Year in review

What a big year! We are still a ways off from brewing professionally, but the last twelve months have been very productive.  Here's a recap of how twenty thirteen shook out:

Early this year, we had the brewery conceptually approved by the Santa Ana Design Review Committee (DRC).  The DRC reviewed the proposal and compared our brewery plans to the California Building Code.  There was a lot of back and forth, tweaks and redlines, but we arrived at a plan that was worthy of approval.  The plans were then referred to the Zoning Administrator (ZA).

Because breweries don't pop up all the time, and we were the first to ever propose a brewery in the City of Santa Ana, the ZA had very little experience with permitting a brewery.  Our proposal includes production brewing, tasting room and retail sales, in addition to the existing office use, a combination you might not find in your average neighborhood brewery.  Also, the Phillips Block Building that we are moving into was built in the 1880's.  The building was a livery back then, housing horses and their feed.  There is a gigantic gear/pulley that used to be mounted in the rafters of the building.  The gear was used to lift bails of hay to the second floor for storage.  So the combination of a new brewery, pairing of production, tasting and office uses, and a historical building posed a small-but-not-insurmountable puzzle.

With a puzzling proposal, the ZA had little choice to refer the proposal to the Planning Commission (PC).  The PC is an elected commission that reviews zoning and permitting proposals.  Up for approval was our Conditional Use Permit (CUP).  I gave a presentation to the PC, showing images of local breweries and their tasting rooms, in case the PC had the same questions as the ZA.  But, the PC had some experience with breweries and our proposal was approved with staff-recommended conditions unanimously.

Once our CUP was approved, we began developing plans for the building permit submittal.  That's when an email fell into my lap - a used 15-barrel brewhouse was for sale in San Diego.  I immediately expressed my interest and drove to San Diego as quickly as possible to see the system.  The brewhouse is arranged in a two vessel layout - one direct-fired kettle and a "combi-tank," which features a hot liquor tank and mash tun that visually appear to be one tank but function independently.  The combi-tank layout is ideal for small brewpubs where space is at a premium.  We ended up purchasing and moving the system, but the bonus was that the seller also had four 15-barrel glycol-jacketed conical fermenters, a grain mill, grist case, auger, and a couple pumps.  It's almost every piece of equipment that a brewer needs to turn sacks of grain, hops, yeast, and water into delicious local craft beer.  What's missing? A glycol chiller and glycol distribution system, heat exchanger and a cellar package (hoses, valves, etc.).  It was a deal we couldn't pass up.

So, with a majority of our equipment purchased and moved to storage, it was time to shift focus back to obtaining a building permit.  With the help of my dad (he's an architect), I began developing the architectural drawings.  We hired an engineering firm to design the electrical and plumbing improvements.  That's when we hit a major hurdle.  Our electrical capacity was grossly undersized for the proposed brewery.  More back and forth ensued - this time, between me, the electrical engineer, and the glycol chiller manufacturer.  The chiller is the biggest electrical consumer in my brewery proposal, so manipulating the chiller size is the easiest way to adjust our electrical loads.

Then my engineer quit.  See ya later, I can't do this, your f------ed. I quit.  Blown away, we were.  I basically had to start all over with a brand new engineer.  I searched for a while to find an MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineer) that had experience in downtown, with old buildings, and with the City of Santa Ana. The new MEP reassured me that the proposal would work without any major manipulation.  We tweaked a few things, brought on a structural engineer to distribute the load of the roof mounted, finalized the plan sets, and submitted drawings to the Santa Ana Building Department in October.  There were four separate reviews - (1) architectural and structural, (2) mechanical, (3) electrical, and (4) plumbing.  I also submitted the revised plan sets to the Orange County Health Agency - that approval came a few weeks later.

It took the Building Department several weeks to get around to reviewing the plans. And in early December, I received comments and redlined architectural and structural plans.  There were a few adjustments that needed to be made and some elements of the proposal that needed to be justified using the California Building Code.  We made the necessary adjustments and resubmitted to the Building Department.  I spent a few hours with the plan checker going over the changes, a meeting that concluded with a big fat "APPROVED" stamp.  The approval was contingent on approvals by the Planning Department, Fire Authority, Police Department, Public Works, and Orange County Health Agency.

That brings us to where we are today: Last week I received planning department and public works approvals.  The necessity of the Fire Authority review is dependent upon the Building Department review, and with Building Department approval of our proposal, the Fire Authority review is no longer necessary.  According to an exchange with the City's Fire Authority plan checker, we should receive a refund of our prepaid inspection fees.  That leaves the PD.  I was unable to cross paths with the PD plan checker last week, so that approval is still outstanding.  We are that close to approval of our architectural and structural plans!

There are still mechanical, electrical and plumbing approvals outstanding.  We received electrical comments, but it doesn't make much sense to proceed with those changes without knowing the mechanical and plumbing comments.

We started cleaning out the space recently, and it feels good to see some physical progress made.

Building Department

It has been a roller coaster ride trying to get together engineering documents worthy of the building department.  I've brewed a bunch of pilot batches during this time, with each beer being better than the last.  I also recently stepped into blending beers, which has been exciting and full of surprises!

So, without further delay, today I submitted architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing drawings to the building department.  The plans were approved by my project planner at the City, then delivered to the building department with a big fat check.  They are estimating that the initial review will take up to 6-weeks to complete, so we'll check back in around mid-November. I will need to submit a separate plan set (and big fat check) to the Fire Authority because Santa Ana contracts with OCFA for fire services.  I also plan on dropping a revised plan set off at the County Heath Department to get that review underway.

While I'm waiting for the building department to complete their review, I'm going to jump into the California Department of Alcohol and Beverage Control and Federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Marijuana Tax and Trade Bureau licenses.  Wish me luck!

