A ton of bricks!

We were just visiting our brewery space over the weekend to take measurements and see what was uncovered during the deconstruction. We found brick! That is mainly awesome because we are going to try to revive it back to it's former glory. Secondarily it's awesome because we found that our contractor got creative and carved the State of Montana into the plaster.

We also found out that over half of the space has 12 foot tall ceilings. That will be good for the fermentors. The taproom will look super cool with high ceilings too.

You're looking at the cool brick wall that will be renovated and will be behind the sample counter where the server will take orders. We will take it all down to brick, as well as take out those ceiling rafter looking boards and have a great open/airy feeling.

Right now Encompass V2 architectural firm is designing the interior and getting our build out plan together. Steve Turner at turnerbeerconsulting.com along with Encompass V2 are coordinating to design the brewery layout, so we can have a very efficient system. We are really excited things are coming along.

The Real World

What the heck is a Katabatic?

Well it ain't no fuzzy whisker-faced ringtail cat like creature with bat wings. It's a WIND! We named our company Katabatic because people say Livingston is windy. The locals just say it's breezy. Besides Katabatic sounds way cooler than Breezy Brewing Company or Windy Brewing Company.

Katabatic winds are downslope winds, as opposed to anabatic winds which are upslope winds. Chinook winds are largely anabatic. Katabatic are opposite of warm Chinook winds. Basically what happens is a pool of cold air is high (e.i. Yellowstone Basin), something causes the pool of cold air to spill out of the high country, and as cold air sinks, it flows like water downslope, down valley. The steeper the gradient, the faster the air goes. Let's just say that the pool of cold air on the Yellowstone plateau has a 3000 foot drop from Gardiner to Livingston, and 50 miles to travel. That creates a steep gradient. Then you have the gunsight like hole that the Yellowstone flows through, just south of town and it is aimed right at Livingston. So there you have it. The reason that Livingston is "breezy". Now you can go home and tell your mom that you learned something today.

Yesterday was my last day of work with the Forest Service. I am on final, stepping out the door into the Great Unknown. One of my foreman asked "how I liked the real world?" I said I didn't know yet, but when I find out I'd let him know. Watch out "real world" Brice is on the loose!

We found a location for the brewery and we are drawing up the lease terms right now. It's a great location, right downtown. The landlords are wonderful to work with.  We have a wonderful architect. She has designed many beautiful buildings around Montana. Currently the architect and consultant are working on a schematic and layout for the brewery. So we are anxious to see the results!

I'm anxious also to see what the "real world" like too.