Source : Mankatofreepress.com
ST. PETER — If Dave Long, Eric Johnson and brewer Luke Dragseth had any worries about how well their new Paddlefish Brewing would go over, they can rest easy.
Well, rest after they get caught up on brewing more beer.
They’ve had to close a couple of days recently and on Wednesday because they didn’t have enough beer.
“It’s pretty wild,” Long said. “It’s a good problem to have but frustrating.”
He said St. Peter’s first brewery has been popular with customers, plus they’ve been getting larger groups coming in because of various events at Gustavus Adolphus College.
“We were a little surprised at all the events at Gustavus and how many people we got from them. Now we know their schedule for everything they’re doing so we can be more prepared when they have bigger events.”
Long said they’ve closed for a day or two during the week recently to catch up on brewing and to try to make sure they have enough on tap for the weekends.
The brewery will be getting another 10-barrel fermentation tank next week, allowing them to double their production on some batches once it’s installed.
They bought the tank from a brewery in Staples.
“A lot of breweries around the country are closing or they’re getting bigger and they sell their old equipment; that’s how we got this one in Staples,” Long said.
He said this is a shorter-term solution while they work toward their long-term solution of switching from their electric brewing system to a steam system.
“It lets you produce a lot more beer. It’s like the difference between an electric teapot and a big teapot you put on top of a gas stove. The electric one just takes longer.”
Long said they hope to have a steam system within six months to a year.
The brewery has 20 tap lines but hasn’t been able to use a lot of them yet.
“Our plan is to have our eight flagship beers available all the time and then have another eight to 10 rotating beers.”
The brewery is at 108 S. Minnesota Ave. The brewery is open Wednesdays through Sundays, but puts updates online (paddlefishbrewing.com) and via email if hours or days have to change.
