In order for me to seriously pursue opening a brewery, I need the education and experience. So, if everything goes according to plan, I will be taking this program in February 2011. Just a few months away, I will be working to save money for the time off I will be taking. Additionally, I hope to get an internship at a brewery after completing the program, for at least a few months.

This will all provide crucial preparation/knowledge for running the brewery. I can’t wait!

We decided to try our hand at brewing the much talked about “new style” Cascadian Dark Ale aka Black IPA. It’s similar to an IPA but (duh) darker in color due to the darker, roastier (I guess that’s not a real word) malts. If you want to read more about the style, go here.

Here’s the recipe with my hops selection:

http://hopville.com/recipe/311944/home-brew/cda-collabrewation

I will update once we have swapped and tasted all the variations!

Here’s a brief update on what I’ve been up to:

1. Attending all sorts of beer-related events. If it’s related to beer, I’m there. I’ve toured most of the Chicago breweries and hope to check out the new Revolution Brewing pub soon. I also purchased tickets to Night of the Living Ales happening in March.

2. Attending all sorts of entrepreneurship/business-related events. Earlier this week, the Business School at Kendall College put on a workshop for entrepreneurs. Some Northwestern Law School students were there talking about the common legal issues that entrepreneurs face when starting a business. While most of what they covered was stuff I already knew about, it did give me another perspective on incorporating as an S-corp rather than an LLC. I have been researching the best way to structure the company for almost 5 months now, and I think I’ve finally decided how I want to do it. It all depends on how I’m going to fund this venture!

3. Reading, reading, and more reading on beer, brewing, brewery history, beer news, and various business books. Last week I finished the “The History of Beer and Brewing in Chicago, Volume 2” by Bob Skilnik and have started The Wall Street Journal’s “Complete Small Business Guidebook.” by Colleen DeBlaise.

4. Continuing to talk with #beer people, business people, and anyone who wants to hear about Robey Street!

5. Working on new brew recipes. Today I’m bottling the MLK & Cookie Stout and will be trying to fit in the brew day for the Belgian Rose Witbier sometime next week.

6. Participating in a BJCP study group starting next week.

7. Continuing to fill in sections of my business plan.

8. Planning the (rescheduled from December) Robey Street Fundraising Party, tentatively scheduled for March!

I didn’t have the money to enroll in one of their Master Brewer programs, but I did see that they were offering a new course called Start Your Own Brewery. It was a 3-day course (9 to 5) and covered everything from writing a business plan, getting funding, selecting brewing equipment, building a brewery, to operating a brewpub. The course description also mentioned that there would be several people from the craft beer industry presenting at the course. Perfect. And, it started in just 4 weeks!

So, I enrolled and plunked down the money. I wasn’t sure what to expect, because while most of Siebel’s other courses were more on the technical side of brewing and production, this was about business. However, having read a lot of brewing books and done a lot of technical research on my own, a class focused on the business aspect was exactly what I needed.

Unfortunately, the week before class started I was dealing with a terrible bout of the flu and was not feeling 100% by the time class started on Monday November 30. However, I managed to get through all three days without too much trouble.

The course was facilitated by Ray Daniels, and consisted for various presentations by several different industry pros. I learned SO MUCH and it was great to hear from all of the well-known brewers, brewpub and brewery owners and operators, etc. I only wish I had been feeling better so I could have been a little more social and done some more networking. There were about 40 people in the class from all over the country (and world!) all working on starting breweries and brewpubs in their respective cities and towns. Everyone had great questions and I left the 3 days learning so much that I could not have learned in any book or online. “Mad props” to Ray Daniels, the presenters, and all the people at Siebel who put it together.

I will be referencing what I learned in greater detail in upcoming entries. Suffice to say that it was definitely money well spent.