How Time Flies!

Mea Culpa!

Can't believe that it has been almost four months since our last blog post.  Not to make excuses but we've been a bit busy.

To recap, since our last post we have:

• received and installed our production brewhouse and associated cellar tanks;
• chiller installed and tested;
• glycol manifold installed, tested and insulated;
• all the plumbing for our reverse osmosis system has been completed and is functional;
• steam lines installed;
• boiler installed and tested; 
• water run through the brewhouse to confirm everything is working;
• flexible auger system installed and tested;
• installed safety rails;
• walkin cooler installed and operational;
• installed new bathroom fixtures;
• removed all floor tile and installed new tile in office area;
• Removed and recycled the old rail line next to our building and installed 3,500 sq. ft of sod;
• Recycled several pallets of miscellaneous lumber with the help of the Central City Little Free Library Project (a great grassroots cause and we really look forward to doing more with them in the future and hope all of you will support them);
• Painted until the very thought of a paint brush elicits a violent, visceral reaction; and
• Swept, mopped, wiped down, vacuumed and then repeated till the cows came home.

Before

After

So like I said we've been a bit busy.  What's even more exciting is the that we have increased the size of our ranks by two.  We are quite pleased to have brought Shane Glackin and Karl Menzer on board as the first two official employees of Second Line Brewing.

Our first employee, Shane hails from Northern Ireland by way of New York City.   Certified Cicerone and avid home brewer,  Shane refined his knowledge and appreciation for craft beer while working at such fine NYC establishments as The Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog, the Swift Hibernian Lounge and Tørst.  The latter being a project of Evil Twin mastermind Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø.  Shane's considerable knowledge of craft beer, appreciation for the artisanal qualities of craft beer and uncompromising standards make him a welcome addition to Second Line Brewing.  

Locally grown and employee number two, Karl Menzer brings 20 years of brewing experience to Second Line Brewing.   Karl began his beer career with a home-brew supply store in Thibodaux, Louisiana.  From there he quickly transitioned to brewing for Lafourche Brewing Company, also in Thibodaux.   More recently, Karl has brewed for Tracks Brewing Co. in Toole Utah, Covington Brewhouse in Mandeville and Abita Brewing in Abita Springs.  Avid gardner, tinker, biologist and all-around mad fermenter, Karl brings a wealth of experience and unparalleled passion for brewing and craft beer to Second Line Brewing; frankly we couldn't be any happier. 

So what's next?

Well we have recently passed our inspection from the Department of Health and Hospitals and have a walk through from the Fire Marshal next week.  If all goes well then we will walk our state and local alcohol permits through their respective agencies, order up a bunch of ingredients and fire up the kettle in time to have beer in the tanks before the end of July.

In the meantime there is still plenty to do around the brewery.  We need to finish up installing the last of the safety rails (if you haven't figured it out by now, safety is kind of a big thing in a brewery),  run our compressed air/carbon dioxide lines, hang our fancy new insect-proof curtains on our roll-up doors, finish setting up the fermenters for the pilot brewing system, clean and passivate the brewhouse and cellar....and the list goes on.

In the meantime, all of us at Second Line Brewing are extremely grateful for everyone who has been so supportive of our effort to bring craft beer back into our beloved Mid-City.

Stay tuned for more soon.

Mark