The slide show and the coloring page below will take you to the Flickr page, where we’ve collected images of the Mullet in its flat black stage and its awkward Bondo years (which it’s still in, sad to say).

Let our indecision be your moment of glory! We’ll totally set you up with recognition galore if you help us come up with the right look for the Mullet. Cost IS a consideration, so keep the ironic flames to a minimum.

But we’d love to have a few people take this idea and run with it. Pass this page along to your friends if you’d like, particularly if they have experience with restoration or design.

This is more an experiment in crowd-sourcing, so we’re not sure what to expect. If a total hero emerges, expect some great merch and maybe even your name etched in the revamped Mullet! If we only get a few responses, we’ll probably go with an idea of our own. Many thanks to Bill Stevens and Jody Brown for their renderings of the Mullet.

By the way, this is off-topic but we’d like you to know about it: Jody Brown is an architect and a can-do kind of guy (for example, he cranked out that first Mullet sketch in five minutes). Jody has a new venture online called “Coffee with an Architect” (a much more constructive opportunity than “Meth with a Milkman”).

He explains (bold mine ’cause Lew does it and I dig his style):

Ever want to discuss hierarchy and the use of a datum? Want to discuss the merits of Christopher Wren and Claude Ledoux? No, probably not… Want to have a coffee and talk about that project you’ve always thought of doing? That new house, an addition, a kitchen renovation, a new deck, a high-rise luxury condo. I’d love to grab a coffee and talk. Conversations are free!

So, if you’re interested in Coffee with an Architect, learn more at, well, Coffee with an Architect!

And now, some MULLET ACTION! We’d love your ideas on how to paint the Mullet! Send us these pages — and any supporting information (PMS colors, extra info) — to mullet@fullsteam.ag. We’d love to hear from you (yes, you!) by the end of the month.

Oh, and feel free to email the mullet if you have any questions about this little program. Or if you just happen to be a classic car restorer who works for beer.

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This is the first step in a long career ahead.

Earlier this week, I moved my hand-built homebrew-turned-pilot-system over to Fullsteam’s building. I’ve been watching the build-out of the brewery and tavern come along, but it’s never hit me like moving this system has. This is for real!

Last week, Brooks came by to help brew what is now my last homebrew on that rig, a 12-gallon batch of one of my favorites of all our offerings: Fullsteam, a recipe I’ve been working on and tinkering with for years. A recipe that came back from a competition with notes saying it needed more Northern Brewer hops (but but but, it is nothing BUT Northern Brewer! Oh well). A recipe that ultimately helped land me a spot on Team Fullsteam. Moving this little system is huge.

Hello homebrewers, pro brewers, and Fullsteam fans! By now you’ve surely witnessed Sean’s build out photos and posts (you can’t miss them, Sean’s marketing even reaches into your dreams at night!). Well, I look forward to giving you the brewing side of Fullsteam. I’ll be updating as often as I can with pictures and stories.

The homebrew in its new home

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Artist's rendering of the Fullsteam build-out

Initial demolition on 726 Rigsbee is complete! Here’s the photo set in case you haven’t seen it. Now that we’ve smacked ol’ Humpty Dumpty upside the head, it’s time to put him all back together again.

Our fearless General Contractor, Allen Knight, is bidding out the plumbing, mechanical, and engineering. I’m gathering process piping bids (the plumbing and engineering of the brewhouse). And 32 has priced out a new glycol system (a bulky piece of equipment that regulates beer temperature).

It’s all rather expensive, but the opportunity is, of course, an exciting one.

Truth be told (ugh, I hate that phrase and words like “to be honest,” as it implies I’m fibbing when I don’t use a qualifier), we have to make smart, targeted decisions on where we spend our money. I have several rather expensive investment decisions to make. At our current funding level, it looks like we can do about three of them. They are, in no particular order:

• install air conditioning for Fullsteam R&D (our tavern)
• purchase a packaging line
• build out a kitchen (versus warming up pies made off-site)
• invest in self-distribution (trucks, driver, insurance)
• gussy up R&D with steampunk-y interior design

Lining up several more investors allows us to do all of the above. (Interested?)

Alternatively, we may end up “phasing” in our building investments — that is, starting with a brewery, a basic interior, and flash-heating bullies made off-premises…but growing into the full-fledged vision over time.

The challenges are obvious: will people come on-site if we cool the space only with fans (and not cozy HVAC)? Do we save much money by outsourcing pie production until we can afford to build out a kitchen? Can we generate enough cash flow from keg sales to purchase a packaging line in six months or a year?

Or do we simply hustle, bite the bullet, and raise some more money to fully implement our vision?

These are the questions that keep me up at night.

Truth be told, I love it.