Home in

brewery

on HGTV

Sunday

By KEVIN SWEENEY

Journal Editor

NEW ULM -- Home & Garden Television Network's (HGTV) show "Building Character" focuses on commercial buildings that have been renovated into living space. It was only a matter of time before they came looking for Dave Harmening, who lives in the former Hauenstein Brewery.

HGTV sent a crew from Minneapolis to the Hauenstein Brewery this August to do a feature on Harmening. The program will air this Sunday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.

Harmening purchased the Hauenstein Brewery in 1993 and has spent a lot of time, money and sweat equity on converting the tall brick tower on the south end of town from a deserted brewery building inhabited by pigeons and other varmints into a home where he lives with his wife, Jean.

On the program, Harmening will give a televised tour of the brewery building and the property, and detail the efforts that went into making it habitable -- including hauling away 13 truckloads of animal waste and carcasses that had accumulated over the 23 years it stood vacant, after Grain Belt Beer bought the brewery and sold the label to a Sleepy Eye firm in 1970.

Harmening spent two years working on the building before taking up residence.

The building, which once contained the brewing vats, has an 8,000 square foot basement, and a 2,500 square foot apartment at the top where the Harmenings live. Harmening calls it the "caretaker's quarters."

The tower stands back a few blocks from Broadway and is visible against the green, wooded hillside from New Ulm's main throughway.

HGTV associate producer Liz Lovern heard about the Hauenstein Brewery while searching the Internet for likely subjects. She contacted Harmening to see if he'd be interested in being featured.

The shooting on site was done by an independent camera crew from Minneapolis, led by Lynn Anderson, producer, who conducted the interviews while Brian Lundy shot the video and Scott Buckley handled the sound.