Gabe began by giving us some history about Two Brothers. The tale began in the dark ages of American craft brewing, when Bud was de riguer and you were lucky to get Leinenkugel from a friend who’d returned from WI. Jim and Jason Ebel, the aforementioned two brothers, had spent some time in Europe while in college, returning as beer connoisseurs who were disappointed at the paltry selection of craft beers on this side of the pond. The solution? Brew your own. Jim began delving into home-brewing, and passed along his skills and knowledge to Jason, who returned to his fraternity and immediately became very popular. After some stints in other fields (law school, green architectural design), it dawned upon the Ebel brothers that maybe they could make a living brewing beer. So, they acquired a couple of old milk tanks from their grandfather, a retired dairy farmer. The tanks were converted to fermenters and the business was off and bubbling.

After the history lesson, Gabe Inflatable Water Slide went on to describe Two Brothers’ philosophy on beer and brewing techniques. He noted, “Making beer is 10% inspiration, which is the fun part. The other 90% is sanitation.” Unlike cooking, where spur of the moment innovation can be rewarding, beer-making is about adhering to a process and doing the same thing every time.