We're getting close now!

Pilot Batch: Farmhouse Ales

If you've ever shared a pint with me, you know that I thoroughly enjoy the flavors of a rustic farmhouse ale.  It's a preference that developed over years of exploring the vast universe of craft beers.  I think that the past will shape the future, and this historically significant style of beer will certainly have an influence on what we do at The Good Beer Company.  With that, I dedicate this blog post to all things farmhouse, from funky barnyard and dry hay to lemon rind and tropical fruit.

Blending geographies, we start our journey in Wallonia, a French-speaking portion of Belgium, where Saison (literally, "Season" in French) was historically brewed to quench the thirst of seasonal farm workers.  The classic representation of the style started brewing commercially around the mid-eighteenth century.  Today, the array of farmhouse flavors inspire American brewers - including myself.

Farmhouse Ale:  To me, the flavors contributed by a used wine barrel meld seamlessly with the flavors of a farmhouse ale.  Last summer, I brewed a simple saison recipe with my friends and fellow homebrewers David Larsen and Mike Roberts.  We brewed up one wine barrel worth and it has been aging in my garage since then.  In December, we brewed up 20 more gallons,  pulled out a couple kegs worth, and refilled the barrel - a process called solera.  We brewed this recipe again last weekend to continue the process.  It's beyond exciting to always have a fine wine barrel aged farmhouse ale available.  The beer features soft oak, red wine, and fruity aromas and flavors with a tartness on the palate and very dry finish.

Wild yeast meets the West Coast:  Last summer I started experimenting with different yeast strains not commonly used in American beer production - Brettanomyces vs Saccharomyces (the later is used in brewing and wine production across the world, the former is often considered a spoilage organism in breweries and wineries).  While Brettanomyces throws of some unsavory flavors when used in a mixed fermentation (it can destroy years of hard work by a winemaker), the flavors it produces in a pure culture fermentation are what interest me.  I'm having a ton of fun blending the flavors of this wild yeast with some flavors we're much more used to here on the West Coast - hops!  The citrus, lemon, mango, pineapple and explosive tropical fruit salad flavors contributed by wild yeast pair up nicely with flavorful American hops prevalent in West Coast India Pale Ales and Pale Ales. 

I blogged about these experiments last summer and I'm happy to report that, with nearly a year worth of refinement, we're heading in the right direction.  

Some New Toys

On Saturday, I drove down to Mission Valley in San Diego and loaded up a package of equipment for transportation.  The package is almost a complete brewery!  For the time being, the equipment is basically being stored in my building - we still have a few permits and licenses to obtain.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that only photographs can do justice:

That was fun.

Brewing Equipment

A couple months ago, I was contacted by a guy in San Diego that had been collecting brewing equipment for his own brewery.  His project had to go in a different direction, so he contacted me to check out his brewing equipment.  I did.

Fast forward two months and we have the deposit on the equipment.  We'll be moving it from San Diego to our new home in Santa Ana in May.  The system is going to need some serious tender, loving, care, but this thing has some great bones and was made in the United States of America.  JV Northwest, the manufacturer is one of the most respected names in the business, too.  The brewhouse was built in the mid-90's and used in a brewpub for several years.

Here are some photos of the JV Northwest 15 barrel brewhouse and four 15 barrel conical fermenters.

Planning Commission Approval

On Monday, the Santa Ana Planning Commission approved CUP 2013-01, which enables the Good Beer Company to produce, sell and distribute beer from 309 West Fourth Street, Santa Ana.

This is a major milestone for Good Beer.  The next steps include:

• Building and Fire Department submittal for architectural review
• California ABC License application for Type 23 License
• TTB application
• Equipment identification and purchase
• Construction (once Building/Fire approval is satisfied)
• Brewing!

That's an oversimplification, of course, but it gives you an idea of how much more work needs to be done.

Zoning Administrator Approval

Yesterday morning, myself and a couple fellow craft beer enthusiasts attended the public hearing in front of the Santa Ana Zoning Administrator.  It was an administrative review and open to the public.  After some trouble understanding the technical functions of a brewery tap room, the Zoning Administrator approved the proposal with some changes and sent it to the Planning Commission as a public hearing item.  Thanks to Jason and Joshua for showing up in support!  Here are the details on the hearing:

The Good Beer Company will be discussed at a public hearing in front of the Santa Ana Planning Commission.  The Commission is set to meet on March 25 at 5:30 PM in the Santa Ana Council Chambers, 22 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, California.  The Planning Commission can approve, continue or deny the Conditional Use Permit application.  

I'm putting together a slideshow to give the Planning Commission members an idea of what the tap room will look like.  I'll be collecting photographs and short videos of tap rooms across Orange County.  Here is one of the preliminary renderings of the Good Beer tap room:

If you have good photos of local brewery tasting rooms, please submit them to brandon@thegoodbeerco.com 

Upcoming: Zoning Administrator Public Hearing

It's finally official: The Good Beer Company Conditional Use Permit will be considered at the Public Hearing before the Santa Ana Zoning Administrator.  The hearing will take place on March 6, 2013 at 10:30 am and will be open to the public.  Please attend in support of Good Beer!

Conditional Use Permit Application Submitted

Because The Good Beer Company is a use that will produce, distribute and sell an alcoholic beverage, we're required to submit a Conditional Use Permit Application("CUP").  The CUP is reviewed by the Zoning Administrator and the Planning Commission to determine whether the activities are acceptable in the location proposed and is of general benefit to the City, compatible with all surrounding uses, and consistent with the City's General Plan (that's text straight from the CUP form).

Well, the application, fee, and mailing information for all property owners and tenants within 500 feet of the proposed site were submitted to the City today.  Now, we sit back and wait for the Administrator and Commission reviews - which will take place in February.