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Meat Friends? Meat Friends!

7/25/2017

Hello friends! It's blog o'clock, and this time around that means meats and cookies and more meats and beer and good times!

Kickin' things off on Thursday we've got the first of two casks of Shut Up Kelly! goin' on tap! And in order to "spice things up" for "those of you" who think that porters "aren't well suited for the dead of summer," we're tossin' in a buncha oak chips that we've been aging in Short Path triple sec! These are basically the same ones we used when we did that cask of Black Witow some months back, and they provided a pretty pronounced oak punch that we think will add hella depth to Kelly!

Then on Friday we've got Sillari's back in the house for more Summer Nights goodness, and this time they're bringin' back wings! In case you missed it last time (when we went through a kind of silly amount of chicken in a pretty short amount of time), they'll be servin' up jumbo wings with two delicious flavor options: Shut Up Kelly! barbecue sauce, or their house-made buffalo sauce (which has been called "the perfect buffalo sauce" by at least one unaffiliated party).

And on Saturday we're bringin' in a double whammy of sweet and savory: new-to-us Tara Leigh Cakes will be slingin' the sweets inside with a delightful array of French macarons, and Moody's Deli will be settin' up their smoker outside to bring you all the burnt ends, sausages, and charcuterie you hungry folks can handle! Plus! We'll be tappin' another Kelly cask - this time with triple sec oak chips and single origin cocoa nibs!

Lastly, and slightly off-topic from Weekend Meat Times, those of you who enjoy reading about us on websites other than this one will be chuffed to see that Boston Voyager just put up an interview about our Inspiring Story! Go check it out!

In Which We Shine a New Light on Some Old Favorites

7/18/2017

Well hello! It's time again for us to help you beat the heat with some treats to eat and good taste for your mouth!

First and/or foremost, this Thursday marks the release date of our hundredth batch! And rather than going for some high-concept, too-clever-for-our-own-good kind of nonsense (which, if we're being honest, is almost definitely what we would have done if we were better at planning ahead), we piled up a bunch of our favorite ingredients and threw those in! In this case, that means Maine-grown malt from Blue Ox, a heapin' helpin' o' hops from Four Star Farms, and a buncha house-made candi syrup to give that dry finish that we're oh-so-fond of!

And to celebrate this modestly auspicious occasion, we're doing the same thing we always do on Thursdays! There's gonna be pizza from Sillari's and a cask of Extra Naked (dry hopped with Green Machine)!

Then on Friday we've got Sillari's slingin' sausage! They'll be settin' up shop and sellin' house-made Italian sausages with pickled veggies from five 'til ten!

And on Saturday we've got SoKrispee back in the taproom with some sweets (protip: we found out that Krispee treats make a pretty incredible ice cream sandwich, but you gotta provide your own ice cream)! And as a definitely-not-coincidental beer pairing, we went and threw a bunch of peachy smellin' Idaho 7 into a cask of Extra Naked and that's goin' on tap right at noon!

And for those of you who like to look a little farther into the future, some real bona fide plans are falling into place for our birthday bash and it is shaping up to be one helluva day! There'll be fancy beers and outdoor drinkin' and grilled meats and ice cream and we've got some Instro-tainment lined up for your listenin' pleasure! Check out what we've planned for you wonderful people (and our own entertainment):

SPECIAL BEER RELEASES // ALL DAY
Jollybringer // Joybringer Tripel, aged in SPD Triple Sec barrels
Beer of Truth // Strong Ale cellared for six months
Fermento-Tainment! // Weisstronauts-inspired bitter
(plus whatever the hell else we happen to have on draft)

SNACKS // 12-6 PM
Alex's Ugly Sauce, Fat Boyfriend Bakery, and Top Shelf Cookies!

To keep your noshin' muscles busy while we're waitin' for the main course, Alex from Alex's Ugly Sauce will be tingling your tastebuds with hot sauce flights to celebrate all the folks that have donated to Hot Sauce Nation over the last year!

