I'm going to make my own beer. What should I call it?

September 7, 2006 2:27 PM

I would like to start my own Microbrewery, brewing open source beer. I would like to build the business around the community. Birmingham, Alabama does not have its own microbrew, and I'm sure there is a lot of legislation that prevents this. Bringing tasty suds to the public, and fighting the good fight sounds like a glorious occupation. But I'm starting small; just brewing my own beer at home, dreaming about the future and looking for a name.
posted by govtrust to food & drink (30 comments total)

Vulcan!
posted by MrMoonPie at 2:28 PM on September 7, 2006

If it is open source, will you charge for it?
Or will everyone bring their own liquid and just contribute in kind?
posted by mrbugsentry at 2:34 PM on September 7, 2006

Open source beer?
posted by xmutex at 2:36 PM on September 7, 2006

Linux?
posted by mcstayinskool at 2:38 PM on September 7, 2006

but seriously, if you want to build the business around the community, you should name it something that has historical and/or cultural significance with Birmingham.
posted by mcstayinskool at 2:39 PM on September 7, 2006

From reading the wiki page on Birmingham, it appears Vulcan was not a joke answer. So, you could go with:
Vulcan Pale Ale
Red Mountain Red
Crescent Train Pilsner
etc.
posted by mcstayinskool at 2:43 PM on September 7, 2006

"and I'm sure there is a lot of legislation that prevents this. "

Shouldn't you hammer out this little detail before worrying about a name?
posted by mrbugsentry at 2:44 PM on September 7, 2006

Free As In Beer
posted by Alt F4 at 2:53 PM on September 7, 2006

Birminghammer
posted by lobstah at 2:57 PM on September 7, 2006

Beermingham?
posted by cortex at 3:03 PM on September 7, 2006

WTF is open source beer?
posted by fixedgear at 3:08 PM on September 7, 2006

If you intend on making this larger scale in the future, you'll definitely want to check on the laws. If I recall correctly, there is a (very stupid) law in Alabama that prevents a brewery from being opened unless the building was previously used as a brewery in the pre-prohibition era.
posted by hominid211 at 3:11 PM on September 7, 2006

"Free as in Beer" would be great, except everybody would think that the beer was, you know, free.
posted by bcwinters at 3:17 PM on September 7, 2006

B33r!
posted by Rubber Soul at 3:21 PM on September 7, 2006

Oops. scratch that.
posted by Rubber Soul at 3:22 PM on September 7, 2006

For anyone who's confused, read the Wired article and check out this website.
posted by Durin's Bane at 3:33 PM on September 7, 2006

Off-topic, but related...you might enjoy the home brewing guide at the Boston Beer Company/Samuel Adams Brewery website (navigate the Flash menu to ...World of Beer | Home Brewing).
posted by ericb at 3:37 PM on September 7, 2006

you probably know this - but careful about using vulcan in the name - it has been copyrighted (by the folks up at vulcan park, i think) and you will have a hard time using it on anything you are planning on selling...
posted by wearyaswater at 3:44 PM on September 7, 2006

YAHBB: Yet another home brewed beer!
posted by grex at 3:46 PM on September 7, 2006 [1 favorite]

Magic City
'Ham in Fist
Hoochie Lager
"I'll Have a Dram" (in honor of MLK, Jr.)
posted by rob511 at 3:48 PM on September 7, 2006

BNU as in BNU's not Bud.
posted by Durin's Bane at 3:59 PM on September 7, 2006

Oh god help me. Scratch the above. BNB as in BNB's not Bud.
posted by Durin's Bane at 4:01 PM on September 7, 2006

Dude! I'm in the 'Ham as well! Pretty soon there'll be a critical mass of MeFites here and we can all go to The Garage and show an envious world what the best bar on the planet looks like.

As to your question....

"Vulcan" has been done as a local beer, and was frankly an awful microbrew, so there's negative associations with that name. Which is a damn shame, because it's perfect.

Laws regarding brewing changed significantly in the 90s. Unfortunately, I think the way the law now is written encourages brewpubs but discourages distribution. Despite this, every brewpub ever tried in Birmingham has failed, most within a year. Believe me. I've been a bartender here for twenty years. I know this.

