Things are beginning to take shape...

October 27, 2022

Slow and Steady wins the Race

At least that's our motto at this point. The challenges of construction continue as we make our way into the fall weather (although today was nearly 70 degrees...). We battle with short staffed contractors, hard to get items, and the general slowness that is the construction world these days.

Much has happened since our last check in. Kevin Lovejoy and his team have been back to build out all of our porches and patios. Despite the absolute girth and hugeness of these post and beams, Kevin and his son were able to assemble all the lumber in incredible time. After, they put up some thick V-groove spruce that will act as the ceiling and the roof.

The interior continues to be in flux. After framing out the walk in coolers, insulators came and sprayed foam between the studs. Spray foam was also applied to the underside of the roof sheathing. Thereafter, insulators used rock wool to stuff all the walls, making the interior feel immediately more cozy, even without doors.

Sheetrock was delivered a couple weeks ago and last week a small team of installers began to hang it. With such high ceilings, the initial install began slow. But now down at ground level, things have been progressing quickly. It's and interesting structure, with few interior walls, some with fire ratings, and some we will be using a waterproof wall solution instead of sheetrock. This makes the install a bit more challenging than a residence.

SD Ireland has been back to pour some of our door entry slabs and from vestibule. We await their return to finish the back pad for equipment and our west patio. The west patio will be an exposed aggregate pour, which will add some texture to the floor. Once the patios are complete, we expect exterior doors to go in, allowing for the temperature related finishes to be completed in the interior of the building.

Site work continues as we hope to sprout some grass before the winter. Island excavating has continued the water main all the way from the library down to our building and beyond, has prepared for the continuation of the sidewalk that spans from the entry to the library to the entry of the brewery, and started to complete all the topsoil in areas that are considered complete. It's great seeing the landscape take shape and we look forward to the green space to the west of the building and patio. We hope to have a plethora of lawn games and things for adults and kids to do, making the brewpub a great family venue.

We have equipment all over town, hiding in peoples barns, garages, storage facilities, etc. We hope to get the walls complete, get the epoxy flooring done, and then move some of these items in. Although we have been treated to some truly amazing warm fall weather, we know winter is on its way. We'd prefer not moving expensive brewing equipment in the coldest conditions of the year!

Dave Derby started less than two weeks ago and has almost the entire top roof complete, working by himself. Brad, our siding guru has two days under his belt and he is "hammering" along with our red board and batten siding. The colors are coming together and we are excited to see this old style barn come to life!

We also go the fence company to come and install a privacy fence for our good neighbors. We find the fence to be appealing and will provide some protection from light pollution for our neighbors.

Meanwhile, at the pilot space, Daren and Travis have been brewing up some great beers. We've had a great summer with lots of outdoor time in the Biergarten. Kyle and Danielle continue to run an efficient and cute taproom at our Rt. 314 location. We have our lease until the end of July, but we anticipate we will be bringing beer to the new location and calling that our new winter taproom location as soon as humanly possible.

Stay tuned for soft opening ideas and more updates!