E-Malt.com News article: USA, WI: One Barrel Brewing to open in Madison

Madison's newest brewery is still technically based in Peter Gentry's living room, but it's bringing excitement to the near east side. Gentry, 32, is looking to open Madison's smallest brewery, which might also be one of the smallest in the state, The Daily Page reported on February, 8.

He's calling his venture One Barrel Brewing Company. "It'll be a neighborhood conversation space, like a coffee shop, only with beer instead of coffee," says Gentry.

Gentry isn't making beer yet. He is still in the process of working through lease details. However, he's already accumulated several thousand dollars in new brewing equipment in anticipation of being able to start installing it within the next few weeks. His goal is to be open and serving his beer by summer.

Gentry plans to make beer in 30 gallon batches, which is about one barrel at a time - hence the brewery's name.

Gentry is an accomplished homebrewer in the Madison area. His beers have won a handful of awards in local homebrew competitions. His signature beer, what he calls No. 2 Strong Ale, was one of the winners in the Grumpy Troll brewpub's homebrew challenge in 2009. That honor allowed him to make his first commercial-sized batch alongside then-brewmaster Mark Duchow (now owner of Sweet Mullets brewpub in Oconomowoc). The beer went on to win Honorable Mention in the 2010 U.S. Beer Tasting Championships.

Once Gentry's One Barrel Brewing Company is up and running, his standard beer list will consist mostly of ales. He's anticipating brewing almost daily to keep up with demand. "I know I won't get rich, it's impossible with this small of a system. When you run the numbers, you realize there are not enough hours in the day," Gentry laughs. But he's even quicker to point out that he's doing this because he loves beer. "It's basically a homebrewer's dream, I can brew what I want, when I want."

Along with No. 2 Strong Ale, Gentry's first beers are expected to be Penguin Pale Ale (a Belgian pale ale), and The Commuter (a Kölsch-style ale). The small system will allow Gentry to keep up to 10 beers on tap at a time, with an aggressive rotation of new brews constantly.

If Gentry finds success, his longer term plans are to expand, but stay small. He says he would like to be able to open a second location, utilizing a slightly larger three-barrel system. His ultimate dream is to own a small production brewery capable of making 2,000-3,000 barrels a year. But now, all that seems a long way off.



10 February, 2012