Floods, the ingredient for a dream-- Angry Cedar Brewing Co.

Brew house at Angry Cedar

When a person thinks of a brewery, most of the time they reminisce back to  scenes  from Laverne and Shirley where bottles scooted down massive conveyor belts or that trip to a local brewpub where small copper vats sparkled behind a sheet of glass, but what about a garage? That's exactly what Scott Hamerlinck owner and brewer at Angry Cedar Brewing Co., thinks of.
Scott who is an ex-marine, started homebrewing in his garage with his friends and family on the weekends. Soon enough his hobby became a passion and his basement became cluttered with glass carboys fermenting away his various ales, but that passion was nearly swept away in 2008. The floods of 2008, anyone who was in Iowa at the time remembers how devastating they were and Scott and the Waverly area were not missed. The floods caused by the Cedar River nearly destroyed Scotts house, the only thing not swept away by the flood, his glass carboys. This was a sign to Scott he knew that beer was his calling. So the next year he took a class through the Chamber of Commerce in Waverly and Angry Cedar Brewing Co. was born, toting a tag line "When life gives you water, make beer".

Fermenters at Angry Cedar

Scott didn't jump right into a full production brewery nor did he quit his job. Scott brewed on the nights and weekends, trying to perfect his craft, as he worked as a computer programmer.  He renovated a small place in Waverly to serve as his brewery, a space that would remind most of a garage before a brewery but it gets the job done. The space is being productive enough for Scott to finally quit his job as a programmer and become a fulltime brewer. Angry Cedar has done three different beers so far, a Chocolate Porter,  his Sandbagger Maibock, and his staple the Angry Amber which can be found on the shelves of Hy-vees and on tap at various places in Waverly. Scott is also in the process of making a Witte, which might show up in 15 days at the Iowa Craft Beer Tent. Which ever beer shows up, make sure to come out and taste what Scott has to offer. Check in later on "My Brewing Adventure"