Westbrook Brewing – A Brewery In the Making
You’ve never heard of Westbrook Brewing from Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. That’s likely because it is still a twinkle in Ed Westbrook’s eye. However, soon enough you will hear more about it.
In the fall of 2010, Westbrook Brewing will become the sixth distributing brewery in South Carolina. Like many commercial brewers before him, Ed is living the homebrewer’s dream and taking it to the next level.
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| Ed Westbrook along the Wando River |
I first met Ed in 2008 when I moved to Greenville, South Carolina and became involved in the local homebrewers club, the Upstate Brewtopians. Ed started coming to the meetings around the same time I did, and he quickly earned the nickname “Prolific Ed,” in order to differentiate him from another Ed in the Brewtopians.
Ed brewed so often that we had to institute the “Ed Rule” to limit the number of different homebrews a person could bring to a meeting to share with the group. Ed often brought between 5 and 10 selections each month. It would take us over an hour to just to sample his beers, but none of us really minded because his beer was outstanding.
So when I heard he was starting a commercial brewery in Charleston, there was no surprise, I just nodded my head in approval.
Runnin’ Down a Dream
Westbrook, 25, caught the craft beer fever while on a family vacation to England his senior year at Furman University. Having “real beer” for the first time opened his eyes and palate to the possibilities that beer had to offer.
He began homebrewing soon after in the fall of 2006 with an extract starter kit. Though Furman does not allow alcohol on campus, Ed managed to get away with brewing his own on the stove of his on-campus apartment. As his homebrewing enterprise began to take over the apartment, his three roommates never complained, as they reaped the rewards of his industriousness.
Despite his newfound homebrewing addiction, Ed managed to graduate with a BS in Computer Science in 2007. He immediately went into business school at Clemson, and finished his MBA in 2009. All the while, he was brewing at least once a week.
Upon graduating, Ed thought, “I felt like I needed to do something to positively contribute to the economy, so why not start a brewery?” So in May 2009, he began planning.
Why not?
The Brewery To-Be
Westbrook Brewing is going to start out on a 30-barrel brewhouse with 5 60-barrel fermenters and 1 brite tank, which is all being built as I type. Many new breweries opt to try and find used equipment to start on, but as Westbrook looked around, there were very few complete systems at that size available for sale, and trying to piece equipment together would only have saved a few thousand dollars. Ed figured might as well go for the gusto and start fresh and modern.
The brewery itself will also be new construction, a 14,000 square foot warehouse set to go up in Mt. Pleasant on Wando Park Blvd. off Longpoint Rd. near the Velocity Sports building. When asked what the biggest challenge has been to this point in the process, Westbrook said it’s proven to be closing on the property. That was supposed to happen in September of 2009, but has been delayed and should close by early April.
Given that Westbrook doesn’t have much experience on a commercial brewery floor, he understands the need to have experienced help to tame this beast. He plans on hiring an experienced brewmaster and at least one assistant brewer to manage production. Westbrook’s role will be primarily be managing and promoting the business, along with having input into recipes and styles.
It’s All About the Beer
Westbrook plans on starting with three year-round beers and wants to focus on Belgian styles. While he hasn’t yet decided on his lineup, he’s leaning toward having a Belgian Wit and a Saison, along with a third undecided selection.
Ed has long been enamored with the flavor and complexity of sour and farmhouse beers and wants to bring the funk with brettanomyces and various benevolent bacteria. That will make Westbrook rather unique around this area, since there are no other breweries around here that have a lineup of primarily Belgian beers.
The brewery will be visible from I-526 and a tasting room has been included in the plans, so they are hoping to utilize this and bring in fans and visitors to tour the brewery and sample the product. It’s all about developing a loyal following. “We want to establish a strong presence in the Lowcountry first. I’d rather have a lot of beer in one spot than a little beer all over.”
The Best View In Brewing
Today, Ed is busily producing test batches on his 1/2 barrel pilot system which he has set-up at his parents’ house on the marsh off Highway 41 in Mt. Pleasant. I had the chance to visit the test brewery, and I am insane with jealousy, as the view from the back deck of the “pilot brewery” is simply stunning. It’s as close to heaven as a brewer can get, and I would be brewing every day and I would never want to leave.
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| Westbrook Brewing Pilot System. The photo does not do the view justice. |
While there, I was able to sample a few of Ed’s recent creations. The first was a Saison with brett funk. It had a good amount of wild funk, but it was subdued enough to be accessible. Next up was a Belgian Pale with a spiced fruit aroma, biscuit malt flavor and earthy finish.
Lastly, and certainly not least was the Uberbier II, a 22% Belgian Strong Ale. Needless to say, this will never see production in South Carolina, but that’s a damn shame. He and fellow Greenville homebrewer Bobby Congdon collaborated on this brew that used 80 pounds of grain, Belgian candy syrup, turbinado and demerara sugar. It was super rich and warming, but with surprisingly little alcohol burn. It had tons of caramelization from a three hour boil and finished with a slight Belgian funk.
There were around a dozen other beers fermenting away in the “cellar.” Prolific Ed certainly hasn’t slowed down since deciding to go pro.
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| The Pilot Cellar |
Only time will tell if Westbrook Brewing will be a success, but knowing Ed, I give it every chance. He has a quiet confidence, and while some may call it the inexperience of youth, he’s staying calm and collected. Personally, I would be freaking out if I were starting a 30-barrel brewery, but when I asked about how crazy it’s been trying to get off the ground, Ed simply responded, “It hasn’t been bad.”
Ed’s literally taking it one day at a time, and I hope that in six to nine months I’ll be writing about Westbrook’s grand opening party.
2 Comments to “Westbrook Brewing – A Brewery In the Making”
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Ed wins hands-down for “best view” while brewing. He’ll probably win for best beers as well. Cheers, comrade, as you crush the Belgian scene. Thank you for providing my continuing education in learning to love sours.
This is very exciting. It would be awesome to have sour producer just outside of charleston! I am a c of c grad in exile in alabama, but I may be relocating to columbia, SC in the fall!