Keep an eye out for these guys

The vision for Four-Eyed Guys Brewing is starting to come into focus.

Owners of the budding Spokane nanobrewery have filed for federal and state licenses to start making and selling their beer.

“We’re just getting the ball rolling,” says Derek Baziotis, a partner in the project along with Alex Rausch and Brian Lollis. “We’re taking it step by step. We’re going to start as small as we possibly can and go from there.”

They’ve already got a head start on the marketing concept. Their motto is “Seeing beer differently,” the logo is a bespectacled hop cone and one T-shirt design is styled after an eye exam chart .

As you might expect, all wear glasses themselves – or did, anyway. “I just got contacts, and Alex said, ‘OK, you’re out,’ ” Baziotis jokes.

That’s not likely, since the operation will launch in a detached shed at his home. They’ll start out with their 10-gallon homebrew system, and do double and triple batches into larger fermenters.

They’re planning to eventually produce four year-round styles – including their first recipe, Hoptometry IPA, which they’re refining – along with more creative seasonal specialties.

“We’re going to throw some flair in there,” Baziotis says. “That’s what it’s all about, having fun with it. We’re the kind of people who get bored doing the same thing over and over.”

While they might operate a small taproom out of the brewing space (along the lines of Millwood’s Badass Backyard), the initial focus will be distributing beer around town for tap takeovers and trivia nights to get their name known.

Longer-range, they’re aiming for a commercial location with a kitchen; both Baziotis and Rausch and their families have restaurant industry experience.

They’re getting plenty of help along the way, Baziotios says, from the likes of Whistle Punk’s Matt Hanson (who’s also started out distributing before opening a taproom), Big Barn’s Craig Deitz and Peter McArthur at Nu Home Brew. “It’s pretty amazing how helpful everybody has been,” he says.