Bob Haa will be head brewer at Motorworks Brewing Co. in Bradenton. (Photo by Coby / Motorworks Brewing Co.)
Motorworks Brewing Co., which is in the planning stages in Bradenton, announced the hiring of Bob Haa Jr. as head brewer today.
Haa has more than 15 years of brewing experience and has won 23 regional, national and international medals, according to a news release.
A pilot brewing system is already in place at the brewery, 1014 9th St. W. in Bradenton's Village of the Arts. Motorworks hopes to open a 3,500-square-foot taproom with an outdoor patio and 12,000-square-foot beer garden around Thanksgiving, according to the release. The full 30-barrel production brewery operation will open in early 2014 and will offer tours. (Breweries that want to have tasting rooms have to offer tours, according to one interpretation of Florida law.)
Motorworks has previously announced a plan to brew 5,000 barrels of beer in their first 12 months, along with plans to brew 24 hours a day with a hoped-for output of 65,000 barrels a year. This would put them in the Top 30 of American craft breweries right from the start.
Haa comes to Motorworks from Micro Man Distributors, a smaller local distributor. He was previously head brewer at St. Sebastian's Brewery, a short-lived Spring Hill brewpub. Haa was also national, research and development brewer for the Hops brewpub chain, which used to have a restaurant in Bradenton.
