City "Approval"

Well, we received "approval" from the City's Design Review Committee.  Plans will be stamped on Monday!  It should be a time for celebration, but it doesn't feel appropriate.  There's a long road ahead, including additional plan reviews, public hearings and administrative review, before Good Beer can even think about breaking ground.

I also received a letter from the County Health Department.  They provided a list of changes to the plan set in order to make it compliant with their codes.  Nothing earth shattering, so it shouldn't be a problem to comply with.

Anyways, we're moving forward with the permitting!

On another note, I'll be up in Julian tomorrow to brew a batch of beer with my brother Bryce at the Julian Brewing Company!  Details forthcoming...

City Plan Review and County Health Department

 I have neglected the blog for too long.  Fear not, I have not neglected spending all my free time moving Good Beer forward.
 
In the past week, I have moved two necessary processes forward. I resubmitted a revised plan set to the City of Santa Ana and submitted the initial plan review package to the County of Orange Health Care Agency's Wholesale Food Program.  So we're moving forward through the heaps of licensing, permitting and regulation.

I received comments from the City, revised the plan set, with the help of my talented cousin and recent Architecture graduate, Jen Manckia, and resubmitted the revised plan for a second review.  It's my understanding that some of the staff at the City are getting excited about having Good Beer as a member of the downtown business community.

I had lunch with Vicky from Downtown Inc. back in June.  Downtown Inc is a non-profit serving as Santa Ana's Downtown Business Improvement District (BID).  Downtown Inc receives funding from an assessment on Downtown property owners and the BID's purpose is to market and promote downtown to the world.  Downtown Inc's mission is to facilitate the enhancement of Downtown Santa Ana as a vibrant shopping, entertainment, business and cultural destination for all. I imagine Good Beer will be working closely with Downtown Inc in the coming years as we share a mission to enhance Downtown Santa Ana.

As for the County review, I met with County staff a couple times over the summer and even had one inspector visit my building for a pre-submittal screening.  We came to some great solutions and I expect the plan set to move through the County permitting process rather quickly.  

Can you believe it!

Beer Experiments

Between brewing pilot batches and moving Good Beer forward, August has been a busy month! 

This past month, the home pilot brewery crafted some really cool beer concepts.  I have several beers I'm extremely excited about, even though I haven't even tried them yet.  Between late July and this past weekend, I brewed a Farmhouse Strong, an Imperial Stout, a Sour Session ale, a Wild Pale Ale, and enough beer to fill a used oak barrel - literally.

The Farmhouse Strong was bottled almost two weeks ago.  The Farmhouse Strong is a dark, strong, American-hopped beer with Belgian yeast flavors.  It was fermented with a delicious Belgian Saison yeast blend which I've been using for a couple years with great success.  It is definitely my go-to Belgian yeast.  I added some dark malts (Special B and Chocolate) to try and achieve a chocolatey raisin flavor.  And, in the spirit of Southern California, I added copious amounts of Cascade, Columbus, and Chinook hops.  It clocked in at 8.0% alcohol by volume.  Like I said, I bottled it a couple weeks ago, and have yet to taste it, but it tasted great along the way.  I'll surely open a couple this weekend (Labor Day) while relaxing by the pool.

The Imperial Stout was inspired by the Haven Brewing Breakfast Stout brewed by my good friend Dave Larsen.  He used a lot of chocolate malt to create a viscous and decadent Breakfast Stout.  I had the pleasure of trying it from the fermenter a few months back, and had the barrel aged version on Monday night at the Haven 3rd Anniversary Party in Orange.  Anyways, I used a bunch of chocolate malt and as many malts as I could to create a thick, viscous mouthfeel.  This beer is sitting in fermenters right now, and I've been toying with the idea of racking it on some oak or vanilla beans before bottling it up.

The Sour Session ale was quite an experience.  I decided to try my hand at a pseudo-sour mash.  I've done a lot of research in sour mashing, recently, and it finally inspired me to try it out.  Boy, was that scary.  I mashed and sparged a grain bill for a pilot batch of pseudo-Berliner Weiss, then drained the wort to a 5 gallon corny keg.  In the corny keg, I let Lactobaccilus and a host of other microorganisms free.  For four days, the keg sat at about 104 degrees to promote the souring.  By day two, the keg was carbonated.  By day three, it was getting scary and I had thoughts of sour beer explosions in the garage.  By day four, I decided I could not just sit back while a time bomb sat in my garage.  I attached a beer serving line to the keg's "outlet" and put the other end in the kettle.  To my surprise, the keg was so carbonated that it pushed all the beer out and in to the kettle.  I boiled the beer (to stop the souring process), added hops, and I am fermenting it with an ale yeast.  It's an interesting experiment.

