Cheers to our Friends

Our regular tap parties have quickly become one of my favorite parts of brewing beer. One year ago we hosted our inaugural tap party a couple of weeks after our first kegging. I stressed over how they would be received and whether anyone would enjoy the craft we had embarked on learning. People did enjoy the beers and after a while I relaxed and began to enjoy the company. Fast forward a year and now we stockpile a few of our newest and best beers to put on tap for our parties. I feel much more confident in what we are making and instead of stressing about what people would think of the beers I am now enjoying our company and at this last party I had a bit of a revelation.

Our parties are open to our friends and family but also to people they want to bring and others who are interested in our brewing escapades. We generally have anywhere from 15-40 people who come out to eat, drink and socialize in our little brewery bar and home. Some of these folks I am lucky to see regularly but others I only see every couple of months when they come out to see what new beers are pouring from our taps and to enjoy the atmosphere. New friendships are forged over the taps, old friendships are toasted to over a pint and I realized we are brewing up something more than just beer, we are brewing community.

Our beer and bar is simply a vehicle that brings together an amazing group of people who come to enjoy what we are creating but more importantly to enjoy conversing, sharing and debating with each other. This last party we had entrepreneurs launching a new drink brand, an upstart brewer building a new brewery, a soon to be New York Times writer, as well as winemakers, architects, cheese makers, nurses, doctors, students, educators and many others from all different of walks of life. Conversations ran the gambit from the simple catchups, to Occupy Oakland, environmental design, tax policy, and the late Steve Jobs. There was a strong feeling of friendship, camaraderie and community all of it lubricated just a bit with our session ales.

Brewing up this community is just as exciting to me as the beers we work so hard on. So here’s my commitment, we are going to work even harder to learn this craft if you will keep coming to enjoy it. We will keep experimenting with new flavors and styles if you bring your stories and opinions with you. We will keep bottling a favor or two for you to take home if you will keep bringing a few more great people with you and if we outgrow this space, well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it….

I can’t wait to host the next party, to tap a few more of our creations, to share incredible conversations and to meet extraordinary new people. We’ll keep making it if you keep coming to enjoy it. Thank you all!

Cheers!