Upsizing the Kettles: Sucking Stones Brewing

28 November 2023

Inevitable? I’m not sure. But, anyway, this week the brewpub I’ve been working on with my partners finally opened its doors.

We’re not actually brewing yet, but the brewkit is ready as soon as we get the go-ahead from the Excise department. That last bit has certainly been taking some time, though to be fair the licensing thing is fairly new to them, too - the legislation only changed a year ago.

For some time I’d indulged in idle banter over beers with my business partner about expanding production beyond home brewing. It was last year’s change in legistlation which turned chitchat into action. We looked at a couple of possible venues, but the one we ended up in felt good almost immediately. With rental terms agreed, we moved onto concept, design and sourcing. My partner has done an incredible job of teasing ideas from me and forming them into something with coherence wraoped in what looks like a feasible business plan. And he’s followed up with renovating our space into one I already feel proud of (thank you for all the effort!).

For my part I’ve worked on sourcing our equipment and figuring out the production side of things. For the bulk of our kit, we went with a Chinese supplier I met a trade show in Bangkok in 2019, and with whom I’d stayed in touch - and they did an excellent job for us. I was away on the day in mid-October when the container arrived (I was at a brewing conference, naturally) - it was no easy task getting it into our building, and I felt some guilt sipping IPAs and watching the immense effort over video link. Since getting back from that trip we’ve been setting everything up. I’ve had the fortune to be supported by some very competent electrical and water people - and together we’ve managed to get the brewhouse plumbed in and wired up and our glycol system up and running. And we’re now ready to brew just as soon as we can. Until then we’re serving guest ales from local and regional breweries as our bar staff settle in.

And so, after a year or so of learning and labour, another hobby/obsession is about to become something more. It’s been a fun journey so far, and I’m looking forward to the next steps with a mix of excitment and some healthy nervousness! Please do drop by to visit us at Sucking Stones Brewing if you’re up in Northern Thailand. Or make it the excuse for a trip.