Looking for something special to serve at your company Christmas party or to give as gifts to employees and clients?
Matthew C. Warren suggests a nice holiday ale brewed by none other than yourself.
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For what it will cost for a case of Budweiser, Warren’s business, Brewer’s Heaven of Warwick can help you make a batch of suds — ranging from a light pilsner to a stout — that can be served in bottles complete with labels designed by, yes, yourself.
“We have had bosses in making beer for their employees. We also get the whole company in here working together, like a team building exercise,” said Warren. “Whatever way you do it, you’re going to have fun and a great beer.”
Rhode Island’s first brew-on premise company opened three months ago at the Summit Square Plaza off Route 2 with the mission of making the home brew craze easier by taking it out of the home. Instead of making space in the basement, sterilizing bottles and equipment, and cleaning up after yourself, Warren and his staff do it for you. They also provide the expertise and recipes needed to make the gamut of brews.
So far, clients have ranged from those who know nothing about beer to those who know the Reinheitsgebot, the 482-year-old German Purity Law for beer.
“It’s not as complex as some people might think. Once you brew several times its easy to get the hang of it. It’s like following a food recipe,” Warren said.
It takes from one and a half to three hours to start the process by adding the ingredients. The brew then needs from two to three weeks to ferment. Following the fermentation, the brew is filtered and the customer will have to return and bottle the beer and put labels on.
Warren, who worked as a general contractor, said the whole thing might seem strange to some people, but in Canada — where he got the idea — it is quite popular.
“There are hundreds of these places in Canada. The reason is that Canada has high taxes on beer, which makes it very expensive to buy. So many people are avoiding the taxes by brewing the beer themselves,” he said.
While taxes on beer is not a concern in the United States, Warren said doing your own brewing at his business will save money. The minimum for brewing is six cases, which ranges in price from $95 to $165 depending on the type of beer and whether you want labels. Warren said on average it works out to be close to $16-18 a case.
Before Warren went out buying bags of barley and hops, the legalities had to be addressed. Rhode Island law prohibited such establishments, so he had to work with politicians to have the law changed. After two attempts the legislature gave their blessing, but included the restrictions — among others — that beer not be consumed at the business or sold.
“We had to convince people that we were not out to put the liquor stores out of business. We were just here to educate the consumer on a great hobby,” he said. Warren said his customers have various reasons to brew. The most apparent is their enjoyment of the hobby. Others are making beer and creating bottle labels to be used for special occasions, like weddings, birth announcements and bachelor parties.
Companies are also dabbling in the brewing art.
“It’s a novelty that businessmen can use to their benefit in many ways,” said Mike Hagberg, the company’s manager. “For instance, if a business has a new product, they can brew a beer and put the product and a description of the product on the label.” Then they just pass out the beer to clients. It’s a great way to catch their attention,” he added. Across the room from the six, 30-gallon brewing kettles there is a computer, scanner and color printer used to make the custom labels.
“You can put just about anything you want on the labels: photos, sketches, a company logo whatever,” Hagberg said.
With Christmas around the corner, businesses — mostly smaller — have already started or have reserved kettles to brew up their special batch.
Business owners who are weary of giving alcohol to their employees can instead make root beer, which they could also label. Brewer’s Heaven is also looking at ways to make non-alcoholic beer.
“It’s a gift that keeps on giving. You have a blast when you are making it and you surely will have a good time when you are drinking it,” Hagberg added.
