Get To Know The Mind Behind Our Favorite Brewery

(Image courtesy of Triple Voodoo Brewery)

We know that you know that Dogpatch is home to some of the most creative minds around - it’s that feature of the neighborhood that drew us here, and we hope that you’ll find some interesting haunts to explore in the area. In our time here, we’re most impressed by the unique breweries that have been cropping up all over the microhood peddling their tasty wares.

If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what it takes to open and run a brewery in this eclectic part of town. One woman, Patricia Kline of indogpatch.blogspot.com, took the time to sit down with the co-owner of Triple Voodoo Brewery and ask the tough questions about opening his business in the area. Keep reading to learn more about how his brewing company hopped into existence:

Dogpatch is quickly being brewpatch with the addition of Triple Voodoo Brewery and Taproom between 19th and 20th at Third in a ground floor location in the new Potrero Launch apartment complex. No complaints here as co-owner Greg Kitchen-- or as he describes himself -- "CEO, COO and everything else," lined up four of their craft brews for us to taste. We thought Kitchen might enjoy actually getting to sit down given his hectic schedule of not only moving into their first brick and mortar location, but also overseeing the SF Beer Week activities that were in full swing the day we visited.

But Kitchen remained standing as he described the beers we were tasting, talked to a new employee, looked at the schedule for that evenings activities and talked excitedly about the strains of yeast they use that give their brews such unique characteristics. Perhaps there was a bit of black magic going on or maybe Kitchen was super energized by finally having a home for his three year old company but it was obvious there would be no rest for him in his immediate future.

Why do you do what you do?

I want to wake up each morning and know I'm going to work at something I love. And I love the community and the culture of the beer brewing world.

I grew up in California and I have a computer science degree. I worked in the technology world for about 15 years. But I loved brewing beer and so did my friend Aaron Chan and we became avid home brewers. It isn't legal to sell home brewed beer so we gave it away at parties for several years. More and more people started asking us for the beer and once we realized we were giving the beer away to more than 200 people we knew we might actually have a business.

We did a lot of soul searching as well as creative financing and started our craft brew business in 2011. Our goal was to take the best aspects of the Belgian and California styles of brewing to create our own unique beer style.

While we certainly appreciated other brewers letting us use their space, it is hard to be a gypsy brewer. You never really get to know the equipment as well as you would like and you have to adhere to their brewing schedules. So we are excited to finally have our own space.

We have a 10 barrel brewing system here and most of the beer we produce will be used in our own taproom although we have our wholesale, retail and collaboration projects that we will supply with our beer as well. We want to create an interesting and varied tasting experience for our customers so we plan to have rotating taps featuring new styles every month.

We plan to offer tours and sessions with our head brewer, Phil Meeker, to educate folks on craft beer and on the brewing process.

We don't have a kitchen but we plan to partner with various restaurants and food trucks to provide food for customers. Right now, we are working with The New Spot, a Mexican restaurant that is a local favorite.

Why Dogpatch?

We always had the goal to have our own space. We love the vibe in Dogpatch -- we call it modern industrial. It suits us. We looked all over San Francisco for the right sized space. It was hard to find a space that was under 3000 square feet. We really wanted an artisan-sized brewery and tap room. We have about 2800 square feet here. And we used local artisans whenever possible to finish out the space. In fact, I was having a burger at Serpentine one day and sat next to a guy who I eventually hired to do our bar counter.

What's the story behind the name -- Triple Voodoo?

Originally the name was Cherry Voodoo. We thought is sounded cool but people thought we made cherry beer so we knew we had to change it.

We came up with the name Voodoo to represent the science of brewing -- take simple ingredients but produce these complex flavors. And triple because at the time there were three partners. So, Triple Voodoo!

DIY Guide To Interior Design

(Image courtesy of bluestvenus)

Decorating your first apartment can be quite the challenge. Where should you put your couch? Do those curtains really look good on those windows? Often with decorating knowing where to begin is half the battle and. After you’ve gotten your first basic pieces in place it’s amazing how quickly the rest of the room comes together!

If you’re having trouble getting started designing the perfect living space for your lively and active personality, there’s still hope. These great tips courtesy of apartmenttherapy.com will be sure to get you started on the right track in no time. Keep reading to learn more!

1) If you have a small space use small pieces that fit the scale of the apartment. Your space will feel bigger.

2) Keep it clean!

3) Get rid of the clutter. Have a place for everything and then everything can go back in its place.