Photo: pH measurement of the soured session wort

I'm very much looking forward to the Wild Pale Ale.  It's a style that is just now becoming popular in the craft beer world, but wild ales have been brewed for ever.  My Wild Pale Ale is hopped up with citrusy American hops and fermented with Brettanomyces bruxellensis, bruxellensis 'Trois' and lambicus.  I have never used this yeast, and many brewers fear letting it loose in their brewery, but I can't let that stop me. From what I've been able to ascertain from internet research, B. bruxellensis 'Trois' is producing magnificent tropical fruit flavors - think pineapple, mango, papaya.  The B. bruxellensis and lambicus were added to the other fermenter to experiment with yeast blending and to compare the different strains.  Based on this, I thought a hoppy Pale Ale was the way to go.  I'll return with results in the future.

Photo: Brettanomyces yeast strains

Photo: Brettanomyces yeast starters

 Photo: Wild Pale Ale fermenting away (Saison in the background)

Finally, in a collaborative effort with Dave Larsen and Mike Roberts, we brewed enough beer to fill a used oak barrel. In. One. Day.  I'm not kidding.  In a single day, the three of us combined for over 50 gallons of beer.  We brewed a simple, low-gravity Saison, knowing fully well that it would be aged in a french oak barrel that had previously been used for wine, and most recently used by a local brewery for a soured Imperial Saison.  The simple beer we put in the barrel is going to sit there for a while, developing additional flavors, absorbing the oak, and taking on the essence of what had previously filled the barrel.  I also plan on releasing some additional souring strains of Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, and Brettanomyces, to add complexity.  It's going to come out of the barrel a completely different beer.  I'll report back with results in several months.

Photo: I guess you could say we're starting a barrel program.

Busy Summer

You probably have noticed a lack of updates from Good Beer recently - that's because I haven't had a moment to stop and reflect on what is going on.  Some interesting things are happening right now.  Fear not, I'm still pushing forward and breathing life in to The Good Beer Company.

I'm working on revising the plan set that was submitted to the City of Santa Ana.  There are some technical items that need to be ironed out - like occupancies, fire separation, means of egress, and other extraordinarily exciting elements of the California Building Code, before we can resubmit.  That said, I have great direction and, with the help of my Dad (a California licensed architect), I think we have a proposal that will make everyone happy.  I'm planning on getting the resubmittal in to the City by the end of the month, so stay tuned.

As for brewing, this upcoming weekend will be the Grand Barrel Brewday.  Myself and a couple fellow home brewers are getting together to brew enough beer to fill a used oak barrel.  That's quite a bit of beer to make at home in one day - over 55 gallons!  I don't want to spoil the surprise, but it's going to be an exciting beer.  I also have started in on some fun yeast experiments using non-conventional fermentation techniques.  My hope is that I will get a good grip on using various yeasts and bacterias in fermentation before the brewery opens - that way, I can pump out some fascinating beers in short order.

In the last month, we've visited Track 7 Brewing and Rubicon in Sacramento, Bootleggers and Anaheim Brewery in Orange County, and the Julian Brewing Company in my home town of Julian.  I have brewed a bunch of beer - including an Imperial Stout and American Farmhouse Ale, and a Brown Ale that I have on tap right now, in the last month and I'm amped about what's coming next.

Pilot Batch: Double IPA

Craft beers are constantly brewed to higher and higher strengths - from higher alcohol to more bitterness, it's a growing trend that is not going to disappear.  For some, this trend is an adulteration of craft brewing and historic beer styles.  For others, it's a symbol of the creativity and defiant nature of craft (and home) brewers.  I subscribe to the later.  Brewing extreme beers and breaking style guidelines is good for craft beer because it usually translates to increased flavor, aroma and experience.  Because I hold this perspective, a Double IPA was one of the first beers I wanted to master...

The judges at the Mayfaire Homebrew Competition think I've figured out the style. Five hundred and fifty entries in the Mayfaire and I had the best beer in Class 13 Double IPA and Barleywine.  How awesome is that? Golden - literally!  I'm getting closer and closer to becoming a "pro brewer" thereby disqualifying me from these competitions, so I need to relish in the glory of victory at the home brew scale.

