A few permits and applications have been checked off the list

Last week was spent filling out permits, applications, and checks. We got our sellers permit, filed for our conditional use permit, filled out our TTB permit, and made an appointment for Wednesday to submit our ABC application. We also filled out our business application, but was told not to file it until we are almost open. None of it was really exciting, but it feels great to be able to cross them off our list!

By Friday, the only task we had to do was pick up our pilot system. We still need to add the pumps, organize the wires, and add a 50A circuit breaker to our control panel, but we plan hope on getting it dialed in by Wednesday so we can brew our planned recipes (originally brewed on our gas system), with our new electric system. We anticipate having better hop utilization now, so we really want to brew each of the planned recipes at least once so we can get them dialed in!



New brew stand on the left, original one on the right.

Tanks have arrived!

Our fermenters and bright tank arrived today and we couldn't be more excited! They are all brand new and super shiny!!! Unloading them made me very nervous, but actually was quite uneventful. We got them placed in the brewery, and stared at them for many hours. I felt like a proud Pappa looking at my new born baby (I assume that's almost what it feels like anyways, lol).

 

Fermenters and Bright Tanks Ordered

Today we purchased two new 7 barrel fermenters and one new 7 barrel bright tank from PBST Beer in Los Angeles. They have dual zone jacketing, meaning we can keep the flocculated yeast in the cone-bottom at a different (cooler) temperature than the beer at the top. This will help keep the yeast happy until we repitch it in a later batch.

These fermenters are significantly different than the cheap plastic conicals I was forced to use during my stint as a commercial brewer. These stainless steel fermenters are actually sanitary, they hold pressure (which means we can transfer with CO2 rather than a pump), they have a sampling port, a manway so we can get in them and scrub, a CIP ball (acronym for Clean In Place), a 4 inch port for dry hopping, and on-and-on. Needless to say, we are VERY EXCITED about them!!!!  

 

P.S. We are very super ultra happy excited about these!!

P.S.S Is it weird that I am also  anxious to clean them?

Please welcome us to the 21st century

Hey friends, we have joined Facebook! Like us at www.facebook.com/electriccitybrewery
and watch for the latest updates and maybe even some special offers!

Cheers!

For those of you who are interested in the history of craft beer

INTRODUCTION TO CRAFT BREWERIES

The oldest surviving recipe in the world can be found on a 3,800 year-old clay tablet, as part as a hymn to Ninkasi, the Sumerian goddess of brewing. The recipe? For beer of course! It is believed that beer was the original motivation for planting the first wheat crops, not for baking bread as initially suggested. For millennia since, beer has inspired progress, and is responsible for some of earth’s greatest achievements; including math, poetry, pyramids, modern medicine, labor laws, and has altogether helped shape America into the country it is today.

 Beer has evolved since the beginning of time. Once brewed with herbs and spices, and then prayed upon until the start of fermentation (fermentation was called “God is good”), brewers today understand the science behind the craft, and beer has been retooled to [traditionally], include water, grains, hops, and yeast.

 Styles are generally lumped into two main categories: lagers and ales. These styles are dependent on the type of yeast selected and the temperatures at which they are fermented. Lagers are cold fermented. Ales are warm fermented. Prior to the advent of refrigeration, these characteristics dictated the brewing schedule, and ales and lagers were brewed according to the season.

The first half of the 20^th century saw periods of prohibition of alcoholic beverages in several countries. Much of the impetus for the movement in the Nordic countries and North America came from moralistic convictions of pietistic Protestants. Prohibition movements in the West coincided with the advent of women's suffrage, with newly empowered women as part of the political process strongly supporting policies that curbed alcohol consumption.

 After several years, prohibition became a failure in North America and elsewhere, as bootlegging became widespread and organized crime took control of the distribution of alcohol. Distilleries and breweries in Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean flourished as their products were either consumed by visiting Americans or illegally exported to the United States. Chicago became notorious as a haven for prohibition dodgers during the time known as the Roaring Twenties. Prohibition generally came to an end in the late 1920s or early 1930s in most of North America and Europe, although a few locations continued prohibition for many more years.

