Bonita Gets It’s Own Place for Beer Lovers
Six years ago, a friend gave Brian Hahn a bottle of Founders Brewing’s Breakfast Stout—and little did he know that bottle would change his life.
He promptly stopped drinking Bud Light and Miller Lite after discovering the chocolaty, coffee-flavored beer and switched to craft brews. Hahn and his wife, Kate, signed up for a home-brewing class and began making their own beer before they moved to Bonita Springs from Chicago three years ago, the Fort Myers News-Press says.
Now, with 28 tasty recipes in his repertoire, Hahn is working to open Bonita Springs’ first brewery.
Since January, the 43-year-old father has been renovating a 3,000-square-foot space on Bonita Beach Road that will be home to Momentum Brewhouse, expected to open in August.
![beer](https://content.refindly.com/bonitabayfloridahomes_com/uploads/2014/03/Cd_3-5-179x250.jpg)
At Momentum Brewhouse, visitors will be able to take brewery tours and sip ales in a tasting room that will be open every Thursday through Sunday.
Momentum will offer a white IPA that’s clearer in color than the typical India Pale Ale but just as hoppy and delicious.
In addition to rotating flavors, the brewery will feature a nut-brown ale and a traditional wheat beer that Hahn’s mother-in-law, Susan, insists he brew every year for her birthday. Hahn will also offer his imperial red, which has a 9.5 percent alcohol content and won the People’s Choice Award during a craft beer contest at Time to Make Wine in Fort Myers.
However, the Saison is Hahn’s favorite.
It’s brewed with rosemary, parsley and thyme.
“There aren’t a lot of herb beers out there,” Hahn said.
“It’s refreshing and earthy.”
For Hahn, working with barley and hops is a way to use both sides of his brain — tapping into his engineering mind as well as his creativity.
“It’s meditation,” he said of brewing. “You’re in the moment. You zone out.”