Opening a new brewery comes with a lot of chal lenges, such as, obtaining a proper space, installing a brewing system, hooking up the proper utilities, the list goes on. Most brewers handle these challenges by either hiring professionals or buying premade systems, but the owners of Gizmo Brew Works, a brewery with a taste for innovation, prefer a more hands-on approach.
Gizmo is the product of a small group of tinkerers from vastly different backgrounds, united by a love for invention and creation. Gizmo em ployees, built their brewing system from the ground up, including their own hot-wa ter system, chilling unit and remote diagnostic application for checking and updating the status of their brew tanks from any Internet-enabled device.
One of the owners even built a laser for etching the bottoms of pint glasses us ing a single-board computer pulled from an Easter-egg decorating robot. This etch ing can actually provide a nu cleation point for the carbon dioxide in it, giving the beer a persistent head that other glasses don’t allow.
“Yeah, it’s cool to build a la ser, but it does actually have a purpose,” said Tyler Cox, head brewer at Gizmo. “One thing I like to joke about is that when you buy a pint glass from us, we etch it for free. So this is the only pint glass you can get that actually makes other people’s beer better. That’s how good we are here.”
Gizmo is still in the early stages of development, and it’s currently concentrating on brewing beer rather than providing a tap-room with an atmosphere that is similar to other breweries. Though Gismo has the standard tap room amenities, such as a bar, a sitting area and dartboards, it’s clear it is concerned with making the best quality beer it can, a goal that has gained it the acclaim of many, includ ing myself. Its Black Stilleto Stout is one of the best stouts I’ve tried, and its Alternating Current Altbier is quite tasty as too.
“Our goal is to produce very clean, easy drinking beers,” Cox said. “. You look at these beers, and they look beautiful. They’re bright, the light goes all the way through them, they all have nice aro ma, they’re f lavorful, and they’re simple. It’s very diffi cult to pull that off when you don’t have anything to hide the imperfections.”
Gizmo plans to expand its brewing operation consis tently during the next few years, including the immi nent addition of a new brew house and new bar for the tap room.
According to Cox everyone involved in the brewery likes to tinker and build during their free time, despite not having much free time while running a small business. Due to the owners’ various projects there is always con struction cluttering their space.
Gizmo is also approaching its one-year anniversary, and throwing an elaborate cele bration to commemorate the occasion.
According to Cox, Gizmo will be hosting their one-year anniversary on May 3. The event will features live music from five bands, food trucks, and 10 of their brews on tap. The owners of Gizmo will offically release their best-selling beer of the year: The Beekeeper Honey Wheat.
The event is scheduled for May 3, from noon – 8 p.m., at its brewery, located at 5907 Triangle Dr.
According to Cox, Gizmo will be selling commemora tive pint glasses, which can be used to get larger refills, and the event will be family-and pet-friendly. Gizmo’s unique inventions and drive for per fection in brewing make it a great place to visit if you’re ever in North Raleigh and want to grab a pint. Gizmo is open on Thursdays from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m., Fridays from 4 p.m. – 10 p.m. and Saturdays from noon – 10 p.m.
