The rise of micro-breweries has created a brand new business for a Quad City company and the demand's coming from all over the country.
"A little bit more smokey and earthy, little bit heavier," said Nancy Sears, who enjoyed a beer at Front Street Brewery, Tuesday, February 18, 2014
It's the difference in taste that customers say makes a home brewed beer stand out against the rest. The increasing demand left for the beer left Front Street Brewery to step up their game and their equipment.
"Our small system that was in the basement there had run out of gas and we needed a bigger system," said Front Street owner, Steve Zuidema.
That equipment they got right here in the Quad Cities.
"It was important to me, to have USA made equipment," said Zuidema.
Crawford Brewing Equipment, the first in the QC.
"I really didn't anticipate that this was going to turn into a thing, went from just being just a simple job to now we've actually got people employed," said Keith Gerks, division manger at Crawford.
The Crawford Company didn't realize Front Street would be the first of many customers to come, two years later, they're coming from all over the U.S.
"We're building it, we're putting in the brewery, we're doing all the boilers, the chiller, all the process piping, basically we will commission the system for a customer," said Gerks.
In a time where Crawford says the job is needed.
"Last year there was over 950 applications for micro-breweries just in the U.S."
Each brew tank can hold 465 gallons of beer, giving businesses the opportunity to get more customers coming and more beer going out.
"I think it's going to take off," said Zuidema.
While the majority of their orders have been outside the Quad Cities, they hope to get a few more orders locally.