Challenges

Starting a brewery is tough! As things pick up momentum and we get closer to brewing, there are more days than ever before that I think of throwing in the towel and calling it quits. I feel myself plagued with feelings of not having enough money, making wrong decisions, over-selling ourselves, stretching ourselves too thin, and of course, what if the beer tastes bad? If I can step back out of the daily dose of bad news, set backs, expenses and time constraints we didn't expect, long enough to see the big picture, I realize that those feelings are ridiculous and like everything that has come along, can be remedied, Even if the beer tastes bad at first, we can fix it.

This whole process has been so interesting - and now in the final push to get the equipment installed, plumbed, welded, cleaned and operational, we look back on the past weeks and months and realize that not much has happened as we expected it too - some things are more challenging and some things are better. But this is a good lesson for being in business. To some degree you have to throw away your preconceived expectations. They can paralyze you when you are confronted with change and challenges.

So, where to begin to catch up on the progress of the brewery. Well, the equipment is in! And, for the most part, it is in position. This past week we have been getting estimates on the plumbing, electrical, sheet metal, welding, and refrigeration necessary to get everything running. This is where we underestimated our budget severely. We have had to abandon the idea of floor drains and sophisticated plumbing. This is going to be a crude operation - at least in the beginning - with lots of manual labor - running hoses throughout the brewery. Even so, we are going to have to get permits from the city for the gas lines and it is still going to be expensive.

Each day expenses come in and our heart races. The burner was initially estimated at $400 turned out to be $1700. The sheet metal hood was estimated at $1000, turned out to be $1800. And don't forget about all the bonds we have had to file with the different regulating agencies. Most of the time I am nervous to go to the mail box because I dread some government agency telling me that we need to make another $1000 deposit. The money keeps me up at night - and yet each morning I wake up believing that we can make it all work and when we do, it will be amazing.

There are a lot of people a long the way who keep us going - believe in us and oddly enough, most of them were strangers until recently. The entrepeneurial spirit is viral. Most people have admiration for taking risks and following your dreams, especially those that have already done it themselves and succeeded. There are some skeptics and doubters. It hurts, I'll give you that. But it keeps us real and makes us work with more intensity.

Organic certification is a challenge. We have to file our Organic Sytem Plan this upcoming week! Chad developed his first four recipes and we received our first shipment of organic grain. T-shirts, business cards and glasses are at the printers. The label design is being carefully considered from a variety of different angles. We are starting to make a brewing scehdule, a delivery schedule, a kegging/bottling schedule. Chad and Nick, especially, are going to be busy.

The Westside Farmer's Market is gearing up and on our 'to-do' list is to get an application for the Felton Farmer's Market. Tastings at Swift Street are threatened as our Land Use Permit still needs a Public Hearing and we aren't yet scheduled. We have to have tastings. There is still so much to do - but now, closer than ever, Brewing Beer is so close to being one of those things! I can't wait to smell that sweet smell - I get a hint of it wafting down from the grain room.