Archives for April 2018

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina – Wake Forest Innovation Quarter and Wexford Science & Technology announced today the addition of Incendiary Brewing Co., a locally owned brewery and taproom as the newest tenant in Bailey Power Plant.

Incendiary will occupy approximately 6,200 square feet on the first floor of Bailey Power Plant, including a 2,000-sq. ft. taproom to showcase an impressive line of IPAs, barrel-aged beers and adjunct/spiced beers to go along with several classic styles. The brewery will occupy another 2,000 square feet of connected outdoor space in of the former power plant coal pit, providing additional seating and an open-air downtown vibe.

Construction in the space has begun and the company hopes to throw a grand opening bash Labor Day weekend. The brewery is expected to have around 10 new part-time and full-time employees.

Incendiary Brewing is owned by Winston-Salem natives Brandon Branscome and John Bacon, who began crafting their own homebrew together as a hobby in 1997. After a series of fits and starts, the two partnered together in 2013 to create a line of award-winning homebrews in their free time, bringing home first place in the 2016 Masters Championship of Amateur Brewing for their signature IPA, Shift.

John Priest, formerly of Bells Brewing in Kalamazoo, Mich., and former head brewer of Gibb’s Hundred in Greensboro will join Incendiary as brewmaster and operations manager. Priest has experienced national success on a professional stage with a Gold GABF medal in 2015 for his ESB (English Special Bitter) and Silver GABF in 2016 for his American Wheat Ale. Together, they will develop new beers to try each week while working to improve fan favorites.

“Incendiary will be a great addition to an already impressive lineup of breweries in Winston-Salem and the Piedmont Triad,” says Priest. “Opening a brand new location in the power plant across from Bailey Park with all the activity going on downtown brings a new level of excitement to this project, and I’m eager to get started.

The brewery will operate on a 15-barrel brewhouse from Deutsche Beverage in Charlotte and have nearly 150-barrel cellar capacity. They have also purchased a Wild Goose canning line and will offer several options to take and share Incendiary beer with friends and family.

“Incendiary is the perfect tenant to occupy this first floor space,” said Will Partin, senior director of development for Wexford Science & Technology. “As the Innovation Quarter community continues to grow, offerings like this that enhance the night life here will help continue growing the vibrant community we’re creating together.”

This is the fifth tenant announced for Bailey Power Plant, which opened in February of this year. Other tenants include Wake Forest Innovations, the commercialization arm of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center; CML Microsystems, a local semiconductor manufacturing company; and Alma Mexicana, a restaurant which opened in January. Venture Café Winston-Salem also moved to Turbine Hall in the building last month.

Bailey Power Plant, which opened in February, features approximately 110,800 square feet space suitable for offices, entertainment, retail and meeting space. 9,000 square feet of commercial space is still available on the first floor, with 15,000 square feet available on the third floor.

About Wake Forest Innovation Quarter
Wake Forest Innovation Quarter (www.innovationquarter.com) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is a place for research, business and education in biomedical science, information technology, digital media, clinical services and advanced materials. The Innovation Quarter is a fast-growing urban-based district for innovation with approximately 3,700 people working in over 170 companies and five academic institutions and with more than 1,800 students seeking advanced degrees and 8,000 people receiving workforce training or small business coaching per year. The Innovation Quarter currently comprises 1.9 million square feet of office, laboratory and educational space on its 330 acres. In addition, there are approximately 770 lofts and condominiums within or close by the Innovation Quarter.

Brewery of the Day: Base Camp Brewing by Austin Foster, BeerInfo writer and works at Base Camp Brewing in Portland, Oregon

From the moment I met two of the six co-founders of Base Camp Brewing Company, I knew it was different than most breweries. Krister, Key Accounts Manager and Ross, Marketing Manager, live and breathe the Base Camp lifestyle; carefree, outdoor focused, nature fanatics.

When you walk into Base Camp,  you are greeted by one of our taproom employees who are genuinely nice. It’s not just an act. They actually care how you’re doing. You can find regulars at the bar chatting it up and sharing camping photos with one of the beertenders.

Walking by the cooler in the entrance area, you are greeted with images of every employee who works for Base Camp and a short blurb about their life.

The people of Base Camp (BCBC) are authentic, genuine and some of the best people I’ve ever met. I feel so lucky to work where I do. I am happy and excited to come to work. I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to be part of a brand culture that is a lifestyle the employees and founders live every day.
Weekly excursions have all of us either, at the beach, on a mountain, at a bouldering gym, riding bicycles, hiking, camping, visiting waterfalls or having a picnic in a park.

Not only do the employees of BCBC live the brand and are the brand, but we give back to fellow outdoor enthusiasts too. Base Camp is proud to have partnered with groups such as The Bicycle Transportation Alliance, The Nature Conservancy, She Jumps, Outdoor Project, Timberline Lodge, US Outdoor Store, Circuit Bouldering Gym, Portland Rock Gym, Oregon Humane Society, and many more great businesses and nonprofits that represent what we believe in. Enriching our community through great beer and the outdoors.

If you’re having a hard time wrapping your brain around the idea that a brewery could be as true to their brand culture as Base Camp, then come on in, kick off your hiking boots and grab a pint with anyone of us sometime. After all, we’re always happiest drinking beer.

The Pink Boots Society is proud to announce that Lee Lord of Cambridge Brewing Company in Massachusetts is the recipient of the University of California, Davis Extension Intensive Brewing Science for Practical Brewing scholarship.

Chosen by the PBS Scholarship Selection Committee (SSC), five very experienced women beer professionals who hold positions as brewers, educators and writers, they chose Lee to receive this scholarship due to her “longstanding dedication to her craft and the industry as well as her dedication to improving herself.” In addition, “She has been a part of the Pink Boots in Boston since inception and there are zero doubts of her influence on the female community of beer in the region.”

Lee has been a professional brewer for more than a decade, when she says she, “was lucky enough to break into the industry at a time where apprenticeship and rising through the ranks was more the norm.” She has worked at both small brewpubs and large scale production facilities but even with that experience Lee says,” At this point in my career I’m starting to find that I’m being overlooked for promotion by those with more of a classroom educational background.” Instead of being one of a handful of brewers, her goal is to become head brewer and then lead the team, a goal that will be furthered by adding this course as formal training to her resume.

Beyond improving herself through this course, Lee is looking forward to being able to share her experience, as other scholarship recipients have shared theirs with her. As an active member of her regional chapter Lee was involved with the Pink Boots collaboration brew for the last two years. Besides creating a beer she also made numerous friends, women she has been able to turn to for advice and encouragement. Of the women in the beer industry, she says, “We are a force together.”

University of California, Davis Extension Intensive Brewing Science for Practical Brewing course is a five day on-site course that offers an intensive introduction to the sciences of brewing, engineering and brewing practice. Attendees will learn the technological and biochemical aspects of the entire brewing process from world renowned instructors Drs. Charles Bamforth and Michael Lewis. Topics of the interactive lecture sessions cover all aspects of brewing from raw materials to fermentation to quality control and sensory evaluation.

In addition to attending the course, Lee will receive a pair of pink steel-toe rubber boots when she fulfills the Pay It Forward requirement associated with the scholarship.