the road to the brewhouse: Milestones

I don't know if this blog is really an update of what we have accomplished or whether it is a tally sheet of things we still need to get done. We seem to be on the craziest 'paper chase' known to mankind. I keep telling myself not to think of it like that, but rather to think of it as a 'treasure hunt.' Though most of the times, it truly seems like a dog chasing its own tail.

We do, however, have some milestones! We have received our first zoning permit and our business license from the City of Santa Cruz, so we are legal to some degree. We still have many many channels to go through, the ABC, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Bureau, the CCOF, the California Seller's Permit, the City Building Permits, the County Health Services, and on and on. It is hard to keep everything straight. Oh yeah.. and we are INSURED. My new friend, Steve Shockley, has set us up with special Brewery Insurance, designed specifically for the needs of a brewery. Now I have him working on another project for us - A Brewer's Bond. Will it ever end? And, oh yeah, where did all of our money go? :)

Chad and Scott met with the beer/wine purchaser at the Crow's Nest and got a lot of good information about 'taps' in the Santa Cruz County and what it takes to compete with Couch and Elyxir to get a tap. Quality and quantity are obvious requirements, but cache (labeling) and eye appeal (cool handles, draught pulls) are important too.

Tim/Towhee took Chad to San Francisco for a tour of 21st Ammendment and their brewery set up. They have a small space to brew in but they manage a 12bbl system, and a manual bottling line. It gave Chad hope for our space which now seems enormous, by his old standards. The brewers at 21st amendment are very supportive and excited for us. Brewers stick together like a 'good ole boys club' without the good old boys.. :)

I need to make a list of our big milestones - openings, festivals, etc. Right now it seems like we are mired down in the business of opening.

On another more exciting front - our man Dan Saturday hooked us up with a miracle connection for kegs. Trumer Brauerei The deal of a century. We are going to get 500 kegs on Friday. We should be in business in no time. If you see a flatbed truck rambling over highway 17 - spewing 5 gallon kegs out the back.... well you know Chad and Nick had too much pilsner before loading the truck. Just kidding. They wouldn't do that, would they?

We have submitted our proposal to Seven Bridges and they have scheduled an emergency meeting to discuss whether or not they want to lease us their brewhouse equipment. This is a big decision so keep your fingers crossed! It would be the simplest solution for us but whatever happens, happens. And we know that we will have their support no matter what. We expect to hear from them on Friday.

And for all you visual folks - here are some pix of our new space.