The years following prohibition brought low alcohol, nearly tasteless lagers to the market. The largest macro-breweries were seemingly competing to have the lightest--what they colloquially referred to as “less filling”--beer possible. Adjuncts such as rice and corn replaced much of the grain, and the hops where seemingly waved past the beer. This product was cheap and non-offending to most, but largely unpalatable to beer aficionados. Instead of selling beer by it merits in taste, the macros convinced consumers through clever marketing that their product was cool. The macros brought us such gimmicks as the Clydesdale Horses, the talking frogs, cold-activated cans (as if it is no longer possible to determine adequate refrigeration by sense of touch), the vented widemouth can, and so on.

Today is different and the beer revolutuion has begun! Small, traditional, and independent breweries are bringing back the flavorful beers of our forefathers. New styles and techniques abound.

The consumer’s palette has become more sophisticated and they desire unique and robust tastes in beer. With the increased interest in beer came an increased interest in variety. Books, magazines, and internet sites devoted to beer have gained popularity as beer drinkers choose to learn more about the beer and the brewing process. Beer connoisseurs are learning which beer pairs well with which food. Seasonal flavors appeal to unique tastes and add to the allure of specialty beer. With certainty, the craft brewing movement is not a fad, but a fixture.

 

Without the craft beer industry this wouldn't have been possible.

 

 

 

 

 

First Logo Concept

We are working with a local print shop to have our logo designed. The first concept is below and is based off of some drawings we had brought to him (one of a city skyline and the other of an electrically powered robot). We are still working on this concept but I think its a really neat start! If anyone has any critiques feel free to tell us.

 

 

We Officially Took Ownership of the Building!

Today I met with the building owner, shook hands, exchanged pleasantries, and got our keys! In celebration, we kicked off our shoes, poured ourselves a pint of Ginger Wheat, and posted this update with an ear-to-ear smile. After almost two months of looking at commercial properties its very exciting to actually have a home for our brewery! Tomorrow I will go down to the property for some preliminary cleanup, take a few measurements, and also go talk to the city to get the ball rolling for our CUP (conditional use permit (code for $3,000 fee). Not sure if I will be able to sleep tonight, I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve, I cant wait to go play with all our new toys!

 

 

Signed and Sealed

The building is officially ours! Now its time for demo and cleanup. The actual shell of the building is nice, everything else is pretty much garbage. Part of the lease agreement was that the owner would repaint the interior, which was white, but I feel like a color change is in order. Our building is actually a concrete tilt-up, and these buildings look beautiful when unfinished (in my opinion anyways). Since sanding the existing paint of the walls would be an insane proposition, I am choosing to repaint them a light(ish) grey color. I chose a color that was light enough to feel warm, but dark enough that the stainless steel tanks would stand out in front of the walls.

I want to rearrange the walls inside to make the building feel more open, and I want to add another bathroom or two. The smartest thing to do would be finish these improvements, then have painting done, but the coordination of that would be most difficult; so, paint first then demo, then paint again.

Pound Puppy

Our third tank (the 330 gallon boil kettle) came in and it was NOT as nice as the sellers pictures suggested. It was dented, gouged, and possibly thrown from the top of Mount Everest at one point. Being suckers for love, we felt bad for this poor girl. Its like that sad, old, abused dog from the pound, she just needed a little love.

Someone else hated her before, but with a little TLC we can give her a new home as a grist hopper; all she needs a name of her own now...

Logo Being Designed

I went to a print shop in Temecula and talked with them about logo design and printing. They have an outside guy  they use for more complicated logos and said he does really good work. I dropped off some ideas I had and hopefully by Monday I should have some initial designs.

My idea:

I spent a few days wondering to myself what Electric City Brewery looks like. I considered the obvious choice, electric bolts, but that's been done before...

The name comes from the fact everything we have is powered with electricity, hence, electric city, so I am thinking of a logo with a city skyline--maybe skyscrapers and smaller buildings--but instead of actual buildings, they will be fermenters and brewing equipment with windows in them. Random lights can be on to signify electric, maybe a burst of light (similar to sun rays) behind the city???

