USA, NC: Husband and wife team to launch BMC Brewing in Pittsboro

After more than a year fighting through pandemic “slog,” John and Carmen Rice are set to open Pittsboro’s newest microbrewery: BMC Brewing, Chapelboro.com reported on June 27.

“There’s a few things that need to be finished up, a little bit of painting and a door needs to be finished,” John Rice said. “But we’re pretty much to the point that as soon as we get our permits, we’re ready to brew. And as soon as we have beer, we’re going to be serving it.”

BMC — the latest beverage-making operation at The Plant on Lorax Lane, an area commonly known as the Chatham Beverage District — was issued its certificate of occupancy a couple of weeks ago, Rice said. He’s just waiting for ABC Board approval, which could arrive any day, to begin alcohol production.

“And then we’ll start brewing right away, start getting beer in the tanks,” Rice said. “The quickest we’ll be able to get something out is probably two weeks. Realistically, we’re looking at three weeks. And then as soon as we get a finished menu, we’ll put them in the kegs and we’ll start serving and we’ll have the doors open and people can come in.”

Between two brewing systems, BMC can churn out 11 different beers at a time. Rice hasn’t yet settled on his opening lineup, but patrons can expect a diverse selection from day one. Besides fan-favorite IPAs (west coast and New England varieties) and regular pale ales, BMC will feature a selection of less typical brews, many of which pay homage to acclaimed scientists and leaders of history.

Mendel’s Dominant Recessive Kolsch honors the father of modern genetics, Joseph Mendel, the Rices write on their website. The German-inspired ale features a traditional yeast tempered by North Carolina-sourced hops and grain. McClintock’s Tiara Red Ale pays tribute to pioneering female corn geneticist Barbara McClintock and includes flaked corn for a drier finish. Uisce Móna Beilgeach, derived from a Gaelic phrase meaning “bog water,” will be an Irish Stout “made stronger by the addition of Belgian candied sugar and fermented with Trappist yeast.”

“We have a list of 13 beers and recipes that we’ve tested and we brewed and we’re just waiting to scale up and sell,” Rice said. “So we’re really excited about all of them.”

And BMC — which stands for “Bite My Cookie” — will feature another unique product: baked goods made from spent grain.

“To make beer we use malted grains and we extract all the sugar out of those,” Rice said. “But then we’re left w ith the grain itself, and there’s still nutritional value in that grain. So, we’re going to pull some of it out, dry it in a dehydrator, and we can grind it into flour that we’ll have a commercial restaurant use to make cookies that we’ll sell here at the brewery.”

He hopes the cookie menu will signal to visitors that BMC is a family-friendly destination, not just a bar.

“We just don’t want to be a beer hall,” Rice said. “We picked this place in particular because of the open spaces and a family atmosphere that most of the events have. And so if somebody wants to come out with their family and have a picnic and they can pick up a couple of cookies, we’re all for that.”

Rice, himself a scientist, got his start as a home brewer more than 30 years ago. He made his career as a pharmaceutical researcher specializing in drug discovery, cell biology and yeast physiology. But commercial brewing was always the dream. After years of deliberation, he decided in 2019 it was finally time to ditch his career in research and pursue his lifelong passion.

Then the coronavirus pandemic hit.

“It’s been interesting to say the least,” he said. “But we’re really glad that things are coming around.”

Last month, The Plant unveiled its new Bath House, a standalone building housing three private bathrooms, which will primarily serve BMC patrons. More than 50 attended its grand opening, including Pittsboro Mayor Jim Nass and other Chatham officials. Such public activity encourages Rice, he said, but still he plans to save BMC’s official grand opening for later this summer.

“We just want to make sure we’ve got all of our processes down, we’ve got beer on hand, and we’ll feel out what it’s like when people first start coming out,” Rice said. “… So we’ll do a soft opening, get us to the point where we’re feeling confident that we can handle a grand opening, and then we’ll do a grand opening.”

But that’s not to deter anyone from visiting the brewery, he pointed out. As COVID-19 recedes and public gatherings revive, Rice hopes Pittsboro residents will make BMC their post-pandemic haunt.

“It’s been so helter-skelter in the last year, we just didn’t want to be disappointing the people,” Rice said. “But I know there’s a good group of people that want to come out and share beers with us and life experiences and we’re just we’re looking forward to being able to open to do that — to provide a space for people to get together.”

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