Breweries Opening/Closing in Minnesota 2018

So you took that information and translated it to they are CLOSED instead of stating what you were actually told? Wow...

 

The one brewery I was most looking forward to opening

 

I am not at liberty to discuss certain details, but I'll share what I can...

We had about a 6 month delay over the second half of last year working through some issues with the water from our well. We thought we were good to go once we got our test results back and they were clean. We had already been signed off by the MN AGED and just needed the final inspection from the MN Dept of Ag. They moved the goalposts on us at the last second, claiming that we had to have a bathroom in the building, which was never anything that was discussed during any of our many previous communications with them, despite the fact that we have no employees and there is a bathroom in the house a short walk from the barn. It would have required us to retrofit the building for plumbing and install a septic system.

Despite the fact that we likely could have found a way around the bullshit power trip by the Ag inspector, we had the money to absorb the expense of putting in the bathroom as we capitalized ourselves adequately and were favorable to budget on the big ticket items. Things would have been tight, but we would have started brewing beer and generating positive cash-flow.

The unexpected stress of the last-second objection to the lack of a bathroom, piled on top of the other delays and hiccups that, independently, were otherwise pretty minor, was the proverbial straw the broke the camel's back and it forced Caleb to resign. By the time this reality was known to me, it was too late to be recovered. From my perspective, Caleb was the one with the skills to make Oakhold into something special, my role was just to enable him to do so. Oakhold would move forward either with Caleb, or not at all.

I realize this is a really unsatisfying account of what happened and leaves a lot of unanswered questions and what-ifs. I have been living with that myself for the last 6 weeks. It's a tough way to go.

 

Thanks for taking the time to reply and sorry to hear it end like this.

 

I know crowd funding can stir up a lot of emotions, but in this case, maybe something worth looking into if there is anything selvagable at this point. I think there a lot of us in the beer community here believe in what Oakhold could be to the MN beer scene and would be more than happy to help in some way, whether it is monitary or maybe even providing services to help with items (like installing a bathroom).

Either way, thank you for the updating and sharing what you can. Whatever happens, I wish both of you guys the best in your future endeavors.

 

We are philosophically opposed to the crowdfunding thing and wanted to avoid the negative connotations (whether deserved or not) of amateurism and freeloading that comes along with it.

In the end, the issue wasn't really about the bathroom - that was just a trigger. What I was told is that in the end, the premise of the brewery on the property just wasn't possible, which obviously is the exact opposite of how we approached things. To make it work, we would have to raise $500k to build out a new space somewhere else, and we just don't have the stomach for that.

I really appreciate your sentiments and it's really a disappointment to have let everyone down that was pulling for us. Still, it means a lot to know that we had people who believed in what we were doing.

 

A heartbreak to have a dream dashed before it's off the ground, but better now than later, when theoretically it's more difficult to recover from. I'm curious how you got a building permit without a bathroom? A brewery, blendery, etc is a commercial space and requires a bathroom even if there are no outside employees because the owner is an occupant. An architect should have known it and a building official should have caught it. Codes are a monumental pain, but an unavoidable reality. Hindsight is 20/20 and it can be so difficult to see the scale of the challenges or unknown obstacles when filled with enthusiasm. Been there. Best of luck.

 

The brewery was never intended to be open to the public in any way - it was solely a manufacturing operation. We are familiar with at least one other MN brewery operating exactly in this same fashion - without a bathroom in the brewery itself, with the nearest bathroom in the house just a short walk away. I know it's just one, but it's a precedent nonetheless, but the agency that raised a stink over our plan does not seem to care about the double-standard. Further, we had provided our floor plans to both the Federal and State regulators early on in the process and there were no objections raised about our plans at the time. Anyways, it's all a moot point now. I'm just bitter about how it all played out.

 

Very sorry to hear about your misfortune. It sounded like a great plan!

MN news: A non-public farmhouse brewery gets shot down b/c of no bathroom, a new kitten coffee shop in Uptown opens to all the rage: https://thecafemeow.com...News @ 10:00 on KARE 11
Could only happen in Minnesota....Just another reason why my avatar reads South Dakota, enjoy the cats!

 

It's happened in many states. I first saw one in Texas. Also, what does this have to do with beer?

 

In my experience whenever someone says "___ could only happen in ___" it's almost never true and almost always the case that said event happens almost everywhere. But sure, let's blame the hipsters and millenials and their fancy Uptown cat cafe's for some outstate beurocratic bullshit.

 

Mostly just replying to share my condolences. I was super excited about this project, but I do hope this is not the end of yours or Caleb's involvement in the industry. Academia is great, but I can't drink articles on microbiology.

 

Clutch Brewing managed to raise $448k of their $450 goal so are now all funded for their buildout at the new Keg and Case Project at that sweet Schmidt Brewery location in STP .



Finnegans opens March 17 in Minneapolis



And finally in Hastings , MN

 

In Edinese, a beard is more commonly known as a "crumb-catcher." All that cake, you know.

Meanwhile (and pardon me if this was previously mentioned), but Ashby Brewing is open and has beer in their local marketplace. There is however no Taproom, and there are likewise Growler sales on site at present -- from an email exchange:

 

I am guessing you left a key word out!

 

And I'm guessing that I had too many items on my to-do list today.

 

Wooden Hill in Edina softly opens today (2-28-18) at 4 p.m. with 8 beers on tap. The official opening is tomorrow (3-1-18).

 

I stopped in at Wooden Hill Brewing about 6:15pm on Wednesday (2/28/2018). A good crowd was on hand, but not crowded. The wait line for getting beer was about ten minutes (two order/check out stations. The small kitchen is on the other end of the bar from the beer ordering area, and food orders can be done while ordering beer, but picking up the food is done at the kitchen area.
There are two entrances/exits, one on the west (front door) and one on the east (back door, and opening to the back parking lot that provides more parking spaces than in front). The space is in a one story multi-unit office building (like a strip mall), with separate businesses on each side.
Rest rooms are down a short hallway on the east side of the main tap room area. There is another small gathering spot in the back, past the brewing equipment. There are floor to ceiling windows that separate the main tap room from the brewery area.
There are very few chairs/stools at the bar. For seating in the main tap room, there are several booths and several stand alone tables with chairs.
The place is well lit and will probably benefit from the afternoon sunlight coming in through the west side windows. There are several decorative art pieces hanging on the walls.
The flight sampling glasses are served in a large block of hardwood, with recesses drilled out to hold the glasses.
There is a sound system playing music. I can imagine the noise level will get quite loud when the place is full with customers.
The overall décor is kind of Spartan (concrete floors), and will need time to show some experience (this being the first public open day and all).
I saw lots of empty glasses so the customers must be enjoying the beer.

 

So, ummm, how was the beer?

 

NorthGate Brewing is closing effective immediately.
Had heard they were looking for a buyer.
Never was impressed by their beer or the tap room.