Travel The Globe with East Brother's Russian Imperial Stout

This season, we’re thrilled to release the latest in East Brother’s Freighter Series: the Russian Imperial Stout. 

Come take a trip with us. 

It’s no coincidence that we produce Russian Imperial Stout (RIS) during the same season as our Baltic Porter. Like its predecessor, RIS has its roots in English brewing traditions, and a visit to England by Peter the Great brought these beers to the attention of Eastern Europe. 

At the time the term “Stout” only referred to the strength of the beer and not its distinctive color, but Peter’s visit solidified this style’s association with Russia for centuries to come. Initially, the beer was brewed solely by Thale’s Anchor Brewery and then shipped to Russia. Eventually, the style became a staple in American brewing, and the term “imperial” almost always refers to a higher strength version of a style. 

Likewise, our RIS is our heaviest hitter yet at 10.5%, just in time for cozy nights indoors and sweater weather. As the days slip into night earlier and earlier (meaning that drop from 60 to 40 degrees is happening sooner) this is the perfect beer to grab—and its hue matches the midnight sky to boot. 

This year’s RIS might be our best yet. We partnered with our favorite local maltsters, Admiral Maltings, to design a malt profile that balances both the sweetness and bitterness of this classic style. The resulting flavor is both smooth and nuanced. Find notes of chocolate, a sherry aroma, cocoa nibs, and dark fruits. It’s like drinking a mocha from your favorite coffee shop.  

Although we can’t travel now, a sip of this beer is a reminder of all the lives a classic beer style lives. This beer has traveled around the world to be with you, in your hands, and the deep history and tradition of RIS reminds us of why we love classic styles—there’s hundreds of stories, years of tales that unravel with every sip. 

You can pick up our Russian Imperial Stout in our taproom, order to-go or for local delivery, or we’ll ship to you anywhere in California. Come explore with us. 

Baltic Porter is the Working Person's Drink!

Sometimes a phrase, like our slogan—Beer is Labor—can feel like just words on a page. Everyday at East Brother, we think about the words we choose to describe our business, ourselves. We choose to make classic beers meticulously and with precision, and our Baltic Porter is the perfect expression of Beer is Labor. 

Porters were the preferred drink of street and river porters working in the streets of Britain in the 18th century, hence the name of this style. It’s a riff on Brown Ale that’s heavily hopped, aged for six months, and deep brown in color with a high ABV. As this style of beer became more and more popular, Porters were exported across the globe. Soon, Porters became one of the first beer styles to extend beyond its regionality and consumed worldwide. 

However, that’d quickly change. It was common for local brewers in countries across Eastern Europe to adapt Porter recipes based on the ingredients they had on hand and local preferences. But this took off in 1806, when Napoleon, then King of the French, implemented a Continental Blockade that cut off imports from Britain into the Baltic countries. That meant that folks who wanted to drink Porters had to make the beer themselves. 

Local production of Porters took off in the Baltic region—we’re talking about countries that border the Baltic sea like Poland and Finland. Eventually, the beer developed into its own distinct style, which is what we honor in our Baltic Porter. These beers thrive in colder climates, and substitute common British ingredients and techniques, like lager yeast and continental hops. Traditionally, this beer is cold-fermented and cold-lagered, which helps preserve its clean and complex flavors. 

Baltic Porters fell out of fashion during the 1900’s, particularly during the Cold War, but this classic style resurged in popularity over the last twenty years. Their production is truly a demonstration of labor and adaptability, and offers a warming accompaniment for hearty foods like grilled meats, heavy stews, and indulgent desserts. Basically, this is the perfect beer to stick to your bones after a hard day’s work. 

There’s a reason this beer was beloved by porters in the 18th century—folks who worked hard for their supper and thirsted for something deeply satisfying after a long day’s work. That feeling, that need for something comforting and warming, feels especially necessary now. In the last few months, so many of us have upended our lives, found new systems to make our homes and families function in an unprecedented moment in history. It’s never been a better time to release a beer that celebrates hard work, that feels like a bridge between a job well done and a moment to rest. 