4) In small spaces, there never seems be enough space for clothing, books, electronic media, work areas but rather than lots of traditional freestanding dressers, cabinets, desks, etc. consider built-ins and modular furniture systems that can be configured to fit your space wall-to-wall and floor-to ceiling and accommodate all your storage needs in one compact area.

5) Dual purpose! Look for multiple uses in everything you buy. An ottoman is cozy, but an ottoman with hidden storage is even better.

6) Furniture with legs feels less heavy in a space than pieces that sit directly on the floor.

7) Go vertical and use the space up to the the ceiling whenever possible - shelves and storage that have a small footprint but are tall can really help in a small space.

8) As for organization, really think about how you use your house. Where do you like to read your mail? Flip through magazines? Pay bills? Then place storage and trash bins in the places where you will be handling paper and other cluttering items.

9) Enjoy the cozy feeling of a small space.

10) Spend more money on getting one or two taller piece (like bookcases). Try to confine your cluttery possessions (mail, books, ipod, etc) to a few concentrated zones instead of thinly spread out all over the place!

11) Glass-front bookcases (or barrister bookcases). For some reason things *feel* less cluttered if they are behind glass.

12) My tip would be to draw yourself a floorplan and organize yourself and the stuff you already own with the help of it.

13) Walk into your apartment and create your space from that viewpoint. You don't want to see the back of your tv from that perspective, and a few other not quite neat sides of things.

14) Don't be afraid of color. Yes, white makes a room look bigger, but so does dark brown glossy paint (etc) when paired with the right color furnishings.

15) Don't try to furnish it all at once. Start with the most important piece (clearly a place to sleep---couch, Murphy bed, actual bed) and live with it a while before you start adding.

16) Arrange the space so it meets your needs for the way you truly use it, and put money into the areas where you spend the most time. If you always eat in the living room, maybe that means investing in a coffee or side table that's really comfortable to eat from and forgoing a separate dining area altogether.

17) Don't go hog-wild at any store until you're sure that you need it. I made a list of all the things I "thought" I would need when I moved in, but after unpacking, half those things were no longer needed (due to space constraints). What a hassle.

18) Think of your furniture as being mobile and multipurpose. Choose things that are easy to pick up and move, and then plan to move things around to suit different purposes.

19) Edit, edit, edit. Look at everything with a critical eye. If you have a chair that you just don't love, get rid of it. If you notice you miss having a chair, find one that you love, is a better scale and a better investment of your space. Don't store anything that you don't need.

20) Get a storage bed, so you don't have to have a dresser.

21) Consider furniture that blends in visually with your floor or walls, whether it is transparent or similar in color.

22) Don't be afraid of big art/wall hangings, especially in a color that recedes (like blue) to make the space look bigger. Keep things visually interesting in the space you do have. Mirrors can help magnify the space.

23) Unless you're really starting with a blank slate, for everything new you bring in, take out something old. Don't hang onto things for forever just because they might come in handy.

24) Don't design for 'in case when guests come over'. the seats you have for yourself - TV couch, reading lounger, desk chair, dining chair, stool - will be enough seating for 7-8 visitors.

25) Clear furniture can do wonders.

26) Expandable dining table.

27) Large mirror to give the illusion of more space.

28) Lots of lamps.

29) A dark floor against light colored walls and furniture can really make a place feel more spacious.

30) Really invest in a closet organization system. You'd be surprised how on track that can keep you and you could always just shut the door.

31) Try to avoid pieces taking up floorspace. Instead of a bookcase, use bookshelves.

32) Combine loves and needs

33) There are no rules.

5 Tips To Organize Your Apartment

(Image courtesy of EvelynGiggles)

After spending the long winter months indoors clutter can being to creep up on even the most astute cleaner. It starts slowly, filling up the extra spaces on shelves, packed under the bed and overflowing from closets until one day there’s just too much to handle. Once you’ve decided that there’s too much to handle, it can seem like a daunting task to undertake a thorough cleaning project.

You don’t have to wait until spring to being your apartment clutter purge-any time is the perfect time to begin separating the items that you wish to keep from those that are ready to be donated or passed on. Thankfully, these tips courtesy of apartmenttherapy.com are just the thing to get you organized in the best way possible. Keep reading to efficiently purge your apartment in no time at all!

1. Organize First; Buy Second. Do not go out and buy a ton of storage pieces and supplies before you sort through your home. All of those pretty bins, boxes and baskets at The Container Store are very enticing, but they won't do you any good unless they fit the space (on the shelf, under the bed, in the closet); hold what you need them to hold, and function properly for your particular space. I recommend cleaning out first, assessing what containers you REALLY need, and then buying a few bins to start. You can always add later, but you don't want a bunch of empty containers cluttering up your home while you figure out where you might use them.

