Fast-forward two decades. After years
of outsourcing his paint operation,
Peratt moved it in-house and promptly
won the highly coveted America's Most
Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) trophy with
the very first vehicle he sprayed in his
new paint booth—a 1936 Ford Roadster
known as "The Three Penny Roadster."
His most interesting "first," however, is
the one nobody could have predicted.
Eric is the first hot rod builder to
feature a three-barrel microbrewery
inside his production facility. It's called
Mash Lab Brewing, and for those who
want to enjoy a cold brew while taking
a behind-the-scenes look into a top-
tier roadster building operation, there's
no better place on earth.
"I'm not a brewer, but I had some extra
space in the shop, and I thought it
would be cool to install a brewery with
a giant glass wall in between," explains
Peratt. "You can literally sit and have a
beer while watching us make hot rods.
Plus, it also gives me a shot at running
a secondary business."
Peratt is quick to point out that his
first love is building roadsters, which
is something he has done since he
was bitten by the hot rod bug in high
school. This led to a college degree
in automotive parts and service
management from the University of
Southern Colorado and a career with
General Motors. While working his way
8