We've also convinced the wonderful people behind Fat Boyfriend Bakery to make us beer-infused ice cream! We'll be slingin' ice cream sandwiches made to order with Top Shelf Cookies! Exact flavors are TBD, but you know they'll be delicious!

PIG ROAST // 3-6 PM
We're puttin' on our version of a Southern BBQ! Sillari's Pizza will be roasting two pigs onsite, served with made-from-scratch BBQ and hot sauce (made from our beer, duh). Sides will include baked beans, garden salad, and street corn. The pig should be ready around 3pm and we'll be slingin' meats until we run out!

LIVE MUSIC // 5-7 PM
The Weisstronauts are one of our favorite local bands! Their music is upbeat and quirky and makes us smile (if you're not familiar with them, they're kinda tough to describe - think surf/psychedelic instrumental rock)... perfect for an end of summer sendoff! We'll even be brewing a special beer to pair with their new album!* They'll be playing two sets starting around 5pm.

Photo credit Matt Darcy / @bananamasher

We're taking over the parking lot and will have outdoor pouring stations and standing areas in addition to regular taproom service, so there will be plenty of room for all (outdoor areas will be friendly to those on leashes and/or in diapers)! We're workin' on some other fun surprises and goodies for you guys - you've all been so supportive, enthusiastic, and wonderfully weird this past year and we want to throw you the best party ever!

RSVP on Facebook (if you use Facebook) to stay updated on Future Fun Times as our plans evolve. Our just keep reading this blog. You know how we love to talk about Fun Times.

*We've paired their music with our beer before, and we think it'll be fun to reverse the exercise! Whether or not they will agree with our decisions remains to be seen...

100!

7/11/2017

Howdy all! We got some lookin' back and lookin' forward to do this week, but we ain't gonna make you suffer through all that navel gazin' before we lay out what we got on deck for the weekend!

On Thursday we're tappin' the first of two casks of Madeline the Destroyer! The first one up has a hefty handful of house favorite hop: comet! And if this cask is anywhere near as tasty as the draft version,* it's liable to be gone before we know it!

Then on Friday we got Sillari's comin' through with some new summertime eats for you! This time around they're rollin' in with wings served up in Shut Up Kelly! barbecue sauce!

And if wings ain't your thing, on Saturday we got Formaggio Kitchen dishin' up a beer and cheese pairing! Plus, we're tappin' the second cask of Madeline and this one's fortified with a moderately unreasonable amount of Galena!

Then on Sunday we're right on back to the basics with beer and board games and pretzels and pinball and patio times (plus pooches, if we're lucky). Not bad for a day's relaxin', if we do say so ourselves.

But enough about all the fun things we got goin' on this weekend. As the more astute** of you have noticed, we've gone two whole weeks without some kind of Major Milestone, which means we must be due. And you'd be right for thinking so, because just last week we brewed our hundredth batch!

This might not sound like a lot (because it isn't), but it's a pretty big deal to us - we were fully prepared to spend our first couple years in business as a weird little brewery in the middle of nowhere that nobody really knew about*** but we were incredibly, wonderfully wrong. We've been goin' full bore since we opened our doors and we got to meet a ton of cool people (many of whom came back! With friends!) and bring on an awesome staff and partner up with a whole heap o' kickass companies out in Food Land. It's been a hell of a time, one we couldn't have done it without any of you, and we're just gonna keep on keepin' on for as long as we can keep this train rollin'.

