We had the pleasure of joining Mayor RT Rybak today for the official signing of the Minneapolis Taproom Ordinance. The ordinance completed what the  "Minnesota Pint Law" began when it was signed into law in May. The state law cleared the way for brewers to apply for an on-sale license with their municipalities; the Minneapolis ordinance carved out the specific license that breweries will apply for in the city. Cheers to Mayor Rybak, his assistants Andy and Janna, and the whole City Council for helping make this happen. It's great to live and work in a city that supports small business.

Now, back to work on actually building that taproom...

We'll keep this short and sweet, since the pictures are worth at least five thousand words. The production side of our brewery is almost complete. Both the hot side and the cold side are assembled, plumbed, and wired, and if you don't mind us saying it ourselves, they're looking good.

We've already improvised a few subsystems. Our tap water was coming in at over 70 degrees, which is too warm and can slow down the chilling process as we prepare to ferment. This likely would only be an issue during the summer, but in those months, could add several hours to the end of our brewdays. So, Pete and Steve, the contractor who's been helping us with our pipefitting, devised a glycol-cooled pre-chiller that will fill the two white tanks you can see below the brewstand in the top left photo.

We also installed our new (ok, used) coldroom over the last couple weeks. We now have nearly 450 square feet of cold storage. We'll use this to store newly kegged beer as it comes out of the brewery, though at the way beer has been selling this summer, it may go straight out the loading docks and never even get to stay in our cold room. We'll also be able to store specialty kegs we wish to age here (vintage Worthy Adversary, anyone?), growlers, and the kegs supplying the draft lines in our taproom.

Speaking of the taproom, see the finished space below! Okay, just kidding, it's not even close to finished. Since the taproom bill became Minnesota law in May, we've been working to incorporate it into our layout. It's been a bit of a juggling act since we hadn't originally budgeted for building a bar and seating area, but we think we'll still be able to make a cool space to share some beers with the neighborhood.

We've received our Certificate of Occupancy (CO) from the City of Minneapolis, and just passed our Minnesota Department of Agriculture inspection last week. We're still waiting on our Brewer's Notice from the TTB, and our Minnesota manufacturer's license. Those are at least 2-4 weeks out, but at that point, we're (finally) an officially licensed brewery -- but that's just the wholesale side. Taproom and growler sales each require their own license, which could take 4+ weeks after the manufacturer's licensing is complete. So, as much as we'd love to be slinging growlers in early September (ok, right now), it looks like the stars will have to align for it to even happen before October is done. Not to worry though - we're planning to be here for a long time, so it'll be worth the wait.

In the mean time, stay tuned for more updates, keep sharing Fultons at your favorite haunts across the metro area, read some good blogs when you can, and make the most of the nice weather we're having! Before you know it, the Vikings will be playing, the leaves will be changing, and the new brewery will be open.

Couple of fun developments today!

First, we finally got to peel the shipping plastic from our tanks and brewhouse. They looked kind of like giant stainless steel butterflies coming out of their cocoons. (Thanks to Jim's dad Jay, a former English major, for contributing that lovely simile).

Better yet, we got to boil some water! It's more exciting than it sounds...really. We ran a full one hour boil, and cycled the water through to the whirlpool.

Next up: degreasing the tanks and continuing to get ready for our first test brew.

We had a great time at the St. Paul Summer Beer Fest. The drizzling rain in the beginning only made us (and you) thirstier, and it turned out to be a great day for a beer fest. Then again, it's hard to imagine weather bad enough to ruin a beer fest.

On tap was our Lonely Blonde, grapefruit-infused Blonde, and Worthy Adversary poured through a randall of whole bean Guatemalan Dark Peace Coffee, cherry wood, and vanilla beans.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi and have a beer! We poured our last drop a minute before the fest ended, so nice job on your part. Looking forward to seeing you at the next fest, if not sooner.

On Friday, 6/24, almost two years to the day after we established our company, we took delivery of our new brewing equipment. We'd been anticipating this delivery much as 10 year old boys anticipate Christmas morning, though most 10 year olds likely aren't thinking about beer as much as we are.

The first truck backed up to the dock at 7:00, and the third and final one was unloaded and on his way home less than three hours later. Unloading, of course, is the easy part, and we spent the next nine hours using forklifts, jacks, dollies, and good old-fashioned manpower to coax the equipment into place. By 7:30 pm, the guys from Murphy Rigging (who did an awesome job -- if you ever need to move a few thousand gallons of fermentation vessels, give them a call) were out the door, and we had placed the mash/lauter tun, the boil kettle, the whirpool, hot liquor tank, the mezzanine, four fermenters, and the brite tank.

