Lessons In Patience

There has been a lot of waiting. I know you feel it too. We reluctantly slowed the cadence of our sharing to the website, Facebook, etc.. when we realized just how long things were going to take. Or to be more accurate, when we realized we didn’t know how long it would take. The biggest delays have been out of our hands. We didn’t have the emotional fortitude to maintain optimistic enthusiasm through an indefinite waiting period.

The biggest delay has been in the Federal Licensing arena. We submitted our application back in early December with the knowledge this may take up to 60 days. We are now past 90 days…and still waiting. The 30+ day Government Shutdown didn’t help. This license is the pivotal piece in starting a brewery. We can’t brew a single drop until we have the Federal License and we can’t apply for a State license until we have the Federal.

You may detect a hint of frustration here but we are determined to focus on the positives.

Here is a snapshot of the steps:

1. Get Town Approval (in our case, this also involved a regulation change) - CHECK!
2. Finalize Lease - CHECK!
3. Order Equipment - CHECK! (Mostly)
4. Apply for Federal TTB Brewing License - CHECK!
5. Submit Plan to Health Board - CHECK!
6. Get Building Permits (Depends on Health Board Approval)
7. File for State License (Depends on Federal License)
8. Complete Build Out & Get Certificate of Occupancy
9. Brew Tasty Beers (Depends on James' brewing skills)
10. Open and FINALLY get to share our beer with you!

So yes, it may not seem like it, but we’re still moving forward – at a snail’s pace. We’ve found that we must celebrate even the tiniest steps associated with our project; most of which don’t rise to the level of Instagram or Facebook worthy moments. Just know, we’re still working, still grinding, still making progress daily.

Saluti! Jen & James

Filed under #Progress