It took a little longer than he’d hoped, but we could hear the smile on J.T. Wampler’s face when he told us over the phone this afternoon that he is approved by the federal government to begin brewing beer at Tanglewood Branch Beer Co.
“The atmosphere is electric down here,” Wampler said, “We’ve got a ton of regulars at the bar, and were celebrating. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
Wampler had originally hoped to introduce his locally-brewed creations in November, but as it turned out, his original estimations about how quickly things move on a federal level were a bit optimistic.
With the proper paperwork now in place, Wampler said it’s only a matter of time before he begins serving his own beer to patrons down at Tanglewood Branch Beer Co.
“I plan to debut my first beers at the bar on May 7,” he said.
Wampler plans to start with a brown ale, an I.P.A., a pale ale, a porter, and a specialty of his he calls a “Proper 1420.” He also plans to leave one tap open for seasonal creations.
With the good news from the feds coming in late this afternoon, he said he’ll waste no time in getting the brewing process started.
“Oh, I’ve already bought all the groceries I need,” he said. “I’ll probably be down here at first light tomorrow to get started.”