These haven't been undercapitalized doctors-wife (or husband) whims, either. Most of them were people moving in from out of town who had successfully run brewpubs in other states. They had capitalization. They had the marketing budget. They had the demographics on their side.

Failed brewpubs include:
Breckinridge Brewery
Magic City Brewery
The Mill (still there, not brewing)
Vulcan Brewery

....and that's without thinking too hard about it. There's probably at least three others I've forgotten, and a couple I never even knew about.

They bombed, because the idiots in Birmingham like Bud Light. And Jeebus. And NASCAR. Don't get me started.

You will never get your beer distributed here. I'm sorry to be a wet blanket, but the coziness of all the beer distributors with local legislators (hell, Larry Langford works for Birmingham Budweiser) means you'd need $$$ out the wazoo and friends in high places. If you have these, then please call me, because I need a job. But chances are good that you don't.

I still think a local brewpub can work in Birmingham. The problem seems to one of economies of scale. Brewing beer takes a TON of water and drainage and power and square footage -- that's money spent on fixed overhead costs, and you can't just cram a couple more four-tops into the vats to help cover it. PLus, I think the way the law is written you hafta serve food, so there's the costs of installing a (however minimal) commercial kitchen. So what all these places have tried to do is open 200-seat full-menu establishments that offer four or five microbrews. Inevitably, the quality of the beer varies (Breckinridge's IPA was excellent, their oatmeal stout undrinkable), the food is an afterthought, and the ambience is so sinking-ship tense that people flock elsewhere.

I think the solution is to take advantage of the great deals the city is offering for people to start businesses in the new loft district downtown. Space is cheap, albeit vertical, but the infrastructure is there (there used to be a cotton gin and a blast furnance downtown -- I think we can handle the runoff from a brewery), and a SMALL, limited-menu, homey place could be the bomb (if you think no one is hanging out downtown, go by the Metro Bistro at midnight, any night of the week).

I'd steal a page from (the original) Dreamland's book -- perfect one great lager, one great medium-bodied ale, and offer an EXTREMELY limited menu. Like, just ribs. Or, just turkey sandwiches. Whatever.

Oh, you wanted a name, didn't you?

Tragic City Beer

My e-mail address is in my profile. I've thought about this for years, but I'm not a brewer, I'm a restaurant guy. Let's talk more.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 4:21 PM on September 7, 2006

IMNAL, etc, but Alabama appears to have a "brewpub act". Perhaps that link would help you get started on learning about the legal and permitting end of things. Nothwithstanding, I don't know if you need to bother with that if you're simply brewing at home for your own consumption, and want to put a nice label on it for your own edification.

Vulcan sounds like a fine name to me, or anything to do with iron and steel. :-)
posted by Robert Angelo at 4:23 PM on September 7, 2006

Maybe it's too obvious, but I would drink "Government Trust Beer". (It would have to have a "OBEY GIANT"-like logo).
posted by IvyMike at 4:29 PM on September 7, 2006

As a helpful service to govtrust, has anyone here worked for a start-up microbrewery or brew pub? What is the failure rates for new breweries/brewpubs? Where would be an ideal place to start a brewery/brewpub? What are the startup costs?

I know that next door in Georgia, Sweetwater seemed to have gotten a great distributor and it is now available almost anywhere. Terrapin from Athens would probably be the second most ubiquitous. Unfortunately, Dogwood Brewing did not make it despite a great product. As for brewpubs, in Atlanta Five Seasons seems to do well. Max Lager's and Rock Bottom are very corporate franchise, but they've managed to stay open.
posted by Frank Grimes at 4:31 PM on September 7, 2006

Loose Tusk beer- Tuscaloosa in Alabama (sorry Groucho)
posted by hortense at 5:18 PM on September 7, 2006

If Vulcan's taken, you could always use Hephaestus.
posted by willpie at 5:51 PM on September 7, 2006

(Please choose lobstah's: "Birminghammer". Brilliant)
posted by tristeza at 6:10 PM on September 7, 2006

I am embarrassed for all of the Metafilter Comunity that not a single person has suggested "Sweet Home Brew."

(Although "Birminghammer" does have a nice ring to it)
posted by mikewas at 9:26 AM on September 8, 2006