 Coast Microbrewery's first brew: HopArt IPA |
Author: Keith F. West
07/17/2007
Email: publicaffairs@noisettesc.com
Website: http://www.navyyardsc.com
David Merritt is living his dream. Last February, Merritt, and his wife, Jaime Tenny, parlayed a home equity loan into Coast Microbrewery, one of the Navy Yard’s newest business occupants. A seven-year veteran of beer production at Palmetto Brewery in Charleston, Merritt envisioned Coast as a specialty microbrew that would be positioned apart in a localized, niche market.
“Our market consists of bars and restaurants that cater to beer-drinking patrons, not establishments that serve primarily liquor,” adds Merritt. “These products will be locally focused, and produced at the Navy Yard. The difference for Coast is employing sustainable thinking in producing our product.
“For example, our boiler will use biodiesel,” he adds. “We are using recycled and newly readapted equipment; we hope to slash the amount of wastewater with steaming in the brewing process. Coast beer is made with all-organic grain, unfiltered. We will use whiskey barrels on some products to add flavor, with hand bottling common for our individual products.”
Merritt added that his facility on 2nd North Street at the Navy Yard has three tanks, which contain approximately 30 kegs of beer per batch. The first ales from Coast should be produced in early August, but the official launch of the product line is November 6.
The first product from Coast will be HopArt, an India Pale Ale. The second product is a German-style Kolsch, a light ale that Merritt hopes will be a popular summertime choice. The beer will be distributed by a close personal friend of Merritt’s, who is developing a customized, biodiesel delivery vehicle for the beer.
Coast will market to a casual lifestyle, which draws on Merritt’s childhood memories of fishing and beachcombing at Edisto Island as a child in the Lowcountry. The logos and marketing material for Coast are being developed at Fuzzco, the graphics and internet firm located at 10 Storehouse Row at the Navy Yard.
A graduate of the American Brewer’s Guild program at California’s Davis College, Merritt is enthusiastic about the prospects for Coast, and its new home at the Navy Yard. He adds, “The concepts behind Coast are compatible with the vision of the Navy Yard, as a sustainable business in a sustainable community. We’re looking forward to launching Coast as a sustainable beer, with the Navy Yard as a great location.”