When it comes to beer, it’s all about the taste, the aroma, and the color. The color can range from gold to copper, unless you’re drinking a stout. It’s also about the density and darkness of that beer.
Craft beer has surged in popularity in just a couple of years. Whether consuming or brewing, the popularity continues to grow.
Beer is made of four essential ingredients: malts, water, hops, and yeast. There is nothing special except the craft itself. Each brewer can make their own unique craft beer.
Beer gardens and taprooms are spread out throughout Fresno County. In Clovis, there are about 10 breweries.
One of the most recent to enter the local craft beer industry is MachineHead Brewing Co., located at 52 W. Palo Alto, in Clovis.
It is a 100 percent in-house brewery and independently owned. The two-person operation is run by Rob Arabian and his wife, Jennifer.
They opened their brewery in November of 2020, during the pandemic.
It was a now or never situation according to Rob. The brewery opened under the purple tier COVID-19 regulation. They had food trucks and patio area for people to sit and enjoy. After the stay-at-home order was issued, they continued serving crowlers, a 32 oz beer to-go.
The pandemic did not stop the Arabians from their long time dream of operating a brewery. It all started when Jennifer bought Rob a homebrew kit nine years ago.
“I just fell in love with the process and it just became a hobby that turned into brewing once a month to twice a month. I’m brewing a lot of beer and my friends are enjoying it,” said Rob Arabian, owner and brewer of MachineHead Brewing Co.
Arabian said the process is extremely sanitary. It begins with milling the grains and taking them to the mash tun, a vessel used for mixing malts. The sugar gets extracted and boiled off, then transferred to a tank where yeast is added. After three weeks in the tank, beer is ready to be consumed.
“It is every home brewer’s dream to own a brewery,” said Arabian.
At MachineHead Brewing Co., there are six beers on tap which are connected to brite tanks which gives people freshness straight to their beer glasses.
Arabian said his favorite is Indian Pale Ales (IPA). This is due to their variety and how they are continually evolving. There are Hazy IPAs, West Coast IPAs, and Milkshake IPAs.
He said everyone has their take on beer.
“I’d describe beer like music–there is always some type of music for somebody. There is a type of style that might be your style and you love this, and this person over here might hate your type of music or vice versa,” said Arabian, “A beer is the same way, you like beer you just don’t know it yet. You haven’t found the right beer for yourself.”