Unwrapping party this Friday at Bank Street Brewhouse.

You'll notice that Bank Street Brewhouse's brewing equipment has remained "wrapped" during the weeks since delivery. Now that brewing is slated to begin perhaps as early as the 15th of July, the pieces must be unwrapped, polished and prepared for duty.

This Friday (July 10) at 12:00 Noon, we'll be doing exactly that, and readers are invited to come lend a hand in exchange for a Progressive Pint or two. I've never done it before, and I don't know how long it will take -- but it sounds like fun.

It sounds like even more fun to commence brewing ... and we're almost there.

In other news, numerous final preparations are underway. The driveway is blocked so that concrete can be poured to finish the sidewalk reconstruction. North (smoking) patio furniture is being built and procured, and soon it will be formally opened.

Streetside/sidewalk furniture is being sourced. The grain room, brewhouse electricity and rear fencing should be wrapped this week. Grain and supplies have been ordered, and the walk-in is chilled and housing kegs of NABC beer brewed at Grant Line.

We're coming to the end of a long process, and the beginning of another one, and it feels fine.

Grassroots and the Fabled Garage Brewhouse

By John Campbell

Grassroots seems like an appropriate theme considering that I'm off to Madison, Indiana, to attend the Ohio River Valley Folk Festival this weekend. I would love to brag about the integrity of the event, their support of craft beer, local arts, and grassrooted, folk festivities, but I can't (See Roger's blog posts from last week for an in-depth explanation). Unfortunately, too many people have forgotten their roots in the race for success and supremacy. I can firmly state that we are not of that stock. We will always strive to learn, to improve, to grow, and to expand, but never by turning our backs on those who helped us, believed in us, and carried us along the way.

Today I felt it necessary to acknowledge our roots, the brewery that started it all, and the brewer who has been carrying us for at least a couple of weeks now. While all eyes have been on Bank Street, Jared Williamson has been laboring away at the original location in the fabled Garage Brewhouse where it all began...

3312 Plaza Drive, New Albany, Indiana

While David and Jesse have been preparing for the new brewery and working hard to streamline the delivery and installation, Jared has been working just as hard to keep beer in the tanks and recover from our unforeseen beer drought. The brewing system at this location is a 4 barrel brewhouse with 8 barrel fermenters that require two brews to fill and, even then, will only produce 16 kegs of beer. The bottom line is this: it is labor intensive, requires a long brew day, barely supplies enough beer for both locations, and just when you think you are caught up, it starts over again. Yet, somehow Jared has managed to pull it off. Our beer is back on tap and tasting better than ever thanks to his devotion, David's added know-how, some new equipment, a bit of loyalty, a dab of commitment, and a big-ass, heapin' scoop of integrity.






Despite the long hours, Jared managed to brew enough beer for me to take 8 kegs to the Folk Festival this weekend. Kinda sad that it will be pouring next to an Anheuser-Busch truck this year, ain't it?

Jared inspecting the latest batch of Community Dark

David's newest contribution to our old way of doing things.

Here's some good news for our die-hard New Albanian fans and hopheads: Hoptimus is in the tank and will be back on tap soon! Jared pulled some off the fermenter and we had ourselves a good ol' grassroots nip off the tank.








That is the face of a Craft Brewer and that is the way beer was meant to be.

The Propagator and the Propaganda - Viva Che!

By John Campbell

Day 3 of the brewery installation. Come in for a beer and watch it come together, that's why we made the walls out of glass, ya know.

David and Jesse connecting Che, the yeast propagator:




David and the Brewhouse:





The Stormtroopers:


Meanwhile, Josh is creating edible art, Nasty is holding up the bar, the forklift door has been installed in the new malt room, and Dave and Jesse continue piecing together the future...

"We must spread our principles, not with words but with deeds, for this is the most popular, the most potent, and the most irresistible form of propaganda." - Mikhail Bakunin

Daily musing: To exist, or not to exist.

Two days ago we were told by the bank that everything was in place to close on the finances yesterday.

Yesterday we were told that until we had insurance on the brewing system, we couldn't close.

My undergraduate philosophy background has not prepared me for this sort of logic. I am being asked to insure something that does not yet exist so that I can have the money to bring it into existence.

How can one insure something that doesn't exist?

Funny world, this.