Wisconsin Boy comes home and finds his Third Space....
The beer community can be a pretty small place. When I had heard that the head brewer (Kevin Wright) from Hangar 24 was opening his own brewery in Milwaukee, I immediately called my buddy in California. Moe, from Craftbeerkings.com is a huge fan of Hangar 24 and I thought this would be interesting news. During a visit with Moe he gave me a bottle and asked me to make sure to open it with Kevin. So I reached out to Third Space Brewery via social media to find a way to connect with Kevin. With an email address and beer in hand I was on my way to meeting who I feel is one of the most exciting brewers to open up shop this year. We got to spend an hour just chatting about the brewing scene and his vision for Third Space.
Kevin grew up in Thiensville and went to school in Madison where he earned an engineering degree. During those years he also took up home brewing and realized his passion. He finished his Masters program from UC Davis in 2009 winning the JS Ford award from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. Right out of school he went to work for Hangar 24, a small up and coming brewery. He helped develop some pretty awesome beers from their daily lineup to the Barrel Roll series. After 6 years in CA, he felt it was time to come home and open up a brewery where it all began. Oh, did I mention he can write? Here is a link to the article he wrote called Getting the Boot In the Brewhouse Door.
Third Space is located on St.Paul Ave. in Milwaukee, a few blocks away from Sobelman's. They are renovating an old metal stamping plant that has been vacant since the 1980's. While it would probably have been easier to just tear it down and build new, Kevin really loved the history behind the building and wanted to preserve what was once a bustling area of Milwaukee. We walked into an empty building that had freshly prepared floors, ready for the tanks that were to arrive a few days later. I have known about the renovations he was doing but the sheer amount of work to just get this place safe for business was outstanding. New floors, water lines, sewer lines, electricity and a new roof are just a few things that needed to happen before they could even consider getting the interior setup. It took some imagination to see the potential here but Kevin did a good job of walking us through his vision.
As he walked us through the building I got a tad thirsty. What a great time to open up that bottle that Moe sent. I didn't tell Kevin what I had, but once he saw the bottle he knew right away that it was a Hangar 24 beer, Pugachev's Cobra. A russian imperial stout brewed with maple syrup and aged in bourbon barrels, a fresh bottle tastes amazing but this wouldn't be a surprise if it was fresh. It was a 2011 vintage and the first year that Kevin brewed this beer. He seemed pleasantly surprised and noted how he didn't even have any bottles left from 2011. With hearty pours into a few plastic cups, we were on our way to drinking a true masterpiece. It was just what we needed to help start some more candid conversation. Talking to Kevin was like talking to an old friend and I hope I can have many more conversations with him in the future.
The goal for the opening of Third Space is some time in August or September so that there is still some warm weather left to enjoy what looks to be one of the largest beer gardens in the area outside of the city parks. They are hoping to have between 8 - 12 taps available and are allowing you to bring in your own food as they will not be serving food at the taproom. Kevin wants to merge west coast style beers with midwest drinkability. Don't be surprised when you start to see beers aged in spirits barrels or ingredients used from businesses in the area. The beers will present themselves when they are ready to and not a moment sooner.
Feel free to follow them on all the social media sites including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all the up to date details. Maybe if I am lucky, Kevin and Andrew Gehl (co-owner) will invite us over for the soft opening so we can see his vision inside his new brewery and maybe taste some of his beers!
Cheers!!
Kevin grew up in Thiensville and went to school in Madison where he earned an engineering degree. During those years he also took up home brewing and realized his passion. He finished his Masters program from UC Davis in 2009 winning the JS Ford award from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. Right out of school he went to work for Hangar 24, a small up and coming brewery. He helped develop some pretty awesome beers from their daily lineup to the Barrel Roll series. After 6 years in CA, he felt it was time to come home and open up a brewery where it all began. Oh, did I mention he can write? Here is a link to the article he wrote called Getting the Boot In the Brewhouse Door.
Third Space is located on St.Paul Ave. in Milwaukee, a few blocks away from Sobelman's. They are renovating an old metal stamping plant that has been vacant since the 1980's. While it would probably have been easier to just tear it down and build new, Kevin really loved the history behind the building and wanted to preserve what was once a bustling area of Milwaukee. We walked into an empty building that had freshly prepared floors, ready for the tanks that were to arrive a few days later. I have known about the renovations he was doing but the sheer amount of work to just get this place safe for business was outstanding. New floors, water lines, sewer lines, electricity and a new roof are just a few things that needed to happen before they could even consider getting the interior setup. It took some imagination to see the potential here but Kevin did a good job of walking us through his vision.
As he walked us through the building I got a tad thirsty. What a great time to open up that bottle that Moe sent. I didn't tell Kevin what I had, but once he saw the bottle he knew right away that it was a Hangar 24 beer, Pugachev's Cobra. A russian imperial stout brewed with maple syrup and aged in bourbon barrels, a fresh bottle tastes amazing but this wouldn't be a surprise if it was fresh. It was a 2011 vintage and the first year that Kevin brewed this beer. He seemed pleasantly surprised and noted how he didn't even have any bottles left from 2011. With hearty pours into a few plastic cups, we were on our way to drinking a true masterpiece. It was just what we needed to help start some more candid conversation. Talking to Kevin was like talking to an old friend and I hope I can have many more conversations with him in the future.The goal for the opening of Third Space is some time in August or September so that there is still some warm weather left to enjoy what looks to be one of the largest beer gardens in the area outside of the city parks. They are hoping to have between 8 - 12 taps available and are allowing you to bring in your own food as they will not be serving food at the taproom. Kevin wants to merge west coast style beers with midwest drinkability. Don't be surprised when you start to see beers aged in spirits barrels or ingredients used from businesses in the area. The beers will present themselves when they are ready to and not a moment sooner.
Feel free to follow them on all the social media sites including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all the up to date details. Maybe if I am lucky, Kevin and Andrew Gehl (co-owner) will invite us over for the soft opening so we can see his vision inside his new brewery and maybe taste some of his beers!
Cheers!!
 |
| Myself with Mike B. and Kevin Wright standing where the tanks will be placed a few days after this photo was taken. |
Comments
Post a Comment