Anyway, we thought it would be fun to "run the numbers" on the first hundred batches, so here goes:

Number of batches brewed: 100 (duh)
Number of different beers brewed: 39
Percentage of batches that were either Wasted Life or Key Lime: 38

Amount of time, in months, we originally thought it would take for us to get this far: 25
Actual amount of time, in months: 14

Total grains used, in pounds: 21,534
Total hops used, in pounds: 425.867

Number of times Jared burned off all his arm hair while lighting one of our big ridiculous burners: 35
Number of times our big ridiculous burners have set off the sprinkers for no reason: 1
Number of times the fire department has shown up: 4
Number of times this fact has made our insurance provider very nervous: 12

Number of Cease & Desist letters received: 1

Number of hot sauces we had on hand at the start: like two
Number of hot sauces we have now, thanks to the generous patrons of Hot Sauce Nation: 52

Number of cheese pairings we've come up with for our beers: 47
Number of pairings that were individually-wrapped "cheez-type" products: at least four

Number of music pairings we've come up with for our beers: 98
Number of times anybody has noticed said music pairings: 4

Number of beers named after pets so far: 1
Number of beers named after children: 1
Number of children who were not amused by this: 1

Number of Secret Hippos in the taproom when we started brewing: 1
Number of Secret Hippos in the taproom now: 4 or 5, depending on the weather

* Protip: we're actually running low already, so you might wanna get while the gettin's possible
** Hi Jo and Jarod!
*** Which, depending on how you look at it, still isn't entirely incorrect.

Gettin' Trivial All Up Ins

7/4/2017

Oh hi there! I hope you stopped by to read about casks and trivia, because that's what we got goin' on this week!

Prepare yourself to give a nigh-imperceptible nod of approval as you show the slightest hint of a smile (which we're pretty sure is the English equivalent of a touchdown dance) as we announce the much anticipated (by our British friends.* Both** of them) cask release of our mild: Ruby Rye! We may not be experts on the style, but we've heard from reputable sources that Ruby hits all the right spots: it's easy to drink; it's low enough in ABV that you can have a few; it's, um, mild. Kind of brownish. You know, all that good stuff!

Plays well with others

Seriously though, this is a beer we can*** drink by the gallon, and we're heck of stoked to try it in a context that makes it even easier to drink in quantity. Better still, we're tappin' this cask of Traditional**** British Ale on the same day that we're hosting a trivia night focused on good ol' American Rock 'n' Roll!

That's right, we've got Nefarious Realm swingin' through to present another installment of Audio Triviality tomorrow night! There'll be tunes and good times and pizza and prizes and (if last time is any indication) a surprising number of questions about Paula Abdul! It's sure to be a good time, and it's not like you were gonna get anything done at work this week anyway, so you might as well swing on through!

Think you got the rock chops for this?

Then on Friday we've got Sillari's swingin' back through with more summertime snacks! This time around they're bringin' back their house-made hot dogs and pork rinds, and we feel the need to warn you: last time Sillari's brought hot dogs, people liked them so much that they sold out. Twice!

Apparently y'all have an insatiable desire for tube steak.

And as an added bonus for an already snacktacular day, Frozen Hoagies will be slingin' sweet treats in the form of their signature ice cream sammies and boy howdy are they tasty! We even heard talk of a special Bone Up inspired flavor (which remains a mystery, even to us), so you should come on down and end your week with these summer treats!

Speakin' of snackin' (though let's be serious, when aren't we talking about snacks), we got some food news that we been sittin' on and just itchin' to tell y'all for a little while now! For those of you who have enjoyed the pretzels we serve on weekends, have you ever noticed that the mustard they're served with is straight-up tasty as heck? And have you ever wanted to take home a bunch, but would have felt weird asking us for like fifty of those sample cups? Well we done fixed that for ya - now you can get jars of Shut Up Kelly! Beer Mustard made special for us by our magical friends over at Cauldron Fermented Foods! If that's not a reason to throw a condiment party then I don't know what is.

ABV: 2.5%.

* Hi John!
** Hi Ian!
*** And do!
**** As traditional as we tend to get, anyway.

Meat Friends? Meat Friends!

In Which We Shine a New Light on Some Old Favorites

100!

Gettin' Trivial All Up Ins

BUBco Blog

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