tap Handle #259: Fireman's Brew - Brunette

Another part of a group purchase, I really wanted this tap and ended up getting it for a great price. It's a really cool tap, and all varieties are similar, except for the color of the base and the label.

Fireman's Brew was founded in 2000 in Woodland Hills, California by Rob Nowacyzk and Ed Walker. The two men are firefighters, and one day as they put out a brush fire, they started talking about brewing beer to raise money for firefighters. Nowacyzk had experience as a homebrewer, and would homebrew up a batch and test it out on friends, refining the recipe based on their feedback. It allowed him to perfect recipes before jumping into larger scale production. Their first beer was a simple, basic pilsner (Blonde), and they later added Brunette and Redhead. They nearly closed after 9/11 because they didn't want to profit from the tragedy. After enough time passed, the brewery started selling in high-end supermarkets and restaurants, then struck deals with Albertson’s and Ralph’s Supermarkets and nearly 1,000 accounts in southern California. Nowacyzk bought out Walker and became the sole owner.

Fireman's Brew does not have their own brewery. Most sources I've found say that they have their beer contract brewed at Mendocino Brewing, although ratebeer.com lists Indian Wells as the contract brewer. The brewery distributes to 5 states and plans to double that number in 2013. They donate 5 percent of their proceeds to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. In 2012 they started offering private stock to residents of California to raise capital for expansion.

Fireman's Brew Brunette is a dopplebock with rich structure, bold flavors and silky smooth finish. Handcrafted with a heavy dose of toasted chocolate malts to create a refined microbrew of uncompromised quality. Weighted average on ratebeer.com is 3.2 out of 5.

Fireman's Brew Official Website