Casey just flew down to Tampa for a quick weekend pow-wow on brewery planning. He saved us lots of money by pulling unecessary items out of the equipment budget, and tweaking the layout a bit. (Evidently, the giant cowboy hat and rubber paddle ball set I wanted are not strictly necessary to produce great beer.)
We also discussed what we’re trying to do with the beer lineup so we can nail down hop contracts. With more and more breweries entering the craft brewing scene, and all of them looking to make heavily hopped beers, we expect access to hops to get tight. Contracting with growers ahead of time may be the best way to make sure our cold boxes stay filled with hoppy goodness. I honestly don’t remember all the hops we decided on, but I can say we’re trying to get ahold of some varieties that are so new to the market, they have code numbers instead of names. So, hopheads, rejoice! We should have something new and exciting for you later this year.
For the full details on the beer lineup we decided on click here.
After all that meeting we were parched, so we headed over to The Tampa Bay Brewing Company where the seasonal pale ale proved to be exactly the restorative we needed.
Casey’s on his way back up to Philly now where over the next two months he needs to: finish planning his wedding, get married, find a place to live in Tampa, and move, all while working full time at his previous job and continuing to field random brewing questions from me. Piece of cake, right?
So that, gentle reader, is the update for now. This week I will turn my attention toward figuring out how to get the building renovations moving.
Cheers!
– Kent