entirely (actually a store on the side of the Panam highway) to get a custom made stainless sink with shelves. Fortunately it was everything we expected and we finally got it into the brewery space and baptized it with beer, literally. Roger intentionally spilled some of our IPA on it to christen it. Our first big stainless steel purchase down here. Soon enough will come larger fermentation tanks and mash tun.
Also after almost two years in storage since we bought it, Roger finally got to put together his giant heavy-as-hell workbench from crappy tire (Canadian Tire hardware stores for anyone non-mapleTimshockey-blooded).
Thing weighs a ton and glad to finally be putting it to use as more than a dust collector in our storage room.
After a few times of brewing and keeping the windows open for ventilation we realized bugs and flies were coming in. It was a silly mistake to overlook having screens installed at the same time as the windows and doors themselves. So we decided to get some installed which turned out quite nice. Although our friend installed them in the pouring rain, so Roger will probably have to redo the silicone sometime soon. But it’s nice to have some extra air again.
Also thinking about signs, t-shirts, coasters, bottle openers, etc. That’s the more fun part. Want to start delivering beer wearing our own shirts. Roger needs a hat, as he hasn’t has a haircut since the week before our wedding almost two years ago it’s more for hair-control than style. Might as well be our logo on it to boot. Also have a temporary “Athena Homebrew” sign on the glass door of the brewery and maybe later adding hours of operation. Thinking something along the lines of “Always Open When Roger is Not Sleeping”.
Maybe.
All in all it’s just awesome to be at a point we can say “in the brewery” and actually mean it. I mean seriously.
“Our brewery”.
Just feels good.
Athena’s Anniversary
It’s been one year since her death and it still kinda feels raw. I guess the shock of how we lost her is something we still feel sad about. She was too young, too energetic, and never got a chance to experience what we were building here. Jup is loving spending time in the study by the fireplace and getting cozy on the couches. Max is loving having all the space outside to wander and really doesn’t give a damn about the dogs anymore. Athena would have explored every nook and cranny of this place and found herself her own little spot to call her own. Likely right on our laps as we try to work.
We plan on planting some nice flowers over her grave soon and we have some flower bulbs given to us by our friends over at Rio Blanco that will be very fitting. Our brewery name and logo has been inspired by her and her “don’t give a damn I do what I like” personality.
Labels featured on a Dutch blog?
We got a comment on one of our instagram posts, and apparently a Dutch blog chose our labels as one of the cool labels of the month. Of all places, a blog in Holland somehow discovered us which is kinda awesome. If you want to see other labels that made the list you can check it out here: https://brouwbeesten.nl/mooiste-bierlabels-mei-2018/
So Thank you Brouwbeesten!
Also if you haven’t checked us out on Instagram here is the last post:
So as it stands, slow and steady and drowning in beer. In the meantime we have to channel our inner Tali:
We did manage to go out and have an afternoon coffee break, beer and rum included. Our neighbour’s pup “Linda” (aka Buckethead) decided to follow us in the rain. She’s an adorable little munchkin.
