10/29/07 — The first shipment of Meadville’s long-awaited hometown beer left Voodoo Brewery on Friday, bound for — Yes! It’s true! — Meadville.

Under the direction of brewmaster Matt Allyn, Voodoo is now officially up and running when it comes to brewing and bottling, but don’t go knocking on the door at 215 Arch St. just yet expecting to quench your thirst. Plans are still in the works for the equally-long-awaited pub and restaurant, but Allyn and Chef Jeremy Potocki are taking things one step at a time.

Voodoo’s first local distribution will be in the form of 12-bottle variety packs through Sherry Distributors on Water Street in Meadville and Just Brew It Beverage on Perry Highway in Vernon Township, Allyn revealed during an interview late last week. From there, he’s hoping that area bars and six-pack shops will quickly make the 22-ounce bottles more widely available. “We’ve been distributing in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia for about a month,” he added. “Pittsburgh got it first — and Philadelphia is doing really well with it. They’re waiting for more.”

According to Mike Green, operations manager of Glenwood Beer Distributors Inc. of Erie, which will be distributing Voodoo beers throughout the 12 counties in northwestern Pennsylvania, Voodoo variety packs could be arriving in Meadville as soon as today and should definitely be available locally by Nov. 5.

Not your average beer

Voodoo’s first offerings include five ales and a lager — but these aren’t your average beers.

“Our beer isn’t made with the intent of drinking it to get drunk,” Allyn said. “You can use it to do that, but we’re aiming our beer to be drunk to be enjoyed.”

They’re brewing beers in styles the brewmaster has studied and researched both in the United States and Europe. “We’re doing Belgian-style beers and true German-style beers, using older German recipes,” he explained. “We’re also doing older English beers.” In the vat but not yet on the market, for example, is an English-style Russian Imperial Stout that will be extremely dark in color, rich in flavor and have an alcohol content in the 12-percent range — almost triple the 4.2 percent of Bud Light.

Voodoo ales include White Magick of the Sun, a white wheat ale flavored with coriander, orange peel, juniper berries and 12 —count ‘em, one dozen — different kinds of peppercorns.

The Gran Met, named for the Grand Master of Haitian voodoo tradition, is a delicate Belgian style ale. As the basic Gran Met ages for three months on passion fruit, tart cherries and raspberries, it morphs into Voodoo Love Child.

For those who prefer the hoppy bite of India Pale Ales, there’s 4 Seasons IPA, which will feature a different style and flavor profile for each season. Depending on the time of year —and, of course, the brewmaster’s mood — 4 Seasons may be earthy and malty or citrusy and crisp — or anywhere in-between. For fans of darker brews, there’s Wynona’s Big Brown Ale.

And their pilsner — Pilzilla, isn’t your average lager. “It’s kicked up a notch with nine different hops,” Allyn explained.

For Allyn, informing the customer and retailers that their beer is not just to be swilled is their biggest challenge. For starters, it’s expensive — priced comparably with many exotic imported beers. That’s partly because it’s premium beer and partly because it’s only available in 22-ounce bottles. A 12-ounce line of beers “that will be a little more aimed at this market” is in the works, as is a draught product.

The best way to enjoy Voodoo beer, according to Allyn, is to drink it with food. “When we start pairing beer with food, people start looking at beer as something to drink at the table — instead of just drinking it by the case,” he continued. “That’s why we do a bigger bottle. You can buy a 22-ounce bottle and people can share that with a dinner.”

For Allyn, sharing is what it’s all about. “It’s a waste of time for me to drink it by myself,” he said with a grin. “I might say, ‘Oh — that was really good!’ But who am I supposed to discuss it with? Myself? With our beers, we’re aiming at people who really enjoy beer.”

As for future plans, once the Voodoo beers start moving out the door “and everything kind of calms down and we bring in a paycheck,” the next step will be to finish the business plan for the restaurant, a process that’s already about three-quarters complete. “We’ll be seeking investors at that point,” he said.

“We expected things to go a little bit quicker, but we’re not abandoning the concept,” Allyn continued. “However, we’re seeing some change in the concept. We’re going to reduce our original restaurant — maybe by half — because we think our production is going to go a little bit better than we thought.” At the present time, their brewing and bottling capacity is a maximum of 310 gallons — 10 barrels — per day. In order to supply both the pub and the bottle market, they’ll have to bring in some more tanks, which means moving the bottling part of the operation to the front part of the building, where people will be able to see it. “The pub will be on one side of the front of the building and the packaging on the other side,” Allyn said. “Then we’re looking to open a production plant after that. We expect to expand.”



LOCATE A DISTRIBUTOR NEAR YOU

To locate distributors and check the progress of Voodoo Brewing Co., LLC., 215 1/2 Arch St., Meadville, visit www.voodoobrewery.com