Microbrewing is a niche market and Hangar 24 is looking to tap into it.

Founded by Ben Cook, the Redlands brewery recently opened its doors following a year of construction and demand is already strong.

"We've done quite a bit of sales in a very short period of time," Cook said. "We had to put restaurants on a waiting list."

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Photo By Dan Elliott

Ben Cook at the Hangar 24 Brewery.

Located adjacent to the Redlands Municipal Airport in a 4,600-square-foot facility , Hangar 24's Orange Wheat and Pale Ale brews have generated local support with restaurants even running special promotions to generate interest.

"Charlie Jewels put up a sign and Johnny Taco gave Hangar 24 a weekly beer and wing night."

"If the staff is behind us, they will be really good about introducing the beer," Cook said.

Hangar 24 purchases its oranges for its orange wheat beer from the Old Grove Co., an affiliate of the nonprofit Inland Orange Conservancy.

Hangar 24 offers tours of its facilities as well samples of the beer.

"It's nice to show people, they can walk in see the brewery and taste the beer," he said. "But the majority of the business is selling to restaurants and bars."

Hangar 24 beer is served at the Epicenter and Arrowhead Credit Union Park; the respective stadiums of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and the Inland Empire 66ers minor league baseball teams.

Cook was unable to gauge how successful the beer will be at the stadiums as the season just started, he said.

But getting drinkers to try a microbrew will be a challenge, Cook said.

"People just go and order what they know," Cook said. "They don't really look at anything around them, they want to watch the game; so they grab the beer and leave."

Since both beers sold by Hangar 24 are dark lagers, they do not qualify for some of the specials offered at the stadiums, such as the Quakes' dollar beer night.

Brewers depend on local support for their beer due to the practices of national grocery chains, which make it difficult for microbreweries to supply them.

Hangar 24 has yet to start bottling its beer but plans to market it to local grocery stores in the coming months.

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Photo By Dan Elliott

Vice president Jessica Cook taps a sample of Hangar 14 Brewery wheat beer.

Just a few miles away, Dale Bros. Brewery has found difficulty approaching major chains.

"We haven't been able to sell to major chains," said Curtis Dale, a brewer at Dale Bros. Brewery in Upland. "They feel they need to supply their entire chain with the beer and we're not at a point where we can do that."

Dale Bros., which has been brewing since 2003, features its beer in local restaurants and bars including the Mount Baldy Lodge and P.F. Chang's in Victoria Gardens.

The brewery features two year-round beers -- the Pomona Queen and California Black Beer -- as well as seasonal beers.

While part of a national chain, the local P.F. Chang's is given some leeway to sell local beer, which is rare, Dale said.

Brewers generate interest in their beers through competitions.

"We just missed the entrance to the World Beer Cup but we'll be entering the L.A. Fair," Cook said. "It's a fun way of getting people to try your beer and get some recognition for what you do."

Cook started brewing eight years ago as a hobby with a home brewing kit.

Following encouragement from his family to make brewing a full-time venture, Cook spent two years developing a business plan to secure a loan for his brewery.

He purchased brewing equipment from the Monte Carlo Casino in Las Vegas.

"They're building a new shopping center next door and it's going to be connected to the Monte Carlo," Cook said. "They'll get a lot more foot traffic and figured they could make more money with retail stores is my understanding; so they pulled the brewery out."

"We went through a bidding process, won the bid and my dad and I went in there, uninstalled it and brought it home," he said. "All the tanks came from Monte Carlo except the filter, which came from Port Brewing Co. in San Diego."

While both breweries acknowledged the other's existence, neither considers the other to be a competitor.

"The nearest brewer I believe is in Upland," Cook said. "So there's not a lot of competition in this area, which made it an attractive place to open."

"We actually don't in general see them as competition," Dale said. "I think there's a place for all of us."