Terrapin Beer Co. and the Protest Mustache

What better way to show your disdain for something than to grow facial hair. That’s what the guys at Terrapin Beer Company in Athens, GA believe. When the “state” slept on issuing their brewing license, these guys leapt into action. So what’s the story? I asked them a few questions about Terrapin Beer Co. and about the issue at hand and here’s what they had to say.

Brewed For Thought: What’s going on?

Terrapin Beer Co.: Basically, we’re for our brewing license from the “state”. Federal approval came in late August. We have everything set up at our brewery, and we REALLY need to brew some beer. We’ve been contracting all of our beer out of the Wild Goose brewery in Fredrick, Maryland. We did receive word that we are in the final stage of approval and that we “should have our license in about 2 weeks.” As a protest to this process all of the guys with Terrapin have started growing a “Protest Mustache” which will be grown out until our first batch of beer is released from the new brewery. So, that’s a minimum of 6 weeks…it should get pretty funny and hopefully newsworthy! (The answer given has been edited to reflect the desires of Terrapin Beer Co. I didn’t see anything wrong with what they said, but apparently mustaches make you paranoid.)

BFT: Who makes up Terrapin Beer Company?

TBC: Terrapin is 12 beer loving people who believe in the importance of promoting craft beer as a whole and love their fellow brewers. Terrapin was started in 2002 by John Cochran and Brian “Spike” Buckowski.

BFT: How did you get into brewing? Formal training? Home brewers?

TBC: Both. you could say. John and Spike were both home brewers through college, and, after meeting while learning the ropes at Atlanta Brewing Company, Spike went on to brew school to expand his knowledge.

BFT: Which brewery/brewer do you respect most?

TBC: There are tons of breweries out there that we are huge fans of. Rogue, Stone, Dogfish Head, Deschutes, and Sierra Nevada just to name a few

BFT: How long has Terrapin Beer Co been contracting with Wild Goose?

TBC: We started contracting with those guys back in 2004 when they were still known as Fredrick Brewing. Then a couple of years ago we bought a bunch of equipment (brewhouse, tanks, pretty much everything) at the Zuma Brewery to help them out with cost and to go ahead and secure equipment for our future location in Athens.

BFT: What effect has that had on the beer?

TBC: Really not much at all. Spike makes regular visits for quality control and those guys do a good job. It does cost us more to brew with them and have them ship the beer down to Georgia.

BFT: What are the plans for the brewery site? Pub? Tasting room? etc.

TBC: Well, the state doesn’t currently allow for us to sell beer on-site at the brewery. So, a pub is out of the question right now, although we’d love to have one. We will have a tasting room which will undergo a lot of work as we grow. We will also have a beer garden which will be a great inside/outside spot to sample some Terrapin and talk beer with friends. The outside portion is actually a patio made with recycled concrete we cut out of the brewery floor. We will offer tours and a cool concept called Beer’scool. This will be an ongoing series of classes for aspiring brewers and beer geeks like us to come and learn in depth from all of our brewers.

BFT: What are the long term plans for Terrapin Beer Co? 5 years? 10 years?

We hope to have continued steady growth in the Southeast and really become known for producing interesting, unique beers out of the South. In 10 years we’d like to be really spreading our wings to the community, giving back as much as possible. I think it’s fair to say we’d like to sell out beer to other “beer loving” states too (California, Oregon, Washington, etc).

BFT: I like to ask 5 quick fire questions, very simple:

Favorite malt? Munich

Favorite Hops? Centennial

Favorite Adjunct? Rye

Favorite beer (not your own)? The one in my hand!

Favorite beer producing region? The US has the most interesting beers being produced in the world, and within that I’d have to say the Pacific NW.

BFT: And please, share all the information you like about the current issue. And if there is anything else you’d like me and everyone else to know, share it.

TBC: Right now, we are just waiting for state approval of our brewing license. We received federal approval back in June and the State has held us up since then. It’s just a long, frustrating, drawn out process here in GA. We have been told we are in the final stages, but how much longer it will last is unknown. It’s not very fun for us right now at the brewery, and that’s a shame because we usually a fun bunch of folks

Well, there you have it. Beer’scool sounds like a blast, but the commute from California might be a bit much for me. And the beer in your hand? COP OUT! We want the truth! I’ll be sure to keep everyone up to date with what’s going on in Athens. Show your support and grow a mustache, or check out the guys from Terrapin Beer Co. below.

For more pictures and information, contact them at their MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/terrapinbeer