We release a Baltic Porter every year around this time. This year’s Porter, which will be available in cans on November 17th, clocks in at 8.6% ABV made with Halycon Malt as the base, and Crystal, Chocolate, and Black malts that add flavor and complexity. It’s made with a German Lager yeast and boasts flavors of dark fruits, like plums and cherries, chocolate, and molasses. It’s both refreshing and comforting—each sip of our Baltic Porter is satiating yet inviting. You’ll keep coming back for this treat. 

Supply and Demand — We Demand Quality

Hey East Brother drinkers!

You may have noticed some activity at the brewery lately. We're installing new fermenters! It's been a lot of work and long hours, but we're excited to make more of the beers you already love and explore some new recipes as well. 

We've gotten a few questions over the bar and online asking when certain beers might be back in stock, and if we're going to continue to expand our self-distribution network. We'll certainly try to keep you informed as we do! You should sign up for our newsletter — it's the best way to keep up to date. 

Trust us, we'd love to get our beer into your hands more often. It's pretty much our goal in life. But as we're quite small still (not even a year old) and we want to grow slow and steady to ensure we're always improving things along the way, we probably won't be meeting demand anytime soon. 

So you might see some out-of-stocks at the taproom or at your local beer store in between batches. But rest assured, our goal is to brew the best quality beer we can make, and get it to as many people as possible, while also ensuring we're growing at a sustainable pace. We want to be around for a long, long time. 

Good news is that we recently released a new taproom exclusive - our seasonal English Warmer - and as of today our fan-favorite Wheat IPA is back on tap!

With pride and purpose,
Chris + Rob

Classic Beers, Cars & Tunes

On the last Sunday in August, we held our 1st annual “Summer Classic.” As with many projects we’ve undertaken, this one started off as a fairly modest idea: to utilize all of the outdoor (and parking) space we have here, bring in a few classic cars, maybe a live band, and enjoy a few beers on a summer day.

But like many aspects of brewing beer, sometimes you start to have fun and get ambitious! We ended up with 3 live bands, 3 food trucks, a bevy of Richmond-based vendors, and upwards of 70 classic cars lined up & down the parking lot. It was a sight to see. 

It took a lot of cooperation and work to do it. Between permits, licenses, and sign-offs from the ABC, the City of Richmond, and the Richmond Police Department (who were all without exception incredibly helpful and non-bureaucratic!), and planning – seating, fencing, tents, stages, cups, signage, and on and on – we were consumed with whacking the moles till the last possible minute. Hard to say exactly how many people showed up, but based on the number of kegs drained, it was likely in the range of 700-800. We’re blown away by the support and energy you all brought to a great day.

The cars, spanning mostly the muscle-era of the 60s and 70s were a perfect counterpart to the inspiration behind our beers: classic style! Appreciated for their timelessness, simplicity, and enduring appeal. 

By the way, our two Best in Show winners were Richard Daniel’s sweet ’67 Chevelle and Ed Santos’s ’37 Ford Roadster. Nice job guys! The three local bands – Walter Hand Band, Hot Rod Jukebox, and Mojo Alley – also fit right in, with their blends of blues, rockabilly and classic rock vibes.

Also a shoutout to Richmond Food Emporium (Richmond’s version of Off the Grid), the Point Richmond Neighborhood Council, and the Point Richmond Business Association, all of whom contributed time, resources, and sponsorships in helping make the event a success.

And just in case it’s not clear, since this was the 1st Annual Summer Classic, you can bet we’ll be doing a 2nd Annual – mark your calendars for the last Sunday in August next year!

Nobody Knew That Running A Brewery Could Be So Complicated

Digging our new home in Richmond

So we thought that after we opened, we’d have more time for posting on the blog...but nope! It’s been six months since the last post, and we are most definitely busier than ever. The thing about a startup is, you have to wear so darn many hats; Chris our co-founder has on more than one occasion pointed out that one definition of entrepreneurialism is “trying to accomplish something beyond one’s present means.” And if that doesn’t describe our daily endeavors here, I don’t know what does. We’re still square in the startup phase, looking ahead to where we want to be 6, 12, 24 months from now, and realizing that we’re going to need more of everything – people, equipment, money...and beer! – in order to get there.

