E-Malt.com News article: USA, CA: Redlands-based Ritual Brewing Co. officially launched last week

Ritual Brewing Co. officially opened its doors last week, Redlands Daily Facts reported on November, 20.

The new brewery is joining the list of breweries finding a home in the Inland Empire, including two already established in Redlands - Hangar 24 and Donkey Punch Brewery.

Ritual was founded by two men with a passion and love for beer - Steve Dunkerken, a former home brewer, and Owen Williams, a certified Cicerone and award-winning brewer.

The two men met several years ago, and after much encouragement from Williams, Dunkerken agreed to open their own brewery.

A native of Redlands, Dunkerken chose the city to open the new business because of its reputation as being a brewery-friendly location, following the success of Hangar 24.

Dunkerken had been creating home brews for 15 years, prior to the start of Ritual, while Williams worked as the first brewer for BJ's Brewhouse and Restaurant.

Before leaving the company, Williams "trained" many award-winning brewers around the country.

The co-owners received the keys to their "home away from home" on April, 2. A few months later, they shipped out their first order of brews to customers, and opened the brewery's doors to the public several weeks later.

"There are 9,000 gallons of pure liquid joy here," said Williams.

The tasting room is located next to where the brewing process takes place, but is roped off to the public.

The idea to open the space next to canisters holding the brews was to allow customers to see the process behind the tastes available and learn more about how beer is made, Dunkerken said.

"We really want people to gain some knowledge (about our beers) and try beer straight from the brewery, which is a beautiful thing," he said.


28 November, 2012