Something like this...

Anyways, its off to the designer to see what he can do.

Cheers,

Canada is NOT a local call

Today I found out that my cell phone carrier loves when I call Canada. I was charged $15 for what couldn't have been more than a five minutes long conversation with a supplier in Toronto. Wait until my wife sees the bill for this month because I talked for at least a few hours to various Canadian suppliers over the past few days.

Also, a few people said I should post more pictures, so here's a bunny...

Busy busy busy

We haven't signed the lease yet, but hopefully by Wednesday. I spent the weekend ordering items for the new electric pilot system we are building;  As of now, I am waiting on parts.

This morning I dropped off my old brew station (pictured below) at the welders so he can use it as a template to build another one (One very happy member from my brew club bought my old gas setup).

The first stand I built--I will miss you girl (sniffle) 

 Since I was at the welders I took some measurements of the tanks we are working on so I can get the parts ordered. I noticed (well, was reminded) that one of our lids was missing so I called Ager tanks. apparently it left Oregon with two lids but only arrived with one; the delivery driver must have forgot to mention that he lost my 5' diameter stainless steel lid going down the freeway at 65MPH. Luckily Ager tanks offered to send a replacement, no problem.

I also talked with the water department. Well, two of them really. Rancho Water supplies our brewing water, and Eastern Municipal handles our waste water. We will need to set up accounts with Rancho Water for billing, but need to get permits from Eastern Municipal for sewer... Its odd and even they were confused. Since I was there I  asked for a water report from Rancho Water so we can see what our brewing water looks like. They didn't have it handy so I am waiting for a call from the Regional Senior Water Quality Manager--yea, I made that up...

Lastly, my partner and I went over some of the ABC requirements and are currently finishing our LLC with the state of California. They need to know every detail of your life so there is lots to fill out.

I ended the day calling for quotes on logo design, fermenters, bright tanks, glycol chillers, and keg washers. This stuff adds up quickly so you really have to do your homework. I originally planned on 4 fermenters and 1 bright tank, but I think at first I may only do 2 fermenters and a double stacked bright tank so we can carbonate two beers at a time, or carbonate and age another. This setup will be allow us to produce 28 kegs of beer every 2 weeks. Of course, if capital allowed, it would be best to get 4 fermenters, a serving tank for each of our styles, and a carbonating tank just for kegging.

ps. If anyone knows a good logo designer, please, let me know!

Cheers!

First of the tanks have arrived!!!

Our Hot Liquor Tank and Mash Tun arrived today, they are 450 Gallons of pure beauty! We had the tanks shipped directly to the fabricators to be fitted with heating elements, a manway, and a false bottom.

Its finally starting to feel like we are becoming a brewery; I can almost taste the beer now!

Pictures of our beauties (the tanks, not the delivery guys):

A Bit Nervous

I talked with the real estate agent and everything is good on our application but we need approval from the OA (Owners Association) before we can sign the lease. I've lost a bit of sleep over this as I know there's always one dud in the group that's opposed to all things alcohol. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for now, but as I have come to learn, I am preparing for the worst.

In the meantime I plan to meet with the water and health department today and submit the necessary applications. And by the way, for those of you planning to open a brewery, the word "application" is apparently a shorter way of saying "pay money".


  

Incorporating Electric City Brewery and Meeting with ABC

Yesterday we got the ball rolling on the incorporation, and today we are meeting with ABC for the pre-application process. Apparently there is so much paperwork the just a good old application process isn't sufficient. From what I understand, they ask us what kind of business we have and then line us up with all the correct paperwork.

I know there are lawyers out there that specialize in this sort of work, and claim to expedite the process, but according to the ABC the process is idiot proof, and I think I can handle that!

I Have the Powerrrrrr!!!!!

My electrical engineer came out yesterday to verify our power capabilities, and well, we have lots of it! 400 amps and 480 Volts. Sounds like we should have no problem powering our electric brew system, the pumps, a glycol cooler, the air conditioning system, our lights, and the hundreds of miscellaneous other machines a brewery needs that are all powered by means of electricity.