It seems like everybody and their brother wants to know when the Falling Down Beer Co. is going to start brewing and pouring in downtown Oxford.

“We’re expecting to be open by February,” said co-owner George Lang as he helped move 12 large, steel tanks into the 3,481-square-foot space at 14 N. Washington St.

“Now, it feels real,” said Mark Larson, co-owner and head brewer. “We’ve been working on this for two years. This is kind of our dream brewery.”

The Warren-based craft brewery began quenching the public’s thirst in March 2013. Last year, it announced plans to open a tap room and brewery in downtown Oxford by the end of the year.

But Larson and Lang ran into some issues with the building and what their brewery would require in terms of power and water, so things got delayed.

The wait has only served to wet a dry public’s appetite for that magical mixture of barley, hops, water and yeast.

“It’s been insane,” Larson said. “We just did 20 beer festivals over the summer. At every one of those, 20 to 30 people asked us when we’re opening here. Every day, four or five people poke their heads in just to see what’s going on.”

But now that the tanks are here, soon will flow the beer – and lots of it.

“When we open, we will have at least 25 beers (on tap),” Lang said.

Falling Down’s seven-barrel system includes three tanks for brewing, six tanks for fermentation and three brite tanks, which further mature, clarify and carbonate the beer.

All of the tanks were made by Craftwerx, a company based in neighboring Orion Twp.

Why them?

“First and foremost, they’re local,” Larson explained. “We try to keep all of our business within the state.”

Then, there’s the workmanship.

“The quality of the steel and the welding is superior to anything else we’ve looked at,” Larson said.

He noted they could have used tanks made from steel forged in Japan or China, but foreign metal is “a lot thinner” and “the welds are nowhere near as nice.”

“It was worth it to us to pay a little extra for that quality,” Larson said.

During the first year in Oxford, Falling Down is expecting to produce 800 barrels of beer here. Each barrel equals 31 gallons.

Production will top out at 1,200 barrels per year with the current system. When more tanks are added in the future, the system will be able to produce 1,600 to 1,800 barrels annually, according to Larson.

Falling Down’s Warren facility currently produces only 400 barrels annually.

“We struggle to keep eight (taps) going,” Larson said.

Oxford’s output will be triple Warren’s production because it will have six fermentation tanks as opposed to two, according to Larson. This will allow Falling Down to make more beer in more varieties.

Lang and Larson are excited about using Oxford Village water to brew their beer as opposed to Detroit water, which serves as the base for everything made in Warren.

“We’ve had it tested and it is one of the best in the nation,” Lang said.

“The Oxford water’s excellent,” Larson said.

How important is having good water?

“It’s very important. It’s one of the main ingredients in the brewing process,” Lang said. “If you have bad water, it’s tough to make good beer.”

Larson agreed.

“In my opinion, it’s the most important piece,” he said. “It can change the flavor and mouthfeel of any beer.”

Larson noted Guinness is famous for its “creaminess” and that’s a direct result of the high-calcium well water it uses.

When Falling Down’s Oxford location opens, it will have a total of 48 taps featuring beer, cider and wine, an initial seating capacity of 79 and employ 10 to 12 full and part-time workers.

Lang expects the building to be done by the end of December or beginning of January.

“After that, it’s just a matter of brewing the beer and then ensuring we have enough for our opening,” he said.