Just when you think there isn’t any new ground to break when it comes to making beer, someone comes along, such as the guys at Motorworks Brewing in Bradenton, Florida, and spontaneously ferment a beer in the back of a 1984 El Camino Conquista.
The idea, as you can imagine, started off as a joke. The car, with its flatbed rear, is owned by Lead Brewer Jose Martinez, and last summer, when the mercury was spiking and after a long day of brewing, the staff was looking for a little relief. Their thoughts turned to the makeshift pools popular in that part of country, where a tarp is put in the back of a pickup truck and then filled with water for a little outdoor refreshment.
It was also around the time that the brewing staff had been angling the ownership for a coolship. It’s when inspiration struck. “We measured the bed of the El Camino, and the dimensions were damn near perfect for a 3.5-barrel brew,” says Martinez, noting that’s the same size as the brewery’s pilot system.