Beer Beer Beer… Can You Ever Have Enough: Brewing Up Some Progress in Macon
You may not peg me as a beer connoisseur, but I am actually. The same ex boyfriend who broke me out of my chicken-fingers-at-every-restaurant-I-went-to-rut (see this post) also introduced me to the concept of microbrews and craft beers. A microbrew is a beer brewed at a small commercial brewery, according to wisegeek.com:
” Even though it sounds like a miniature beer, a microbrew is actually a beer brewed in a small commercial brewery. In the U.S., it is a beer produced at a microbrewery that brews no more than 15,000 barrels of beer per year. Brewed and distributed on a regional basis, some of these beverages are also known as craft beers.” (http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-microbrew.htm)
As I have said many times before, I love to support local small businesses. So of course I was over the mood to find out that a couple of people were opening up a brewery in Macon. How very cool!
Cory Smith is one of the owners of the Macon Beer Company, along with Jeremy Knowles, and he was kind enough to answer some questions I had over email. I specifically wanted to interview him now becaxuse THIS THURSDAY as Roasted they will be hosting a Beer School- but more about that in the interview…
Make It Work Molly: So tell me, what made you and your business partner want to do this?
Cory Smith: We had been home brewing for a few years and enjoyed the hobby immensely. As we got more involved we began taking trips to GA breweries to learn more. Seeing the process on a commercial scale was much less intimidating than we expected and inspired us to consider the possibility of opening a brewery in Macon. A few pints of beer, some napkin math, and a touch of insanity later, Macon Beer Company was born. We’ve been at it seven days per week since. By the time our first beer is sold we will be at nearly three years of work on this project and we’re still totally pumped about it.
MIWM: What kinds of beer will you be making?
Cory Smith: We’ll start conservatively. Our first two offerings are a brown ale called ‘Macon History’ and a pale ale called ‘Macon Progress.’ Both recipes are tame compared to current industry trends but our market research indicated that middle GA is just beginning to appreciate craft beer, so we want to bring people along at a comfortable pace. We’ll have a signature seasonal for the Cherry Blossom Festival, a cherry wheat ale, as well as a rotating brand for Macon Octoberfest (http://maconoctoberfest.com/about/home/). After we get a handle on commercial production and market demands we intend to pick up the pace a bit with an India Pale Ale and some bolder brews.
MIWM: Tell me about the beer making process- aside from it takes water hops and time I don’t know a whole lot.
CS:It can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. There are 4 essential components – water, malted grain, hops, and yeast – but other adjuncts can be involved to expand the taste and aroma profile. The process involves extracting the sugars from malted grains, which is done by soaking it in water at a specific temperature for a specific time period. That results in a very sweet solution called ‘wort.’ The wort is then boiled to sterilize it and break down complex starches into simpler sugars to make the yeast’s job easier. Hops are added to the boil to balance the sweetness of the wort with the bitterness of the hop oils. Hops are added at various stages during the boil to impart other characteristics, such as flavor and aroma. Once the boil is complete the wort is cooled rapidly so that the yeast can begin working its magic. The yeast converts the sugars into alcohol over a few weeks and the result is beer! The yeast does most of the hard work, brewers just set it up for them to do what they do best.
MIWM: Tell me about your facility- how big it is, how long it has taken to get where yall are now, and speaking of- where are yall in the process now anyway? What exactly does it take to put together an endeavor like this?
CS: Our brewery is housed in a historic building that was most recently used for electrical supplies storage. We’ve done some demolition on the interior and repurposed those materials into new structures suitable for our manufacturing. The outside remains in tact and will see only minor cosmetic upgrades. The building has a lot of personality and we are trying to preserve as much of it as possible.
It’s around 7,000 square feet on the inside, which is more than enough to brew beer and store the finished product. In addition, we’ll have a tap room and beer garden wherein guests can sample the products and participate in interactive tours and demonstrations of the brewery. We will offer tours at least twice per week once the tap room is complete.
It has taken many months to renovate the building due to many significant upgrades in plumbing, water, electrical, and natural gas services. We’ve done most of the work ourselves while maintaining full-time jobs so it has truly been a labor of sacrifice and passion.
We’ve received all the requisite licensing now and have begun brewing. We’re starting with small batches while we get a feel for the new equipment. We expect the products to start slowly filtering into the market in August. We’ve planned some release events at local bars, restaurants, and pubs around town.
What it takes to put together an endeavor like this is a complicated question. It’s easy to say time, money, sweat, and blood, but it goes far beyond those sacrifices. Throughout the years of this project we’ve seen numerous setbacks, unexpected complications, and morale-killing instances of bad luck. But we’re still here and still driven to bring Macon something it deserves. We haven’t encountered anything that we couldn’t overcome and we expect nothing less out of ourselves and one another. Beyond that, it has taken the support of the community, as well as business-promoting agencies and politicians around town. We would still be in the planning stages if it weren’t for all that support.
MIWM: What kinds are beer are you most looking forward to making?
CS: We look forward to some challenging recipes, like a peanut butter stout, but we’re most excited about the Macon Octoberfest brew. The festival features a home brewing competition and the winning brewer will get to commercially produce their product for sale in the market. They’ll get to brew with us and see their hard work and recipe development on taps around town. That’s some cool stuff.
MIWM: What is happening Thursday night at Roasted? WIll this be some of your own beer for tasting?
CS: Roasted is hosting our Beer School Thursday night. We’ll bring some brewing equipment for a demonstration, as well as some raw ingredients for people to sample. We’ll take you through the brewing process in an interactive training and let you taste everything along the way. Unfortunately, we won’t have our products on hand because everything is still in fermentation at the moment. We’re beyond excited about finally getting into the hands of the people but greatness cannot be rushed and we will never sacrifice quality.
So- before you head out for Bragg Jam this weekend- make sure to get out Thursday night to Roasted to learn more about our own local brewery. For anyone who wants to say Macon isn’t making progress… perhaps you should get out a little more. Not only are we making progress- we’re brewing it too.
Love to all y’all,
Molly