And yeah the money part can be challenging, but we had our eyes open going into this, and the reality is that very few new businesses are without some level of financial stress. But all things considered, we’re very happy with the way things are going. We love being part of the Richmond community, we’re enjoying steady growth in the taproom and in our retail accounts, and most importantly, the beers are turning out the way we intended: easy-drinking, clean-finishing, balanced – and in fact we’ve been struggling to keep up with demand.

So – here we are seven months after opening, back to cutting concrete, building more infrastructure, and purchasing equipment...in the form of four large vessels – fermenters and conditioning tanks – that will more than double our current capacity. The couple of lagers we brew – Red Lager (Vienna style) and Bo Pils (Czech style) have proven more popular than we initially estimated, and since lagers take much longer than ales to make, we needed to kick off this expansion project sooner than planned. Should be cranking out a lot more beer by end of summer!

Oh and on a sort of but not totally unrelated topic, our lack of sophistication with regard to the SEO black box – and frankly, our lack of interest in “playing the Google game” as one blogger put it – compels us to mention the following phrases: Bay Area breweries, brewery near me, taproom near me, beer near me. There, we’re done for now.

The Doors Are Open and Beer Is Flowin'

Opening Night. Photo courtesy of George Post

We received a message from someone on our website recently with a rather blunt suggestion about this blog: “You need to update it” – and you know what – they were right! With all the chaos during our opening we pretty much forgot about the blog. OK so here’s the update: We’re open! We actually started limited distribution in kegs and cans to a few local accounts in late October, but with the taproom’s official open date on December 7th, we’re now moving forward on all fronts. And here’s the weird thing: The 3+ years we’ve been building this venture made it seem as if we were racing towards some sort of “finish” line, but in reality, we just got to the “starting” line.

And what a great feeling it has been. The business, which now requires day-to-day operation and therefore quite a different set of roles, tasks & challenges, is no less stressful and exhausting than it’s been during the building & construction period – beer is indeed labor after all – but so far the emotional rewards are there: Seeing people walk through the door with smiles on their faces, belly up to the bar, take a sip of beer, and tell us it’s good – is a truly gratifying feeling. And of course the fact that we’re finally generating some revenue isn’t a bad thing at all!

We’re very happy thus far with the key pieces of the puzzle – our beer is being received positively, we’re slowly but surely increasing the places you can find it around the Bay Area (click on BEERS to see the bars, restaurants & stores where we're carried), and the taproom vibe seems relaxed and casual (a friend recently referred to it as “homey and industrial-cool”). The awesome thing about the taproom is that we’re seeing people from all walks of life, which is consistent with our simple goal of having a relaxed and casual place for anyone and everyone to have a beer, listen to music, watch the game, and chill with friends & family.

Not sure when the next blog post will be, but feel free to remind us. And look for us around town and/or stop by the taproom for a pint!

The Beer and the Bar

These bags of malt will soon transform into pints of beer

Well another 2+ months has passed since the last post...and we're not yet open. Not frustrated though! Kidding...it is kinda frustrating, with the inevitable delays involved with a project of this scale. That said, we're keeping our focus on the big picture, because a year from now, it won't really matter that we opened a few weeks (OK months) later than originally planned.

And when we think of the millions of decisions we make on a day-to-day basis - i.e., should we try brewing a batch despite a broken flow meter, thereby potentially compromising the quality of our beer, or just wait until a new flow meter arrives - it feels like we're making the right ones. We're trying to avoid being penny-wise and pound-foolish, rather, creating a brewery that's built to last. And this ties into our decision to brew classic styles of beer: While we're not averse to experimentation, we're more interested in brewing a small number of beers over and over, making incremental improvements in the pursuit of perfection. And on that note, we're now brewing! As of yesterday we have all five of our fermenters filled, with a nice cross-section of both ales and lagers.

