You know how you might sit around drinking beers with a buddy and talk about opening a brewery? But you never actually do it, because it’s a crazy idea. And you haven’t even thought about all of the necessary requirements you would need, like taking something like this rsa training melbourne course, as well as finding a location and trained staff before you could even set up shop. But whilst it is hard work and may sound crazy to some people, it’s definitely possible. Because you see, Mike Isley talked about it, thought about it, and 18 months later, did it.

The Winter Plumbing and Heating owner with an eye for a good investment was at Hardywood with friends in early 2012 on a food truck night. “I literally started counting heads,” says the 50-year-old, doing the quick math and realizing beer was an opportunity to expand his empire beyond HVAC.

Isley likes beer (although he admits he’s actually more of a wine guy, or even a nice spirit), but he’s no expert on the stuff. So after that Thursday evening at Hardywood, he started home brewing and reading everything he could about the craft. He took six months to do basic homework. “It was relaxing and slightly challenging to create something that so few people create. I told my friends we were going to open a microbrewery and they laughed,” Isley says.

And you know what entrepreneurs do then.

Isley set the wheels in motion, settling on a space at 1715 Summit Avenue in Scott’s Addition, which had the required industrial zoning for a brewery and the benefit of nearby residences and retail. He put up a Craigslist ad for a brewmaster, which was answered by a brewer at the former Hops restaurant in Midlothian, Josh Stamps.

Isley got certified by the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and licensed by the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. And less than two years after an otherwise seemingly harebrained idea, he became the beaming owner of a Richmond brewery, opening October 26 and riding the coattails of the Boulevard Pumpkin Festival crowds around the corner that same day.

“I opened the door and the place was full. I had 1,500 people in my tasting room on the first day,” he says. “Seeing the smiles on peoples faces and selling a product that they like, it was pretty exciting. It was extremely fulfilling.”

The Bribe Oatmeal Porter is Isley’s flagship beer (he is a fan of dark suds). But he and Stamps have plenty of ideas that they write down and try out, and their small size allows them to throw out batches that don’t work (a failed attempt at a harvest beer sent $1,000 down the brewhouse drain). On Fridays they create infusions of The Bribe (the most popular is “Choosy Mother,” a peanut butter variant, and there’s a coffee collaboration from Lamplighter Roasting Co. as well), and a blueberry flavor of their Plain Jane Belgian white ale, also an Isley staple.

For brewers such as Isley, the 2012 passage of Virginia Senate Bill No. 604 combined with relaxed city regulations on brewers has made it easier for small craft breweries such as his to open. SB604 gave brewers permission to sell their beer for on-premise consumption. Before, you could only get free tastings. And in March, Richmond leaders voted unanimously to allow small breweries to open without a special permit.

Isley has his beers in several local restaurants, including TJs Restaurant at the Jefferson Hotel and Weezie’s in Carytown. He has no desire to grow past 1,000 barrels of beer a year (he’ll do 750 this year); by comparison, Hardywood did about 4,500 last year. As opposed to tanks that reach the top of Hardywood’s warehouse space, Isley’s equipment is only slightly taller than he is. “I don’t want to mass produce,” he says. “I want this to be a cut above home brewing. We call it home brewing on steroids.”