MIDDLEBORO — Making good beer is more about cleaning than it is about brewing, according to professional brewer Mike Pasalacqua. 

Pasalacqua owns Harper Lane Brewery, which opened the doors of its location on 16 Wareham St. in Middleboro last January. 

The process breaks down to “70% cleaning, 30% brewing,” he said. 

Pasalacqua has many years of brewing under his belt. Over a decade after making five-gallon batches of beer on his stovetop, he finally brought his dream of opening his own taproom to fruition. 

Operations have run smoothly since Harper Lane opened nearly eight months ago, he said. “I’m happy everything is going in the right direction.”

He postulates that’s because he spent a lot of time thinking about how he wanted to run his business prior to opening. 

Right now, Pasalacqua admits he wears many hats, juggling responsibilities as business owner, accountant and brewer. 

“It’s a lot of work, but at the end of the day I like seeing it all come to life,” he said. “It feels good to finally have it here.” 

Producing a pint of Harper Lane beer is a multi-step process that starts with locally sourced ingredients, he explained. The brewery gets its grain from Stone Path Malt in Wareham and its hops from Four Star Farms in Northfield. 

That grain is then crushed and steeped in hot water to extract its sugars. This mixture is called “mash.” Next, the grain is separated from the liquid and rinsed to extract any remaining sugars. 

Instead of getting thrown away, the separated grain gets picked up by local farmers who use it to feed their livestock, Pasalacqua shared. 

The remaining liquid is then boiled and hops is added to it. Hops is what gives beer its bitter flavor. 

After fermenting for two to three weeks, carbonation is added and the beer gets packaged. 

Signature beers at Harper Lane include a New England IPA called Hammer and Saw, a golden ale called Easy Route, and Knucklebuster IPA, a name coined by Pasalacqua, who worked as an auto body technician for 22 years.

Harper Lane already has its Oktoberfest style beer on tap, fittingly called Septemberfest. According to Pasalacqua, Oktoberfest beers hit the market as early as August.

As a business owner, Pasalacqua says his top priorities are consistency, quality and cleanliness. “You clean before, during and after the brew,” he noted.  

At the end of the day, his goal is “to create a unique environment with good vibes,” he said.