When it Makes Sense to Create Competitors

"The blog is for people who are interested in starting a brewery in L.A., for them to see the process and get through it," says Ting. "The beer community and culture can be a lot less competitive, at least from what I've witnessed, than, say, the restaurant industry. When we started this process, all the other breweries we encountered had been so gracious in helping us out and giving us information. They were so incredibly supportive. It's just the culture of the beer community."

The team also hopes to see a beer scene develop in Los Angeles. "One of our goals is to help build a bigger craft beer scene in LA and truly make it a beer destination," says Ting. "With this many people and businesses in L.A., we have very little representation in the beer world when compared to the Pacific Northwest, or even San Diego and Northern California. As the beer scene in L.A. gains momentum, we hope to be a catalyst."

Steven and Jeremy had long been home brewers when, in 2005, the idea that they could really begin a brewery struck them one day as they were brewing in their garage. The team began the legal process in March 2006, created a business plan, and researched logistics in 2006 and 2007, and finally moved into their space mid-2008.

They equipped their brewhouse with tanks and equipment they were able to purchase from another brewery that was doing upgrades, and planned a taproom in another part of the building they rented in the Glassell Park neighborhood of northeast L.A. They gathered $500,000 in startup costs from loans, investors and their own bank accounts. All these steps and accomplishments are documented in their blog, but perhaps most riveting (and sometimes downright frightening to anyone averse to paperwork, long lines and bureaucracy) are the many travails of obtaining licenses and permits, and dotting and crossing all the miscellaneous legal i's and t's.

"Two months and two days after submitting our initial plans to the Health Department, we finally received a response!" writes brewmaster Jeremy, the only partner working full time on the project "The fact that we got a response was very exciting, but the actual response was not so exciting. The list of corrections they issued has 30 items on it, which isn't horrible, but also isn't really great."

Another setback occurred when the owner of a nearby industrial space appealed their conditional use permit, requiring a second hearing. Luckily, the appeal was denied.

Other information they've shared on the blog is very specific to the brewing process itself -- the equipment they're using, the unique construction they had to complete, and size and capacity of their setup. "It's pretty amazing how many people actually tell us they've read the blog and took the time to go from the start to finish of it," says Ting, who manages the business and marketing parts of the business. "That's quite a bit of material!"

Local homebrewers also come to Eagle Rock Brewery to not just try the beers on tap, but to glean knowledge. "We've talked to a whole bunch of home brewers who are interested in starting their own breweries. It's cool -- people bring their home brews to share and kind of pick our brains on the process," says Ting. "A lot of the guys will even come out and volunteer in the brewhouse on brew days just so they can get a sense of what commercial brewing is like. It's tremendously helpful for us. They come and work so hard, just to be a part of it. We've been so fortunate with all the support we've had."

The brewery, which has only been commercially brewing for about three months, now has official taproom hours and offers "Beer Education" classes. Fourteen local bars are serving Eagle Rock Brewery beers on tap, including the Manifest Eagle Rock Wit, a Belgian-style white ale uniquely spiced with rose petals. This year, they also want to start participating in local festivals.

The blog now features more information on events and classes than start-up processes, but it's still the place to share pertinent information with their fans, such as the answer to the controversy of why a brewery in the Glassell Park neighborhood is called Eagle Rock, a landmark in another neighborhood. The owners of Eagle Rock Brewery respond they're just trying to build one big beer-loving community. As Ting writes, "Can't we just all get along and have a beer?"