The 40-year-old Fortney says the most gratifying part of his job is owning a piece of something.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it\u2019s kind of the intersection between creativity and craftsmanship,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen it\u2019s time to come up with a new beer, I do a lot of thinking, researching, pull influences from a variety of sources, formulate that all out in terms of a recipe. Then it\u2019s all about seeing it through to completion with an eye toward consistency and fervent attention to sanitation.\u201d<\/p>\n
FigLeaf opened last October. It has more than 10,000 square feet under roof \u2014 including a patio \u2014 and features four 40-barrel fermenting tanks and a 40-barrel bright tank, where the beer is carbonated and matures.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/files\/2017\/06\/jeff-fortney-18722_052-1-508x422.jpg\")
<\/a>Jeff Fortney ’08 parlayed a degree in history and the study of theatre set design at Wright State into a growing craft brewery. (Video by Kris Sproles\/ Photos by Will Jones)<\/p><\/div>\n
On the production floor, a four-roller mill crushes the grain, which is corkscrewed to the fermenters by an auger. The 1,240-gallon fermenters have cone-shaped bottoms, which allow the yeast and hops to collect so they can be easily drained. Dials and a control panel bejeweled with green and yellow lights monitor the whole brewing process, which creates a steady hum.<\/p>\n
Stacked like bottles in a wine rack are oak barrels in which certain special beers are aged. Next to the barrels sits a tower of wooden pallets, which are used to transport the beer for distribution.<\/p>\n
The brewery is configured to dispense beer in its taproom and distribute kegs of beer to bars and restaurants. It has 100 to 150 accounts in the Dayton and Cincinnati areas and plans to offer beer in bottles and cans.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a fair amount of production capacity, especially through the lens of a startup,\u201d said Fortney. \u201cBusiness is good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fortney grew up in rural Preble County in west central Ohio, where as a boy he did a lot of fishing, exploring the woods and four-wheeling.<\/p>\n
After graduating in 1995 from Preble Shawnee High School, where he was a member of the drama club, Fortney enrolled at the University of Toledo and got involved in theater. It was there that his cousin stoked Fortney\u2019s interest in brewing. He brewed his first batch of beer, a brown ale, on the stove.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was not a resounding success, but not a resounding failure,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n
In 1996, Fortney transferred to Wright State because of its \u201cexcellent theatre program\u201d and became heavily involved in the theatre department\u2019s design and technology program<\/a>, hoping for a career in set design. But he later changed his mind and took a break from college in 2000, working desk jobs with mortgage and other companies.<\/p>\n He returned to Wright State in 2006 to study history. He was especially interested in ancient history, military history, the Civil War and World War II.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s fascinating. It\u2019s interesting. It engaged me intellectually,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n After earning his bachelor\u2019s degree in history<\/a> in 2008, Fortney began to pursue brewing as a career.<\/p>\n \u201cI had always been interested in beer brewing and the history that goes along with it,\u201d he said. \u201cYou are tied into a tradition, which is hundreds if not thousands of years old.\u201d<\/p>\n He worked in Dayton at Belmont Party Supply, where he managed the home-brew shop, and then for Wooden Shoe, a tiny brewery in Minster. After that was the Rivertown Brewery and Barrel House in Cincinnati and finally at Warped Wing, where he became the Dayton company\u2019s first production employee.<\/p>\n Launching FigLeaf was no small feat.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re trying to pull together all of these disparate threads,\u201d said Fortney. \u201cFinancing is obviously a very big piece of that. And there are a lot of hurdles when you want to go from zero to something this large. It\u2019s not the easiest thing to pull off.\u201d<\/p>\n The owners came up with the FigLeaf name while sitting around the living room brainstorming ideas.<\/p>\n \u201cWe thought it had an upscale vibe to it,\u201d said Fortney. \u201cWe also liked the counterpoint of a name that embraced natural elements despite the quasi-industrial feel of the brewery itself and its location.\u201d<\/p>\n Fortney has been able to use his Wright State experience in theatre and history in building his business. He said the beauty of a liberal arts education is that you develop skills that can be applied to a wide range or careers.<\/p>\n His experience in theatre taught Fortney project management and demonstrated how complex projects with many elements could all come together in a cogent way.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was very hands-on. We were building scenery. There was a very set schedule and an ebb and flow to things,\u201d he said. \u201cHistory is more strategic thinking. It\u2019s more analysis.\u201d<\/p>\n Fortney\u2019s job as head brewer has him working up to 80 hours a week. A typical day might first involve using strong detergent to clean clamps, gaskets and other equipment used in brewing. And if it\u2019s a brew day, he takes the milled grain through the entire brewing process.<\/p>\n \u201cAt this point, it\u2019s a full day of nonstop movement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Jeff Fortney says a liberal arts education helps students develop skills that can be applied to a wide range or careers.<\/p><\/div>\n Fortney\u2019s philosophy is to provide customers with many different types and styles of beer and then focus on the ones they like.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a very solid core of beers, and I really endeavor to make beers very drinkable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n So far, FigLeaf has produced beers ranging in alcohol content from 3.9 to 10 percent. Its most popular beers have been a light cream ale made of basmati rice; Iso-Trope, an American IPA with a pineapple and herbal note; and Pride of CinDay, a British-style bitter.<\/p>\n Session beers, which are designed to drink over an extended period because of their relatively low alcohol content, are well-represented at FigLeaf.<\/p>\n \u201cThe beers so far have been pretty solid, pretty well-reviewed, well-received,\u201d Fortney said.<\/p>\n Ohio is a maturing craft beer market, with an explosion of breweries, brewpubs and taprooms. Fortney believes their success is in part because people want to support their local community and enjoy the brewpub ambiance and experience, where they can drink a beer in the shadow of brewing production.<\/p>\n He says craft brewers are part of a \u201cbrotherhood,\u201d a fraternity that looks out for each other and is united in showing beer consumers a broader picture than what mass commercial brewers offer.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re trying to fight for our place,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not like working in a bank or selling widgets. People who are in craft beer are typically very passionate people.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jeff Fortney parlays a degree in history and the study of theatre set design at Wright State into a growing brewing business. Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/files\/2017\/06\/jeff-fortney-18722_120-508x328.jpg\")
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