Homebrew Pioneer Launching East Bay Brewery with Heretical Bent

Heretic Brewing Co./Facebook

While details are still emerging, homebrewing pioneer Jamil Zainasheff recently announced via an episode of Brewing TV that he's launching a new brewing outfit in the East Bay. Rather than build a new facility from the ground up, Zainasheff ― aka Mr. Malty ― will share the brewing equipment at the E.J. Phair Brewing Company in Pittsburg (the Pittsburg BART goes to, not the one with an "h" at the end...). The arrangement, known as an "alternating proprietorship," is a legal arrangement that essentially means, "Hey, let's take turns!"

According to Heretic's website, Zainasheff is aiming for spring 2011 production. Besides noting that the brewery has retained an accountant, and that they're buried in paperwork, Twitter and Facebook aren't yielding any juicy tidbits yet, but expect the beers to be top-notch. Zainasheff co-authored the seminal homebrewing tomes Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation and Brewing Classic Styles: 80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew. Add to that a host of homebrewing-related medals (read: beer geek bling), and nobody doubts that Zainasheff has mastered the art of brewing within classic style guidelines. How this classical training jives with the new brewery's moniker and logo, which seem to imply a healthy dose of rebellion (and possibly werewolves/vampires), remains to be seen.

Looks like we've got a maverick on our hands.