Rubidium Brewing Company was founded by Rick and Vanessa Lowe in 2019. As a home brewer since 1995, Rick has striven to push the envelope with brewing and brew the beers that ourselves and close friends love to drink. Now that Rubidium Brewing is in existence, the desire to build a brewery is about more than just making beer. It is about creating a way of life and building up the community with which to share our experiences together.
We are still a home brewery currently, but are quickly building a following. If you haven’t tried our brews, we would love to see you at one of the festivals we will be attending.
What is Rubidium?
A science geek and space enthusiast, the element Rubidium was chosen to represent what we strive to bring to our beer and our community. Rubidium is a chemical element with the symbol Rb and atomic number 37. It’s use in ion engines for interstellar space travel made it a good fit for our mission. We are shooting for interstellar beers with the highest quality ingredients and newest brewing hardware technologies.
Our Core Values
Exploration
Inspiration comes not from remaining within the confines of what you already know, but venturing into what you don’t. We strive to continually explore new ideas and experiences in order to craft an inspired product.
Craftsmanship
Nano-brewing and craftsmanship go hand in hand. We continually strive to develop our products and ourselves through attention to detail, improvement of our techniques, and furtherment of knowledge.
Ethical
Brewing by its nature is a resource-heavy industry in all respects, from growing the raw materials to producing, packaging, and shipping the final product. While it might not always be the cheapest or easiest choice, we strive to lessen the strain we place on these resources wherever possible by sourcing items locally, reducing water and energy use in the brewery, and choosing sustainable materials.
Engaging
We are inspired by those we interact with and take great pleasure in that the product we make is one that enables people to have fun together. We strive to always create products that capture and portray the enjoyment we took in crafting them.
THE BEER
Beer is like a painting. You can have a subject, give 10 artists the same paint and brushes, but get 10 totally different finished products. Each brewer is the same way with beer. The art comes from the craft.
Our mentality has always been to “brew the beers you want to drink.” While there are many great beers brewed in the US, we still felt that there was something missing in our community–no one brewery that fully satisfied all of our beer desires. We started RBC to fill that desire, believing that there were many others out there who felt the same way and would rally behind our products. Those who have tried our beers so far have become lifetime RBC fans.
For our inspiration, we looked to the two brewing traditions that excited us the most: American Craft and German.
American Craft beer in the last 30 years has gone thru a change that has inspired the brewing world more than anything else out there. With new hops strains, new styles, hybrid beers, Barrel Aging, and new extremes of high (and low) ABVs and IBUs. This is what we aspire for; never being afraid to try something new just because it hasn’t been done before or someone tells you that it can’t be.
Germany is much more steeped in history and tradition, but is just as willing to continue doing what works for them, not what others tell them they should do. Effects from different yeast, both selected and wild; different taste sensations from the sweet, to the dry, the light, the heavy, the bitter and the sour, German beer has been hugely varied and complex in both its methods of production and results. With some of the best lagering yeasts and techniques in the world, it’s hard to not love what the German beer culture has produced.
While beers from both of these traditions are interesting on their own, we feel that combining our favorite aspects from both produce a more unique and rewarding product.
We love to use different yeast strains with different styles and not have a “house strain”. The majority of the hops we use are American but do use Nobel German hops as well. Combining both in interesting and unique ways makes for inspired beers, flavorful products, and a really fun brewing experience. This is our starting point. Where our journey will take us and what beers we will make in the future, we do not yet know.