In Which We Kick the Casket

Hello there! What's that you say? It's been a dang ol' while since we've released a new beer? And we should maybe release several new beers over the course of this week (and next week, for that matter)? Well dang, you're right! It has been a dang ol' while and et cetera, so we're gonna do all that stuff I said! ​

And first up is technically not a "new" beer but it's the first one on the list and that's cask! And this time around we have a Very Special Cask and we're callin' it Kick the Casket! And to the layman this cask might appear to be Extra Naked all "goosed up" with a fistful of MI Copper (because it is), but to the eye with brains, it's a cask that was made to celebrate the nuptials of Friends of the Brewery (one of whom is an Employee of the Brewery, but that's neither here nor there) Landon and Betty and we'll be tappin' this cask in their honor on Thursday and pourin' it all weekend (they're having a wedding-related party here on Saturday) and anyway we're sure going to raise a glass to the happy couple, so get yourself some and toast a toast!

And while we're talkin' about cask, we might as well mention that we've got a cask goin' to NERAX! Which is this weekend! And the good folks at NERAX took the concept of "Gentleman's Friday"* and extended it by an extra day which means that it starts today (Wednesday) and runs through the weekend (we'll be there for the industry session on Friday and we might be there embarrassing ourselves thoroughly at the evening session that very same day) and if you're not "in the know" on what NERAX is it's pretty much the best fest around because it's less "drinking two ounce pours out of a plastic cup in a field and/or parking lot" and more "drinking imperial pints of cask beer (which was specifically imported for the event) in a place whose vibe is somewhere between 'VFW' and 'church basement.'" Anyway the point is we're gonna have a cask of Shut Up Kelly there (a cask we fortified with some cherry-liqueur-soaked oak chips, no less) and it's gonna be tasty (most of the casks will be tasty) and you should go drink some! ​

Anyway enough talkin' about other super fun places to get beer, let's talk about beer you can get at our super fun taproom! Anyway the first new beer we've got in-house, which is available on draft right now, is Supergroup! It's an IPA and we made it because, well, we wanted an IPA (there's not always a big story behind everything) and so we took a handful hops that had been recent favorites (MI Rakau, BRU-1, Zappa, those sorts of hops) and threw 'em all into this beer and it's tasty as heck and you should drink some! 

And speaking of new beers, only this time ones with stories attached to them, we've got another new beer comin' out! And this one's got a story attached to it! See, Chris (the owner of Light of Day Records, the record shop that's in our taproom) wanted to do a big to do about Record Store Day (more on that in a minute), and the main way we do a big to do about things around here is to brew a beer about them, so we brewed a beer about Light of Day and we're releasing it for Record Store Day! It's a nice 'n bright hoppy saison that's laser focused on the new-to-us hop Pekko which is nice 'n fruity and maybe a little herbal (which is - somewhat accidentally - completely on-style for a saison) and anyway it's tasty as heck and it's gonna be available in cans Saturday. Anyway, it's tasty and you should come have some with us! ​

And speaking of new things around the taproom, though not about beer this time, we've got a buncha cool new swag! We've got some new stickers kickin' around and we stocked up on cool buttons (only $1 each)!

Anyway we've also got a ton of cool events lined up for you (many of which have a food pairing!) so here we go! 

On Wednesday we're hosting a Sip & Script Calligraphy Class, so if you wanna learn to write letters all fancy-like while sipping some suds, come on by! Classes include all the supplies you'll need, so just bring a headful ideas and a willingness to learn and/or drink! 

Then on Thursday Matt's hosting stoner trivia! He's gonna be gettin' into the groove with the nitty-gritty on many peoples' favorite plant (including lots of cultural references, I'm sure) and the lucky winners will win some special prizes** and it's gonna be a ton of fun and also it wouldn't be a stoner-themed event without snacks so we've got Seabiscuit up in the house serving up some of their delicious-ass hand pies and it's gonna be a ton of fun! 

And moving on to Friday we've got a pre-Record-Store-Day event and that's Beer & Vinyl Pairing! You'll get a flight of beer and Chris (remember Chris? Our vinyl guy? From a few paragraphs ago, and also just in general?) will play some "deep cuts" off of records that pair well with the beers and there's sure to be some super interesting anecdotes thrown into the mix (at least, there always have been when we've gone) and it's completely a good time! And to "sweeten the deal" we'll also have El Barbon Tacos in the taproom all evening (regardless of whether you bought a ticket to the event) and their food is mighty tasty, so come on out! ​

And then on Saturday we're doin' up a big ol' shindig for Record Store Day! We're not gonna be opening at the damn crack of dawn so vinylheads (or whatever they're called) can paw through our stuff, but we ARE gonna be setting up the biggest damn vinyl dollar bin you've ever seen and there's gonna be an all-vinyl DJ layin' down some "sets" or whatever and we're gonna have Seabiscuit BACK in the house because their food is hella good and also we're gonna have a whole shitload of Exclusive Record Store Day Vinyl but you probably already figured that part out (it's... it's a pretty important component of this whole thing) and anyway we're gonna be hangin' all day and you should join us!

And then next week we've got a packed and stacked lineup fulla fun stuff! Next Wednesday we've got a Bonsai Bar Workshop in the taproom that everybody really seems to dig (we haven't been able to do this one yet)(no pun intended) and then next Thursday we've got our Monthly Comedy Showcase (get tickets!) which is genuinely hilarious*** every month and this month is sure to bring just as many chuckles and/or guffaws and/or cowabungas and then next Saturday we're doin' our monthly Band Hangouts (yeah, I know, it's weird that it's on a Saturday instead of a Friday) and we're featuring The Red Chord and Brain Famine and Bonginator (all of whom completely rip) and also two of the guys in The Red Chord wanted to do "Obnoxious Trivia" so we're giving them the mic for a little while (yeah, I know it's weird to do trivia on a Saturday and not a Thursday) and we've been explicitly told by friends of the band that it's a "bad idea" to give those two a mic, so that will definitely get interesting and also we're rereleasing Fixation On Red Ale, the beer we brewed for The Red Chord for last year's Decibel Beer & Metal Fest (we've gotten several requests to bring it back, generally from their vocalist) and anyway all of that is gonna be hella fun!

Oh! And! Since I mentioned Decibel Fest, I wanted to give a shoutout to all the friends (new and old) that we saw at Decibel Fest this past weekend! It was completely a blast and the crew at Decibel are really just excellent about making us feel right at home and we got to hang with a ton of cool people and anyway if you haven't been to that fest you should totally go and if you have been to the fest, next time let's shotgun some beers in the pit and see what happens.

* Thursday. And, of course, the term "gentleman" is intended as gender-neutral. 
** No, we're not giving you weed. We're not allowed to. Weed paraphernalia on the other hand...
*** Honestly, "low-hype comedy show in the side room at a brewery" is something I would probably pass over if I saw it happening elsewhere, but Erin finds some really funny comedians for this so I'm happy to be proven wrong. ​