The home of Magnolia Pub & Brewery is 95 years old. The space has been many things throughout that time but never a brewery! The magical transformation took place down in the basement but there was quite a lot of renovating, upgrading and cleaning to do upstairs in the pub as well. Led by Michael Olinger, the folks that built Magnolia faced all sorts of hurdles and surprises but pulled it off with skill and grace. Here's a peek behind the curtain:

Squeezing a modern brewing facility into a cramped basement with seven foot ceilings was quite a challenge. Exposed beams lowered the actual ceiling height to less than six feet in places and there were support columns every couple of feet. The existing concrete slab was less than two inches thick and unable to support the future weight of thousands of gallons of beer. Poor lighting, exposed plumbing and wiring, mountains of junk, ancient refrigeration equipment, and mysterious stains and puddles made the task at hand even more daunting. Work commenced under a cloud of questions and doubt.

After weeks of cleanup and debris removal the hard work of lowering the floor began in earnest. This involved ripping out much of the old concrete floor and digging out the sand below by the five gallon bucketload. The process was painstakingly slow due to the care required around the existing support columns. Many of the columns had to be temporarily supported on jacks while new footings were poured at the lowered floor depth.

Wooden forms were built for footings, retaining walls, and steps down to the lowered floor level. The basement had no existing drainage so trench drains and sump pumps were dug and plumbed. At this stage working in the soft sand was extremely frustrating as forms shifted and nothing would stay put. The new concrete was poured over the course of several sessions so that temporary supports, forms and sand could be moved and replaced as needed. Concrete sets fast and pour days were full of chaos—slipping and sliding in the sand while guiding the concrete into forms and finishing the surfaces.

Next, ceiling beams were cut and moved, in some cases recessed into the joist space to buy just a little more headroom. New posts were mounted on their footings and attached to the beams with modern, earthquake-resistant hardware. Again, this process progressed slowly as temporary supports needed to be built and moved.

Things sped up when the floor and other concrete work was completed. The basement began to take on the shape of the brewery although the look was far from reassuring. Questions remained about fitting the tanks into their new home—tanks that were already being fabricated to dimensions determined before we began.

Nonetheless, walls went up, the cold room was insulated, and plumbing and wiring were installed under the assumption that it would all work out in the end. New stairs and access to the alley were created and the cask cellar was reassembled out of an existing walk-in freezer. Much of the basement was covered with a smooth, washable fiberglass surface for maximum brewery sanitation. Under the new lighting the place was really starting to look like a place where beer could be made. Only the tanks were missing.

We survived our big push to have the place ready for tank delivery. The serving tanks came from the Sierra foothills a few days early and sat upstairs in the dining room biding their time. The brewhouse equipment and the fermenters were made by Quality Stainless of Santa Rosa and were to be delivered on the actual installation day. This required the services of a rigging company to unload the tanks, gently hoist them through an open window and delicately lower them down through the hole we cut in the dining room floor. And the miracle of the day was that they all fit, barely! We dropped the serving tanks through the hole ourselves and moved everything into place.

The first brew was still many weeks away, however. There was plenty of finishing work to be completed—more plumbing, electrical, carpentry, etc. Meanwhile, remodeling work continued upstairs in the kitchen and dining room. New bathrooms were built, the new booths and bar were installed, the kitchen floor was replaced and Jon Weiss persevered through construction chaos and painted his amazing mural. Kitchen equipment was installed, the place got a fresh coat of paint, and a seemingly endless list of little details was addressed.

Given the hidden surprises that come with a 95-year old building and the intricate nature of creating a brewery, we managed to remain remarkably close to our timetable and budget. Although the construction process was filled with chaos, confusion and tension the end result is a testament to many people's commitment, dedication and hard work through thick and thin. Cheers and many thanks to everyone who helped make Magnolia a reality!