Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Beer Hound Brewery

The owner of my local homebrewing supply store, The Fermentation Trap, is in the process of opening a craft brewery in the store.  Beer Hound Brewery, as the new venture will be called, can be considered a nanobrewery in size, as batches will be approximately half-barrel in size.  The brewery is currently under construction and permits are mostly completed with federal and state officials.  I have spoken with Kenny Thacker, the owner of The Fermentation Trap, a number of times about the project and wanted to rely some of the information on to our readers.

The business model that Kenny is planning on pursuing is to sell pints and fill growlers from a bar area being built in the one corner of the store.  This business model is advantageous for several reasons.  First, Kenny will be able to completely control the brewing process, as he will not need to rely on distributors or retail establishments to properly store and serve the beer.  Second, the costs of producing beer in this manner are lower than in other types of breweries, as the rent and utilities are already covered by the homebrewing supply store.  The lower costs, as well as higher margins achieved by selling beer directly without distributor and retailer cuts, will hopefully allow Beer Hound Brewery to brew nanobrewery-sized batched and still be profitable (a problem that many nanobreweries face).  Third, with a smaller sized system, Beer Hound Brewery will be able to make a greater variety of different beers, which should be more interesting both for Kenny and for the public who enjoy the products.  Finally, linking the brewery with an established business should allow Beer Hound Brewery to pull in existing customers, as people coming into the store to purchase supplies can enjoy a beer while doing so.

I have included a few pictures taken of the brewery build out below.  I am excited to see where Beer Hound Brewery will go and look forward to enjoying some of the beer produced there, and maybe even have an opportunity to help make a batch or two.

Good luck, Kenny.

Cheers,

TW

Beer Hound Brewery Floor Plan

 Electric Half-Barrel Brewhouse Layout

 Temperature-Controlled Fermentation Room

 Building Out Bar Area

Friday, September 7, 2012

Poll: Thoughts on Cask Conditioned Beer?

Like all our prior poll posts, this post takes a moment to memorialize the results we received on the most recent blog poll.  The readers' responses to the question "What's your attitude / preference / outlook on Cask Conditioned Beers?" are presented below.


Total Votes: 21

There is no ambiguity about how the readers feel about cask beer - it's a hit and for many, the more the better.  The very skewed result may be the result of a growing trend in cask beers offered by commercial breweries (and the bars/pubs that sell them).  Or it may be that the majority of our readers are homebrewers and anyone who is bottle conditioning their homebrew, is basically making the equivalent of cask beer anyways.

While cask beer equipment is predominately sold to pubs and other professional venues, homebrewers are not left out in the cold.  Places like UK Brewing Supplies have complete lines of firkins, pins, bungs, and beer engines if you're looking to serve traditional cask beer out of your home brewery.  However, make sure you have plenty of thirsty drinkers on hand, as the 5-10 gallon casks should be turned over in about a week, or else it might start going downhill.

Let us know the best place you've ever had cask beer.  And if you are reading this, our next blog poll is up and awaiting your participation.

Slainte!

-JW


"Beer is a living product"
-Michael McDole

Monday, September 3, 2012

Happy Labor Day


Lug Wrench Brewing Company would like to wish all of our readers a happy Labor Day.  Hopefully, you have a chance to celebrate the holiday and the end of summer with a fine homebrew or craft beer.  The start fall somewhat lessens the craziness of summer as the kids go back to school.  It is also my favorite time to brew here in Virginia, as the crisp autumn coolness of the air beckons me to fire up the burner on the back deck.

Cheers,

TW
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