Along with the incredible amount of work that's been put into constructing our brewing system, we're also building a taproom for people to come and taste our beer fresh from the tanks. And this is where our location comes in. We feel like we lucked into this location in Richmond, tucked up against the hills of Miller-Knox regional park, a sunny oasis in the middle of an urban metropolis. We'll have outdoor seating as well as games like bocce ball and cornhole, and the brewing equipment will be in full view of the taproom customers. Our goal is to have a comfortable place for folks in and around the area to stop by to enjoy a casual beer with friends and family. We've spent a fair amount of time now reaching out to the Richmond community, and we've been blown away by the enthusiastic reception. Can't wait to meet all of our new neighbors!

Oh and we did in fact wait for that new flow meter before brewing again, ensuring that delicious beer will be flowing in the taproom and in kegs & cans around the community...very soon!

Beer Is Labor

It really is...

So much has happened since the last post it would be futile to try and cover it all. On the one hand, it’s been more slow-going than we had hoped – not surprising given the magnitude of the project and the number of stakeholders, permits, details, approvals and costs involved – but on the other, it now feels like things are happening with lightning-speed as our train hurtles down the tracks towards opening – planned for later this summer.

Amidst the hustle & bustle, here are a few big developments worth mentioning:

- We welcomed three new employees: Peter (head brewer), Jarrod (sales manager) and Steven (taproom manager)

- We got our ABC license - and can now legally brew and sell beer in the state of California

- Our fermenters arrived - so we now have vessels for fermenting the beer

- Construction began on the taproom, scullery, lab, and bathrooms

- Ts & caps are on sale now! (check the “Shop” tab) 

The tagline on the back of our shirts, “Beer Is Labor,” pretty much sums it up. We’ve heard it stated that running a brewery is 10% brewing and 90% other stuff; and we'd say that opening a brewery is closer to 99% other stuff. The labor involved – physical, mental, emotional – can be exhausting; good thing we’re still having fun!

Looking forward to nudging that brewing part back up to 10%, and to sharing a beer with y’all. Stay tuned…

Concrete and Steel

The forklift gingerly lowers the grist case onto the mash tun.

Our March post mentioned that things were “gettin’ real,” but honestly, that was a bit of hyperbole; we pretty much just kept on with the process of virtual planning - permits, insurance, licenses, financing, etc. But now, we really are gettin’ real: the past seven days witnessed two very significant developments: 1) we poured a concrete platform, and 2) took delivery of our brewing system.

Though merely a slab of humble concrete, the Platform with a capital P is a work of art, with ramps, curbs, slopes and trench drains, ensuring efficient workflow and maximum cleanliness, all in the service of producing great beer. And on that note, the brewing equipment, manufactured by AAA Metal Fabrication, is the heart of our brewery, and an absolute thing of beauty. The 20 barrel system will produce 600+ gallons (around 40 kegs) per batch, and the gorgeous polished stainless steel will be in plain view of our taproom customers, who will enjoy their beverage knowing that it was made twenty feet from where they’re sitting.  

Next steps: Build the plumbing and electrical infrastructure, and start in on those test batches! (oh, and also build the taproom, bathrooms, offices, create signage, get kegs, tap handles, cans, T-shirts, caps, chairs, tables, UPC codes, coasters, stickers, growlers, lab equipment, glassware…and so on).

Gettin' Real

Q: What is this? A: A Penn blowdown separator, of course

Two big things happened yesterday: 1) Rob quit his job, and 2) our first piece of equipment was delivered to our space (a blowdown separator, pictured - ain't it cool?). What this means is that it's getting real - real quick. We're in the final stages of our design phase; plans are drawn and engineering specs completed. Over the next month our space will undergo dramatic transformation, as the brewhouse is outfitted, and taproom, office and bathrooms are constructed. Our brewing equipment is due to be delivered in April, and we can't wait to get started with installation, optimization, and test batches.