12 Days Til the Yeast Arrives...

The completion of the construction schedule now revolves around an order of yeast.  We are expecting our first yeast pitch from White Labs on the 22nd.  Yeast is a delicate organism, and should be used soon after propagation for it to work under the most favorable conditions.  I'd like to pitch it in a propagation batch on the 22nd to get enough yeast for a 30 bbl batch of Batch No. 01 and the following batch.

There's still a lot of work to complete, but it's not impossible that we'd be ready for the propagation batch on the 22nd.  The key areas to finish are in welding, electricity to the brewing equipment, auger installation, utilities (gas/electric) approval, and City / Health Department approval.  

It's not really about the yeast, but more about setting a deadline and doing everything in my power to meet that deadline.  It's about getting this brewery up and running after a long 9 months of trying to get this off the ground.

Despite all of the tasks remaining, The Bruery is finally looking like a brewery.  The brewhouse and all tanks are leveled and anchored, almost all equipment is in our possession, and my enthusiasm about running a brewery is as high as ever.  

It is hard to believe that a year ago I was putting together a business plan and looking around aimlessly for a location that would be perfect for a brewery-- mostly I just wanted floor drains already there.  Finding floor drains already installed was my goal, because I thought that would be the most expensive part of the construction process.  It's funny looking back on how little I knew.  It is humbling and frightening to realize that I'll think a year from now and have the same thought on how little I knew a year ago about running a brewery.  It'll certainly be a learning experience.  

I look forward to sharing my failures and successes with you.