"It's all you want."

That’s the motto of The Friendly Fermenter brewery. When you walk in the doors of the underground nanobrewery you are entering a small community that owner Shawn Gatesman refers to as his village.

Gatesman opened the brewery with the goal of creating an atmosphere where people feel comfortable to try what they like. He attributes the success of the brewery to the support he received from friends when he first began homebrewing in 2013. After many experimental batches, he knew he found his niche when friends tried his beer and said “you made this?”

When it came time to open The Friendly Fermenter the people around him encouraged him to keep trying new things with his brewing and the community of regulars grew through word of mouth. Whether you are a tourist passing through or a local visiting for the first time, every trip to The Friendly Fermenter starts with “ya ever been here before?”

Gatesman brews, on average, two new beers per week. His most popular beers are a honey double IPA called the Bees Knees, a blonde coffee stout called Brehfuss and an Irish multigrain called the Green Jacket. He considers these beers staples at The Friendly Fermenter; however, batches rotate often and he usually makes these beers three or four times per year. The rotation allows Gatesman to experiment with more flavors and gives visitors something new to try each time they visit.

“Everyone is welcome who is open and non judgemental.”

The Friendly Fermenter was created to be a place where people could escape from the noise and connect the old fashioned way. Gatesman prides himself on creating an environment where the focus is on the beer and the people. The Friendly Fermenter is his village and the people are his community.