Ch-ch-changes

One thing we are learning is that everything changes. 

All good ground work starts by hand. When not brewing, I moonlight as a skid steer operator. Though my team thinks I should stick to brewing.

Since we last checked in, our project has gone through quite the evolution. New architects, new building methods, new new new new. After careful consideration from our structural engineers, the notion of keeping the existing concrete walls and adding onto them with our new structure began to look very bleak. The time, energy, and most importantly the MONEY involved in retrofitting the existing structure was just simply not feasible. So we pivoted.

Thwackin away. Dreaming about beer.

We joined forces with a local steel building outfitter and began discussing the option of building a brand spankin’ 100% new building out of steel. With our idea of utilizing portions of the existing structure out the window, it opened us up to a lot of new possibilities as far as construction methods were concerned. We would soon come to find out that this was a blessing in disguise as it also meant that we could include some elements into our building that we had to previously make concessions to losing. One major bonus is that by building a slightly larger building than we had originally envisioned, we will have room to add a kitchen into the footprint of the building right off the bat. While we don’t plan on opening that kitchen at the same time that we open our doors to the public, it saves us the headache of engineering and building a kitchen down the road.

At a certain point I got tired and brought in the big guns.

Although the exterior may end up looking slightly different, the layout within remains virtually the same. With a heavy focus on our production area being visible from the taproom, we think that you will love the space. We aren’t quite ready to release our new concept art for what the building will look like but we can hardly contain our excitement to show you!

When can I make beer?

Timelines…those are definitely amongst the things that seem to always change. With that being said, we are vehemently attempting to adhere to our original timeline. If everything goes as planned, we still hope to have a dry building up before snow falls this summer. One thing that appealed to us about using steel as our construction medium is that the building can be assembled in a fraction of the time that a wood construction building can be assembled. So we are hoping to make up for a slow start to the construction season by having a building that’s quicker to assemble. Once our building goes up and we route in heat to the structure, we will be set to work diligently through the winter on the interior.

With the pre-foundation laid out, things are beginning to take shape. A 5,544 square foot rectangle shape.

As you make your way down Wendell Avenue, you will notice the changes, and hopefully you can use your imagination to picture just how awesome the future will be for beer in downtown Fairbanks! We promise, you won’t have to use your imagination for long.