Is it the “beginning of the end” or the “end of the beginning”?

We get asked (A LOT!) “When are you going to open?”    We are so close to brewing we can taste it.  Well, almost taste it.  The homebrew has to tide us over for just a bit longer.  Work on all parts of the brewery is moving along.  The critical path now is getting everything in line to brew and get beer in the fermentors.  This week’s task was to finishing the plumbing system to get our water supply system operating and approved.  Fortunately our well provides lots of high quality water.  Next on the schedule is to get the brew system plumbed then fired up for a test batch.  In the meantime we are getting in our grains and hops which is pretty darn exciting.  While we are anxious to get brewing, it is also important to do things right and build the brewery for the long haul (the attention we have put into each detail will definitely show in the finished product).  Also important for us to produce beer that aligns with our vision as a farm brewery and we have made an extra effort to get as many New York ingredients as possible.  It looks like we will open with a couple 100% New York beers including New York hops, grains, flavoring components and of course the aforementioned wonderful NYS water!  Our optimistic schedule for serving beer is late March but it could be in April.  After a long journey it is great to be this close.   We appreciate the patience of our friends and future customers,  and we promise Hopshire brews will be worth the wait.  As always questions and comments are welcome.  It is a good time to get your input to us so we can make the Hopshire experience unique.