The idea of brewing Kopacetic beer came from a talk I had with my grandfather, John Martinez. He was sitting in his chair smoking his cigar when I walked into the house. I said hey and asked him how it was going with a smile since he was obviously enjoying himself. He turned to face me in the rotating chair and told me "It's all copacetic." It was the perfect response and the memory has stuck with me ever since. When I got into beer and began studying the brewing process, I instantly knew that it was all copacetic. Whenever I was drinking a new micro beer with my friends or reading the whats, whys, and hows of brewing, I felt the same as I imagine my grandfather did sitting in his chair. I want to pass that feeling on with the beers I make, so the name Kopacetic was an obvious decision.
My interest in beer started by collecting bottles. The seemingly endless supply of great beers with great art on their labels made it addictive. Soon after 500 odd bottles stacked and shelved in my tiny apartment, I began to question what it was that I was tasting, and even more so, how was this flavor created. I convinced my good friend Dan to join me at a festival at Three Floyds Brewing Co. so I could score a rare bottle for my collection. Dark Lord Day 2009 was awesome and I became even more interested in beer and the beer culture. It was totally Kopacetic. I began to draft various brewing set-ups trying to do what I could while I was working part-time and attending full-time classes at Purdue University. I continued to study brewing and continued to seek out new and different beers to hone in my palate. I felt comfortable enough with my understanding to sign up for a Beer Judge Certification Program exam at the beginning of 2010. I managed to pass it on the first attempt and became a Recognized Beer Judge. I also got into the American Brewers Guild Apprenticeship, an education and experience program that accepts 50 people annually. I needed experience before beginning the program, so I wrote and called every brewery in the state asking for an unpaid apprenticeship. However, apparently everybody wants to brew beer and so the responses I got were all the same, "No". I was bummed but ol' Danimal told me about a new brewery opening up across the street from where he worked. I was quick to introduce myself to the staff at People's Brewing Co. and did my best to express my interest without looking extremely desperate. Summer 2010 Chris at People's asked me to tend the bar of the tasting room. I was in. I enjoyed the time spent at the bar and the beer nerd banter of the crowd. After I graduated from Purdue in Dec., Chris asked me to start delivering the beer to local accounts. I'm still the Beertender and Pilot of the KegMobile and continue to ask questions and learn from Chris and Able in the brewhouse of People's. At the start of 2011, I finally finished my homebrewing set-up and brewed the first KBC beer on the 10-gal brewery in February. At DLD'11 I drank my first four batches with my good buddy Dan and satisfied a goal we had made 2 years earlier as beer noobs.
Now, it's time to brew truly Kopacetic brews and continue to push the limit of styles and taste. Check out our beers at the Beer Factory and drink and live Kopaceticly.
Cheers!
-Sean Manahan