At first I chafed at the idea of the Indianapolis Star’s forced furloughs, but two beers into a Friday afternoon lunch at Spencer’s Stadium Tavern I was pretty ok with it. I had those beers with Clay Robinson, a professional beer brewer who worked at Rock Bottom Brewery from 1999 to 2002 and The Ram from 2005 to 2008.

The first time I met Clay in 2006 or 2007 he talked about opening his own brewery, and he mentioned some variation on the plan every time I’ve seen him since. I haven’t seen Clay or heard much from him since last summer when he told me that he was moving on plans to open a brewpub. Then he took off to Alaska for two months to help his girlfriend’s parents renovate their mountainside home and I hadn’t heard from him since. Clay is an unapologetic hippy, a good vibes kinda guy, and I was hoping he’d get something off the ground because he’s good at what he does and seems like a decent guy. Last week he e-mailed me to tell me that he had a building, a brewing system, and the money to get it all going so we got together to talk about it. It’s a pretty ambitious plan but an exciting one for someone who is into good beer, local food, and local economies. In other words, someone like me.

Robinson leaves on Monday to disassemble, pack, and ship his brewing system back to Indy. Stay with me as I follow the birth of Indy’s newest craft beer brewery from the day Robinson unloads his equipment to the day he opens his doors to the public. Go here to read the first installment in the series.

Follow the Sun King story:

Here Comes the Sun: Clay’s birthday present
Here Comes the Sun: Baby steps
Here Comes the Sun: The business of happiness