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Sam Rose, Head Brewer at Pig Pounder, explains
some of the brewing process and techniques he
uses to make
their original products.
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Pig Pounder Brewery (www.PigPounder.com) is the first microbrewery to open in Greensboro since Natty Greene’s opened in 2004. We are “hopped up” to be joining Natty Greene’s and Red Oak, in the expansion of the craft beer industry in Greensboro.
Our grand opening will be held on Thurs., June 5, with pre-opening events starting on June 2nd.
We selected Greensboro because of our strong ties to the area, the favorable business-friendly political environment and the throngs of craft beer supporters in the region. North Carolina was chosen over South Carolina and Ohio for our cluster of brewery and restaurant operations because of taxes, property taxes, alcohol regulations and development regulations. Greensboro was selected over Raleigh and Charlotte because of its reasonable development standards and availability of quality labor.
Pig Pounder is located in up and coming Midtown Greensboro, on South Battleground Avenue just South of Wendover Avenue and across from our sister restaurants Marshall Free House and Burger Warfare. The address is 1107 Grecade St. (though the building has frontage on Battleground).
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Marty Kotis explains some of the characteristics
of his Pig Pounder Beer made in his new brewery.
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At Pig Pounder our goal is to produce high-quality rather than mass-quantity beers. Our focus is artisanal English style ales - specializing in “real ales”. We operate on a 7-barrel brew house with additional equipment including 4 fermenters, 7 brite tanks, and a unique cask cooler. In the next two months, we will be adding two 15 BBL fermenters allowing us to double our total brewing capacity.
We expect to brew 700 BBLs initially with an increase to 1200-1500 BBLs later this year. There are approximately 252 US pints in a barrel of beer. Red Oak’s yearly production is 25,000 BBLs & Natty Greene’s is 20,000 BBLs.
Pig Pounder uses well water rather than municipal water for its beer. Water is trucked in from Haw River Farms in Summerfield, NC. The primary ingredient in beer is water, so starting with great water is critical to producing great beer.
Our Head of Brewing Operations, Sam Rose, came to us from an established NC craft beer area, Asheville, NC. Sam graduated from UNC-Asheville, followed by a five-year career at Highland Brewing Company as head of cellar operations.
North Carolina brewing history began in 1774 with the opening of Single Brothers Brewery & Distillery in Salem. In 1985, a Bavarian agriculture consultant in Manteo, NC decided to start a brewpub in Eastern North Carolina. Uli Bennewitz realized that brewpubs were illegal in the State but was not dissuaded and worked to get them legalized. His efforts came just a couple of years after Biltmore Winery changed the wine laws. He launched the Weeping Radish Brewery and Restaurant in 1986.
From that point on, the craft beer bug bit North Carolina, providing 100 breweries throughout the state.
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Justin Conrad, President, CEO of Libby Hill Seafood
Restaurants, checks out the color and quality of some of the
new Pig Pounder Beer. Conrad is running for County
Commission of District 3.
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The craft beer industry of North Carolina ranks fourteenth in the country with total craft beer revenue of $791 million. This includes all sales for breweries, wholesalers, retailers, and brewpubs. In NC, the industry employs 10,200 full time workers. The beer industry produces other manufacturing and farming opportunities including: Barley and hop farming, Malting & maltsters, and Hop processing. In order to grow, there are some regulatory obstacles breweries and restaurants must still overcome at a State and Federal level.
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• North Carolina has placed a limit on the amount of establishments (3) to which we as a brewery may distribute that share common financial interests. This is an antiquated regulation that continues to limit the craft beer industry in NC.
• The FDA has proposed regulations that will require breweries to dry and package their spent grain from the brewing process before giving it to farmers. This will simply result in grain being sent to the landfill rather than saving farmers and breweries money.
• The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is perhaps the most devastating federal regulation that we will face. The financial impact on restaurants and small businesses is unsustainable.
Additionally, we hope that the City of Greensboro can help Midtown Greensboro develop into a thriving district. Some suggestions for area improvements include:
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Marty Kotis, right, explains some of the finer points of beer making
with some of the special guests who were invited to the sneak
peak of his new brewery on Battleground Ave.
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• Completion of the Greenway connecting the Battleground Avenue Greenway with the
Downtown Greenway
• Safe pedestrian crossings at Battleground/Bessemer and Battleground/Grecade (near the water plant)
• Improving the appearance of the Water Plant and Duke Energy Substation with multi-color lights and landscaping (similar to Raleigh’s power station off South Glenwood Ave)
• Striping street parking spaces along roads in the Grecade area
• Branding the Midtown Greensboro District
We have found North Carolina, Guilford County and Greensboro to be very business-friendly and focused on creating jobs. In the next few months our restaurant and brewery operations will create over 320 new jobs in Greensboro.
Pig Pounder Brewery was developed with 100% private capital and no government incentives or financial assistance. The total project represents a $1.5 million investment.
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| Head Brewer Sam Rose discusses the process and shows off the equipment used to make Pig Pounder. |
Kotis (www.kotis.org) is the owner of Pig Pounder Brewery, part of its Restaurant
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