Sheet metal workers by day and brewers by night, Alan Atkins and Steven Verver have turned a home brewing hobby into a full-blown craft brewery.
After two years of pre-planning and another year and eight months building out their brewery, the duo opened Five Eye Brewing in November within Ceres Industrial Park at 1920 Foundry Court, Unit B.
The Five Eye menu includes up to 12 beers on tap including such IPAs as the Daily Grinder, the Lazy Journeyman, the Apprentice and Two Checks. Also featured on the board are a Mexican lager called Muy Chingon, a Belgian blonde called Finger Monkey and a milk stout called Shade 10, just to name a few. They also offer seltzers, frozen Margarita slushies and Micheladas.
Atkins, who’s been a sheet metal worker for 12 years, said Verver, also a sheet metal worker for 16 years, got him into the home brewing hobby after sharing their liking to craft beers. Both work at RAM Mechanical, Inc., also in Ceres. And although they aren’t quite ready to quit their day jobs, the duo relies heavily on help from their wives, Anayeli Atkins and Samantha Verver.
Anayeli coordinates the brewery’s in-house marketing and both work on events and activities like “Pop-Ups,” themed music nights, corn hole competitions and food truck services. Atkins and Verver spent evenings and weekends fabricating all of the equipment and metal work in the brewery. At one point they called on family and friends through Facebook for help with plumbing, electrical, drywall and other trades to help get the brewery opened sooner. And, if you’re curious about where the name stems from, the duo formerly had a third partner with one eye. He is no longer with the business, but remains a close friend.
Currently Five Eye Brewing is opened Thursdays, 4 to 9 p.m., Fridays, 4 to 10 p.m., Saturdays, 1 to 10 p.m. and Sundays, 1 to 9 p.m. Details about events and food can be found on FiveEyeBrewing.com.
The Ceres Chamber of Commerce will officially celebrate the grand opening of Five Eye Brewing with a ribbon cutting event on Friday, August 26.
