It might surprise you, but until mid-July, Drop-In Brewing couldn’t actually serve you a pint. That’s right, they were officially a tasting room and brewery, and could only serve tasting portions or take-home-size growlers.
That’s always been important for them and the Guild, but Steve and Christine also saw the potential to create more of a gathering spot for their diehard fans and to create a slightly different vibe for their students.
“The tasting room is the public face for our classes,” Steve said last week, acknowledging that vital role and importance of the brewery’s mission to create great beer and deliver a great education to the Guild’s students.
That focus hasn’t changed, he said, but they decided to navigate the government’s red tape to get their license to serve pints to also help create a bar-like atmosphere.
A few rules came with the territory: like their outdoor seating couldn’t be in the nice little green area across the parking lot because that was too far off the premises ?oh well, so they built a cute little awning outside the front door to keep off any rain and too much sun and added a couple of picnic tables. Sweet.
Another catch: you have to have a kitchen and serve food to also serve pints. OK, said Steve and Christine, so they built a small kitchen in the back, cook a little and supplement that by ordering a few plates from their adjacent building tenants at Grapevine Grill.
“There are ways around most of it,”Steve said, but stressed they took plenty of time and a common-sense approach to do everything right.
“It took us a while, Christine chimed in, “because we’re rule followers. We always do everything on the up-and-up.”
Another project Drop-In embarked on early this year was getting their beer in cans. There were a few options for canning: 1) ship it out, 2) have a mobile canning unit come to Drop-In, or 3) buy the canning machine and do it themselves. Guess which one Drop-In picked?
Yup, DIY.
“It’ll be great for the students too,”added Christine. “It’s an extra day of beer packaging and canning the Guild students can add on.”
Steve guesses they can produce about 1,200 cases of 24-oz four-packs a month. We’ll have to wait and see, but don’t worry, they’re not going to be as elusive as the fabled “Heady Topper.”
“That’s not our deal,”said Steve. “We’re going for a well made, easy to drink beer with a perfectly great purpose.”