So we'll be brewing next week, right? Not quite, unfortunately. There's a lot more work to be done before we even fire up the boiler. Our list of projects seems to be getting longer, not shorter. Piece together the process piping, place the grist hopper, assemble the auger...steam piping, air lines, electrical, gas, glycol...how about getting those sinks and toilets in the bathroom?

Sounds like a lot of work -- and it is. We occasionally find ourselves wishing that our biggest problem was still just our dysfunctional hand-cranked mill or the seasonal plumbing in Pete's garage, but despite the stress and uncertainty that comes with a project of this size, the thought of Sweet Child of Vine flowing from our own Minneapolis brewery keeps us going.

We're anxiously awaiting our equipment at the end of this week, and by "anxiously awaiting," we mean "working day and night to get everything done so we have a place to put the equipment." In preparation for the arrival, we've been cleaning and painting the entire building. All of the construction--especially the concrete cutting--made quite a mess, so a thorough pressure washing was the first step. We then had to edge every cinder block  in the 6,000 square foot warehouse with primer, apply two top coats of the primer, edge again with paint, and apply the final topcoat of paint. It felt like an endless job, but when we finally finished, it felt worth it, as the place (almost) sparkles now! Thanks to Kool 108, Pizza Luce Downtown, and North Loop Wine & Spirits for fueling/motivating all of our work.

Other preparations in the past couple weeks have included contractors finishing the entry stairwell, framing and sheetrocking the rooms, and applying the epoxy flooring in the production area. The epoxy floor is non-porous, food grade and cleanable. Best of all, it slopes to drains, which makes cleaning up after a brew into a simple task.

We're almost there! The equipment is scheduled to arrive on Friday -- yes, this Friday--so be sure to keep tabs on the developments via Facebook or Twitter.

Jorge carving the Hog

               

Is it really almost June already? Apparently. So what's new in the world of Fulton?

To start with, Governor Dayton signed the liquor omnibus bill today, which includes the "Taproom Bill", allowing Minnesota breweries to sell pints of their own beer in their own breweries. We're looking forward to occupying a barstool at all of the state's breweries -- and for you to occupy one at ours.

In far less interesting but perhaps equally important news (to us, anyway), we finally closed on our financing! It's not the most fun part of the process, but it turns out that breweries don't build themselves, and even if they did, they certainly wouldn't do it for free, so we've spent the last few months pouring over spreadsheets and documents to put together our financing package. Just last week, we put the last pieces in place. We're very happy to be moving on to more exciting projects.

After what felt like an eternity of layouts, plan review, loan documents, and contracts, we finally sunk our teeth into the heavier construction portion of our brewery. In the last few weeks, we cut and removed a four foot wide section of floor in which we'll be pouring a new slab that slopes to our trench drain. We ended up getting about 60 square feet of "bonus" demo when the concrete around the existing water main collapsed, due to 50 years of settling under the existing slab.

We also completed framing of the new bathrooms, boiler, and storage rooms in the last week. There's still lots more to go, however. With the new brewing equipment comes the need for new supply and waste water lines, as well as new three phase electrical  to where the brewhouse will be dropped in, so we have contractors coming in to help with that.

Finally, we've been pressure washing and filling holes in preparation for painting. Painting may seem trivial, but it's about a lot more than just looks. Sanitation is king in a brewery, and freshly painted, light colored walls make it easier to identify areas that need attention, and make them easier to clean.

In non construction-related news, sales have been taking off! We had a record month in November, then February beat that record by 17% -- only to be again by March, which was nearly bested by April. It's still hard to believe that less than 18 months after we sold our first beer, the Twin Cities is now enjoying over 1200 pints of Fulton every day. We know some of you account for a disproportionately large percentage (yes, we include ourselves in that group), but it's amazing and humbling nonetheless.

Thanks again for your dedication and support. The next several months are going to be even more exciting than the last few, so stay tuned -- we're looking forward to seeing you in our taproom, at one of the great bars carrying us, or perhaps...at a liquor store buying Fulton in bottles? Stay tuned for more updates on that...

Hi friends,

Things are moving fast over at the Capitol! Our pint bill has a hearing on Tuesday, April 5. This is an important step, but just one of many. We still need lots of help to make this happen. We've worked with several other Minnesota brewers to compile a website that will serve as a hub for information and updates on the bill. Please visit http://mnpintlaw.com to find out where we're at and what can be done to help. And as always, please pass this on to other interested parties.

Thanks to the popular vote from the great folks at Firkin Fest, we're going home with the Golden Firkin! We won for the War & Peace. People must have been thirsty, because we went through 20 gallons of War & Peace, 10 gallons of Worthy Adversary, and 10 gallons of Sweet Child of Vine. Good times -- can't wait til next year!