We are at a growth crossroad in our brewery.
At this crossroad there is a well worn road heading in one direction that shows a line of brew wagons heading for quantity growth. Along this road there are distributors, restaurants, taprooms, bars, and others waiting to sling your brews. They promise sales, growth, money, expansion and exposure for your small craft brewery.
The road heading in the other direction is sparsely traveled. To get to the end of this road takes time, patience, innovative thinking, and sluggish growth. And your hard earned reward?….Quality.
I can’t tell you how many growth offers we have had since opening. Opportunities to sell to more restaurants & bars, distribute to Portland, Texas, Japan, even China (when possible)! Or the “you need to start another Block 15 in (insert city of choice here)”. Now don’t get me wrong, I am deeply humbled by these offers, and it is tempting as we have plenty of space in our cellar to double, even triple our production.
What’s holding us back you ask? You won’t find a harsher critic of our beer than me. Now, I know we have good beer, great beer, and some amazing beer. However, my mind constantly races with two questions: “can it be better?” and “is our beer world class?” I know the answers, Yes and No, No and Yes. Some brews we have perfected, nailed ‘em, made them freaking amazing, and I would put side by side with any of its style in the world. Some brews, while good, we are still searching for that exact malt, hop, water, yeast, time and love combination. Some brews I have “retired”; completely gone back to the drawing board, rewritten and reinvented.
So let’s grow!! With the recent addition of four conditioning tanks, another conical fermenter on its way, and 17 wine barrels (for wild ales!!) we have more than doubled our cellar capacity. Also, we have added some pretty neat gadgets, testing equipment, kegs, and a fermentation science student to our brewery. We could easily produce 100% more beer this year than last, but we won’t. Nope, the brewery additions are an investment in brewing better beer, more unique beer, wild ales, and creating a mind blowing selection of taps. All of this for the quest of world class brew, and more importantly you; our discriminating, loyal, Block 15 craft beer fans.
*We choose the road less traveled, this year we grow Quality! *
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Bonnie · Wednesday July 1, 2009 · 1
Trying to figure out why I can drink several pints of your Glo without a resulting headache. I must limit myself to a small amount of every other beer I have ever tried. I have tested positive for a brewer’s yeast allergy several years ago. Could it be the yeast you use? Also, have you considered brewing a gluten-free beer? The restaurant and brewery are wonderful and thanks for valuing quality over quantity.
Bonnie
Brewer's Brain · Friday July 3, 2009 · 2
hmmm…We use the same house yeast for the Red, Pale, IPA, Glo, Stout, & Aboriginale, so I would think if you affected by those brews it would be something other than the yeast. The “Glo” is hopped at a very low rate and I have heard of people having headaches from hops…could this be a possibility? Glo is also our lowest alcohol beer as well, maybe another possibility. Really I’m stumped on this one, but the good news is that you can drink our Glo!
A Gluten free beer would be impossible to brew from scratch on our system. I would not be able to guarantee the beer being gluten free due to cross contamination with residual barely from our mill and auger. However, we could start with a gluten free extract, or perhaps pre-milled grains, sidestepping major cross contamination concerns. I have been asked to brew a gluten free beer by several other customers, so it may be something I take a hard look at in the near future. In the mean time, our gluten free friends can drink some great hard cider, and a gluten free brew from another brewery by the bottle.
Thanks for the Comment!