http://hamptonroads.com/2013/01/two-...ion-comes-head
By Mike Hixenbaugh
The Virginian-Pilot
© January 12, 2013
VIRGINIA BEACH
Thomas Wilder wasn't expecting to go to war when he walked into a National Guard recruiter's office as a naive 18-year-old in early 2003.
Five years later, when he and a friend started goofing around with homemade beer recipes in their kitchen, he wasn't expecting to open a brewery.
Yet, here he is.
Wilder spent a year building roads and providing security at a forward operating base in northern Iraq - "a defining period" in his life, he says - and later this year, he and fellow Iraq War veteran Neil McCanon plan to open a brewery in Virginia Beach.
The old high school buddies are the latest in a growing line of local homebrewers to turn their hobby into a small business - part of a nationwide boom in the craft beer industry.
If all goes as planned, Young Veterans Brewing Company will be the fifth brewery to open in South Hampton Roads in three years.
"This is a huge area, the market is still relatively untapped - no pun intended - and there is room for everyone," said McCanon, an Army reservist who works as a drill sergeant at Fort Story. "We hope to bring something a little bit different to the table."
The Kellam High School graduates have spent half a decade fooling around with different hops and malt grain blends in Wilder's garage in Pungo.
Through that process, they've managed to craft an entire line of signature beers and develop a marketing strategy that oozes with their own brand of military-town patriotism.
"We're both war veterans, and we both have a strong appreciation for the military," McCanon said. "This being a military town, we wanted to pay tribute to that."
They recently started advertising their beers online and around town on redesigned World War II-era propaganda posters.
The posters promote beers with names such as "New Recruit Honey Blonde Ale," "Pineapple Grenade Hefeweizen," "Night Vision American Stout," "Semper Fi P.A." (pale ale), and - cover your ears - "Jet Noise Double IPA."
That last one packs a hoppy punch.
"I knew that I wanted to make a beer called 'Jet Noise' for the area long before I knew what was going to be in it," said Wilder, who lives in an old farmhouse, where he and McCanon brew beer under the flight path of F/A-18 Hornets.
Wilder left the National Guard in 2007. A friend gave him a homebrewing kit that year, but he didn't imagine much would come of it.
Wilder didn't even like beer back then.
"I had never really had a good one," he said. "Once we started making our own, and trying other craft beers, it was like a light clicked on."
He and McCanon started making plans for a brewery in early 2008, after making a few homemade batches together.
Wilder experimented with new hops and other ingredients. He taught himself how to manipulate beer recipes and flavors using computer software.
McCanon, who had grown to love beer while he was stationed on active duty with the Army in Germany, set out to learn the science behind brewing.
He traveled to Chicago and Munich last year to obtain an international degree in beer science.
When O'Connor Brewing Company opened in Norfolk in 2010 - the first and so far most successful in the wave of local breweries - Wilder and McCanon met with the owner, Kevin O'Connor, and asked for some pointers.
"I remember asking Kevin if he brews with malt extracts," said Wilder, referring to a common method used by novice brewers. "He just laughed."
Over time, the veterans each developed a more refined taste and started experimenting with new ingredients, including pineapple.
They threw huge house parties and served nothing but their homemade brews.
"I can't tell you how much beer we've given away," Wilder said. "I wanted people to drink it, and I wanted them to tell us if it was any good."
The most sincere feedback has come from prospective investors. Wilder and McCanon have raised around $200,000 to get the business off the ground.
A 2,000-square-foot industrial space off Dam Neck Road - not far from Beach Brewing Company - has been leased, and they hope to have a couple of fermenting tanks installed within the next couple of months.
They said they have an unofficial agreement with a statewide beer distributor - Roanoke Valley Wine Company, where Wilder works - and hope to have a few area bars serving their beer on tap by the summer.
In the meantime, they're continuing to raise money to purchase promotional merchandise.
Earlier this week, the fledgling business owners launched a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter.com - a site that invites people to donate money to new ideas or projects. Wilder and McCanon hope to raise another $20,000 through the "crowdfunding" site.
A $10 donation will earn supporters a YVBC sticker and their name engraved on a wall in the brewery. For $3,000, donors will get to go skydiving with Wilder and McCanon once the brewery opens.
"Who knows if anyone will be that generous," Wilder said. "But that would be an awesome way to celebrate."
Mike Hixenbaugh, 757-446-2949,
mike.hixenbaugh@pilotonline.com
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