A few people have asked me what starting a brewery is like.  After the last few months, I can tell you it’s sort of like trying to run a marathon but you have to run behind those people at the mall who are grouped six wide and aren’t in a hurry.  So for a guy like me who tends to be very driven, it’s excruciatingly difficult waiting on other people.  I think it’s slowly turning me into George Castanza.  SERENITY NOW!  The good news is, we’re close to being able to sprint!     

I just received the first iteration of the lease yesterday and while we still have to negotiate some finer details, it feels good to finally have the bulk of that paperwork together.  Of course, we need our attorney to look it over, but the building lease is definitely our biggest hurdle right now.  Once the lease is signed, it clears the path for us to begin work in earnest. 

In other news, after some conversation with Tiffany, we ended up hiring a company called Local Stake as a start up consultant and platform for our equity raise.  They’re a local Hoosier company that has helped a number of small businesses (including more than 25 breweries) open their doors.  So far, they’ve vetted our business plan (financial targets) and are working on an online portal that will allow us to offer company shares to more than 11,000 investors.  Additionally, for those of you that felt the $15,000 single share price tag was a little out of reach, working with Local Stake will allow us to offer half shares for $7,500.  More to come on that once our online portal goes live, but if you have questions, feel free to reach out.

Finally, our second run of ‘My Girl’ Blonde Ale will finish bottle conditioning this Friday.  Then it goes in the fridge for a quick cool down and then, sample time!  Our next scheduled brew date is June 3rd where we’ll be working on a batch of Shelby Dog IPA.  Also, for those of you looking for a little adventure in your craft beer lives, if you have not been to Deviate Brewing (96th and Michigan), do yourself a favor and go there right now.  The owner, Mike Orkey, is an amazing individual who is super passionate about beer.  While there this past weekend, he let us try his newest creation right out of the brite tank.  It was a “milk-shake” pineapple-java, white stout that literally blew my mind.  It made me re-think everything I know about beer – and I am a 20 year beer industry vet.  It will release a week from this Saturday for one time only.  DO NOT MISS THIS BEER!