Mechanistic Brewing Developing Clarion Craft Beer Brewery at Corner of Sixth and Liberty

Ron Wilshire

Ron Wilshire

Published September 10, 2018 12:00 pm
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CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – George and Chelsea Alexander, of Clarion, have nursed the idea of starting a new brewery in Clarion for over five years, and much work has already gone into preparing the launch of Mechanistic Brewing at 21 North 6th Avenue.

“At this point, it is difficult to predict when we will be open for business as the regulations and licensing can vary greatly….along with any of the construction hiccups that have happened so far,” Chelsea said. “Late winter is a reasonable prediction, but until we get further along there is still a lot of uncertainty in our opening date. We do have prior approval from the PLCB.”

“We really want this to grow organically and take our time and its development. If we get pushed back, we’re just going to have to deal with it.”

George, a geochemist and environmental engineer, works on contaminated groundwater related to nuclear waste sites in his “day” job.

George and Chelsea, who have two young daughters at home, “are chipping away at it in the evenings.”

A brewery license is being held in safekeeping by PLCB for George Alexander.

“We have the license from PLCB in safekeeping, but we haven’t gone through the final approval yet,” George said.  “They came and looked at the place, and we told them everything we were planning to do, and they’ll come back to make sure we did everything we said we were going to do. The big stuff is done.”

George’s fascination with the brewing process has popped up over the years at fundraising and promotional events that also offered the public a taste of his brewing skills.

In June 2015, F.L. Crooks hosted an event serving Chickie Ball Brewing craft beer brewed by George.  Jim Crooks is the father of Chelsea and the father-in-law of George.

The name of the project later changed to Mechanistic Brewing and has offered tastes at a fundraiser for the Clarion Free Library and beer tasting at a beer tasting dinner at Gateway Lodge in Cook Forest.

“George and I love entertaining and travel gave us both a strong interest in cooking and beer,” Chelsea continued. “After earning his Ph.D. from Penn State, George missed spending time in the laboratory doing research, so brewing became a creative outlet for him to use his chemistry background. I have always dreamed of opening a business from the ground up. I love it all: the marketing, building a brand voice, staying on a budget, finding out what customers really want, and being able to produce a product we think will excite Clarion and our visitors.”

Interest in craft beer continues to grow, and breweries are attracting people. It is a competitive field, and Chelsea was asked what makes Mechanistic different.

“Brewing beer is a science. George is a perfectionist at heart and puts quality above all else. One of George’s areas of expertise is water chemistry, which happens to play an outsized role in brewing.

“Different beers evolved from different cities, in part, due to the mineral content of the local water supply. It was not by chance that London became famous for dark beer and Pilsen in the Czech Republic for a light beer.

Different styles of beer taste better with different water profiles.

“George modifies the mineral content of Clarion’s water to mimic that of historical brewing cities, such as Dublin, London, Munich, and Pilsen, to as accurately as possible recreate beers from around the world here in Clarion.”

A considerable amount of renovation has taken place in the ground level of a building that served as local headquarters for West Penn Power, including storage of trucks leaving some high ceilings. The Alexanders have not yet finalized seating and furniture. The taproom will be small and intimate with a large outdoor patio space facing Liberty Street.

“We love the feel of Michelle’s Cafe, and only wish it was open at night to serve local craft beer. What is better than being able to sit outside let your kids play, and enjoy the company of your friends and family? Our outdoor space will feel a lot like a Biergarten with oversized lawn games to play. The space inside will not disappoint with 18’ ceilings and a theme where industrial vintage meets science (designed by local artist Karl Jacobson).”

Community support is also high on their agenda with a track record of partnerships, working with and supporting the Clarion Free Library, F.L. Crooks & Co., Lewis Art Studio, Route 66 bike trail, and the Gateway Lodge.

“Several of our beer events have been fundraisers to support the Clarion Free Library, Route 66 Bike Trail, and the Friends of Cook Forest. We plan on continuing to be a community spot that supports our area.”

Mechanistic Brewing is looking for people who like to try new things.

“We hope that our customer likes trying new things, is open-minded and wants to learn more about beer and the brewing process. Our tasting events have shown us that our beer can bring together a wide range of people. This ties together with our name Mechanistic — how the individual parts come together to make something larger. For us, it is how bringing together high-quality ingredients makes the beer, the beer brings people together, and those people help make a community. Beer has been a mechanism to bring people together for millennia.”

Reflecting their desire to go slowly, once the brewery is open, it will likely be open one day a week and close by 10:00 p.m.

“We might be forced financially to find some way to keep it open another day,” Chelsea said. “We will have to play it by ear and see how the numbers work out being open once a week.”

The brewery is a project that will develop over time and open when it is ready. They could even adopt a slogan of Paul Masson and its 1970 marketing program —“We will sell no wine before its time.”

Mechanistic Brewing — “We will sell no beer before its time.”

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