Less Han Solo, More Jack Ryan

So it's been a few days since my last post and it's not for lack of memorable goings on in the world of the Sawdust City Brewing Co., it's just that the goings on, are not the typical things written about it blog posts. It's been a week of "behind-the scenes" action, the stuff most of us don't really hear about, or really care about, when it comes to starting up a brewery.  But guess what, I'm going to tell you about it anyways!

I did brew version 2.0 of our Lone Pine IPA last Thursday, I guess that's kind of exciting and blog worthy.  The first version wasn't bad, it just wasn't what I wanted.   It was a little too malty and a little too sweet (at least in my opinion).  It didn't ferment out as much as I wanted it to, which was partially due to the high percentage of specialty malts and partially due to the yeast we used.  So I cut the specialty malt in half and swapped out the yeast for a strain closer to the one we will be using when the Sawdust City doors finally do open.  But that's what test batches are for, right?  To test things.  And worst case scenario, we ended up with two batches of beer instead of one.  Win, win.

Anywhich, outside of that, everything else has been all computer tapping, phone pad punching, note paper taking boring stuff.  Very anti-climactic when compared to our first few weeks out of the gate.  It's like that scene in "Clear and Present Danger", when Harrison Ford and Henry Czerny get in a computer fight.  Sure "Patriot Games", Ford's first film as CIA agent/"everyman-hero" Jack Ryan, was an action packed thrill ride that kept you on the edge of your seat.  But I beg you to be interested in the cinematic crap-fest that is Clear and Present Danger, when during one of the films most crucial climaxes, all we get is the camera quickly panning back and forth between two combatants as they frantically duel back and forth, typing increasingly stronger on their respective key boards.   Brows furrowed, lips snarled and fingers cocked and in the ready position.  Probably one of, if not THE greatest "fight" scenes in recent movie history.  But I digress, as that really had nothing to do with beer.  Where was I?  Right, boring behind the scenes brewery stuff...it may not be overly interesting, but this stuff needs to get done.  It's not all glitz and glamour in the brewing world, let me tell you what.  

It was a week of phoning the architect and the equipment supplier and discussing brew house layout.  Positioning and re-positioning tanks over and over again.  A week of filling out governmental paper work and cutting through red tape.  Printing and re-printing form after form.  A week of proof reading our business plan.  Reading and re-reading for the 647th time.  Not fun stuff, but like I said, stuff that needs to get done.
Sure, the day to day life at the brewery may sound like it's going to be a roller coaster ride of fun and merriment, filled with hours of beer making and beer tasting.  Going from event to event making sure that all our loyal customers' mugs are kept topped up and full of our beer.  But in reality it's a lot more boring and a lot less exciting than that.  It's a lot more Clear and Present Danger and a lot less Patriot Games.  A lot less Han Solo and a lot more Jack Ryan.

But it's that hope of finally getting to do the beer making and the beer tasting, the hope of going to real life beer events and the hope of actually having "loyal customers" that keeps us going.
So it maybe boring and it may not be blog worthy, but goshdarnit we'll do it as long as it means that someday we'll get to open our own brewery.

Anyhoo, that's about it for now.  Until next time, keep the beer in your mugs and the sawdust beneath your feet.