Definition of tortuous: marked by repeated twists, bends, or turns: winding a tortuous path.  

You know what they say, “Nothing worth having comes easy.” When we think about what it took to get to where we are today, the only way to describe it is when we met a fork in the road, we took the tortuous and more tortuous path. However, we would not change a thing, because, in the end, we have made it. But, this is only the beginning of our journey, the rest we get to share with you!

Opening a brewery is never easy with all the hoops and red tape you need to navigate, but we have made it exceptionally hard on ourselves. We started this journey about three years ago and the dream for it about seven years before that. We thought we had it all figured out—we had the perfect plan, only needed to execute it. Things did not go as planned, as they never do in the craft beer business. The important thing, however, is we just kept going, failure was not an option.

Our journey to opening the brewery included considering 13 different locations and multiple plans.  Once we finally decided this location was our spot, there was another year in planning and hoops to jump through. We needed local approval, then there was the processing of obtaining a microbrewer license, and then there were even more delays that stopped us in our tracks. By the time we were to a point where we could start again, we realized we actually needed to go in a completely different direction.   We chose to move forward without any other ownership interest, which was the right decision but it added an extra year to our plan. Since you’re reading this, it is pretty clear that we did not give in. We decided that we could make this brewery work and we were willing to bet the house on it, literally. Our plans had to change, but we were determined to grind.

We are starting with a brewing capacity a fifth of the size we originally planned. The good news is it’s the system we have been brewing on for years, and it also means we will always have something new to try on tap. Plus, It will give us more opportunities to brew whatever we want and to be experimental. Sure, we will run out of beer at times, and we will have limited hours initially, but what we are doing is working towards a goal of growing and expanding production so we eventually can bring you more beer and extended hours.

So why are we telling this story?  It certainly wasn’t the best of times, but it wasn’t the worst either, and it has made us stronger. We just want to convey to you, our customers, our conviction and dedication to this project and this gathering place we call a brewery. We have fought hard to get to opening day, and now we can shift our energy into making Brewery 4 Two 4 the best it can be. We will be damned if we cut corners and serve sub-quality beer. We may not make much beer at once, but what we do make will be done with pride and quality in mind. We want our little corner of the brewing world to be the best it can be for our community. Cheers to our beginning and joining an already great beer community. We look forward to serving you a pint or two of our hard work.

Erin & Dave Miller