2. Don't Bite Off More Than You Can Chew. Do not set aside an ENTIRE day to organize your WHOLE house. Very few people have the energy and/or focus to spend 8 hours organizing. You'll likely become frustrated and less efficient as the day progresses. It's much better to spend a few hours -- 2 or 3 -- on one project or space. This way you'll feel motivated to do more, not burned out by the process.

3. Complete Each Task -- Completely. Of course you will need to sort things into categories (e.g., toss, recycle, donate, give to friend, put in deep storage). But here's the crucial part: Once you have decided where something is going to go -- take it there. Never keep bags for charity or boxes for friends in your home to deliver later. Do it now. Finish the process. Take the bags and boxes out to the trash or recycling immediately. If you're donating something or giving something to a friend or family member, put the items in your car or make arrangements for dropping them off. You've done so much work getting this stuff ready to take out, complete the deal!

4. Rome Wasn't Built In A Day. Do not think that once you've organized your space, that you are done. You'll feel like a failure when you have to clean it up again in a month. Realize that while you have created a new, efficient, and logical system for processing and managing incoming and outgoing items, you are not done. There is no autopilot. You should expect regular upkeep, but just be glad that the new system is far more efficient than the old one.

5. Good Enough is Enough. Very few people have closets and drawers that resemble those in catalogues. Trust me. I've been in a lot of houses and apartments and even after we've totally reorganized a space, it doesn't look like an ad for The Container Store. It looks great and works properly, but it is a space that is used by an actual human being, not one that has been carefully staged by a team of stylists and marketers for a non-existent resident. You will ultimately be disappointed if perfection is your goal. The goal is to set up a space that works well for your needs. That is success.

Don't Get Locked Out!

(Image courtesy of JanetR3)

There’s no worse feeling than finding yourself outside your door sans key to your apartment. You’re so close to the comfort of your living room, and yet, so far. Though it’s not impossible to get back inside (there are ALWAYS resources to help when you find yourself in this situation,) they can be time consuming and costly.

Ideally we would all love to bypass this stressful (and sometimes embarrassing,) situation. These great tips from apartmentguide.com should give you all the ideas that you need to avoid finding yourself stranded at your doorway. However, if you do find yourself locked out, don’t panic. We’ve got you covered with great ideas to get you back inside as well.

Here’s how to prevent locking yourself out:

1. Appoint a close family member or friend as your keymaster. This basically involves giving a spare key to someone you trust – a lot. This person should also live nearby for your convenience and theirs. Just keep in mind that if you ever go out of town, that person has full access to your place. Make sure it’s not someone who will come over and pour bleach all over your thrift store treasures if the relationship goes south. Sporadic boyfriends and frenemies need not apply. Tip: the spare key should be distinctive so that it doesn’t get lost in a sea of other keys in a messy junk drawer.

2. Save important numbers in your phone – landlord, building manager, a local locksmith, apartment maintenance staff, police station, etc.

3. Never leave a spare key under your welcome mat. It’s so predictable and criminals know to look there.

4. Giving a key to your neighbor is risky, but it is an option. Keep in mind that even if your neighbor is trustworthy, someone else could gain access to your key without your knowledge. Also, when that neighbor moves out, you may not remember to ask for it back.

5. Is your smartphone protected by a case that’s hard to remove? It’s the perfect place to hide a key!

Now if all else fails and you still find yourself keyless, here’s what you can do:

1. If it’s during business hours, a short walk to your leasing office should solve the problem quickly. If your landlord or superintendent is off-site, a phone call should be enough to get them to swing by and let you in. If it’s after business hours, don’t call your landlord. They shouldn’t have to miss out on sweet dreams because of your mistake. Hopefully there’s a neighbor or a trusty friend who lives nearby who you can crash with until morning.

2. As an apartment renter, you have to be resourceful. Think about this: if a masked robber wanted to break in and steal your Ikea knick knacks, how would he get in undetected? Would he climb (safely) up the fire escape and through an unlocked window? Think like a criminal and you may find yourself inside your apartment in no time.

3. Calling a locksmith should be your absolute last resort. It could take an hour or more for them to arrive, and of course, it’ll be at a premium price. Before you call, be mindful of whether you are trying to gain access to the building versus your individual apartment unit. Some locksmiths choose not to service shared entrances, and others don’t have the ability. Another thing to keep in mind is that if the locksmith damages any door, frame or lock, you will likely have to foot the bill for that.