Enough gloating, how about the beer?  It clocks in at around 9% alcohol by volume and rocks about 80 IBU.  The hop flavors are attributed to a pretty elusive hop combination - Citra and Simcoe. These two hops have high oil contents and contribute loads of flavor and aroma.  The Citra hop contributes flavors of tropical fruit and the Simcoe hop provides a piney resinous bitterness - a pair of contrasting hops that is just sensational.  You have to try this beer to believe it!

Check This Place Out!

This quick video builds upon an earlier blog post about the amazing building that Good Beer will live in.  I want you to see how cool the building is before our permits are pulled and we begin construction.  Check it out!

I need to work on my videography skills... more vblogs coming in the future!

Progress and the County Health Department

We've been making some progress, just not as much as I'd like!  I feel like our next big milestone is coming very soon, so stay tuned.  Here are some updates on my progress, the County Health Department and some advice for future brewers.

Minor Milestones


I haven't had any really cool updates for a couple weeks because I've been discussing the project with the County Health Department.  While I wouldn't characterize our discussions as a milestone for Good Beer, I would say that we are making progress. 

Some minor milestones that have happened recently:

• The Good Beer Company has filed paperwork for fictitious business names with the County Clerk-Recorder.
• I filed more paperwork with the State to confirm and finalize Good Beer's presence (at least for a year)
• As discussed below, we came to some solutions with the County Health Department

County Health Department

It has been made abundantly clear that my situation is very unique. Very.  Most breweries select industrial warehouse-type buildings to house their brewing operations.  Because we're permitting in a historic building, the City and County have had some interesting hurdles to overcome.  At first, the County was coming up with concerns about the building at a rate of one-a-day.  This was a lot to handle, and I'll admit, I got a little overwhelmed.

That said, I sat down with the County and we were able to discuss the intricacies and come to compromises about what the brewery will look like.  The discussions shed light on some of the County's biggest concerns, but in general, we came up with creative solutions (compromises).  Here are a few of the solutions:

County concern:  the ceiling above the brewing area could harbor "dust" and should be painted or sealed.  My stance:  I want to maintain the historic charm of the space but also make it a clean and safe work environment.  Solution:  instead of painting the 100+ year old exposed wood ceilings, we will seal it with an industrial transparent silicone coating. 

County concern:  Keep visitors to the tasting room out of the brewery production area.  My stance:  I want the building to be an open and barrier-free experience.  I also need to be able to move large equipment in and out of the brewing area without destroying the barrier.  Solution:  surround the brewing area with metal railings that fit in to a sleeve.  This way the railings can be in place to keep tasting room visitors out of the brewing area and allow us to add equipment to the brewing area in the future without removing a permanent barrier.

County concern:  the grain crusher will generate too much dust if it is out in the open.  My stance:  I understand that it will generate grain dust, but I've read about brewers that have been able to keep the dust under control.  Solution:  less of a compromise than the other two situations, I have elected to enclose the grain crusher in a room by itself.  We will have to move the crushed grain a further distance via auger, but, aside from the added expense, I think this compromise will work out for everyone.

County concern:  The big kahuna was when the County wanted me to paint, stain or seal up the beautiful exposed brick on the west side of the building. My stance:  I did not like this idea because the brick adds so much character to the building.  Painting, or even sealing it with a transparent seal, would be a detriment to the feel of the space.  Solution:  I explained to the County that the brewing tanks and additional distance between the brewing area and the brick would act as a buffer between the brewing activities and the brick.  They liked this idea

If You're a Brewer...

I have some advice for brewers (or anyone opening a commercial food processing facility).  Having gone through this brain damage, here's what I suggest you do to make the permitting process go as smoothly as possible:

• Educate yourself.  Be aware of the legislation that exempts "tasting rooms" from the requirements of a bar.  Review the Department's guidelines.  Read the California Health and Safety Code sections that pertain to both food processing facilities and restaurants and bars.  
• Be verbal.  (As opposed to assuming they know the details of your project.) Go above any beyond the requirements.  The County of Orange told me that I would simply submit a plan set and get comments back.  Feel free to go outside the process and schedule a meeting to consult with the Department heads of the Plan Review and Facility Inspections.  The people that I am working with are much more receptive to a verbal description of what is going on than a written account.  It also helps to get their attention focused on your project for an hour, so I'd suggest sitting down with them to flesh out the details.

I'm making some plan revisions then I'll be ready to submit a plan set to the County.  In the meantime, I'll also get the first round of comments back from the City.