As the jobless rate climbed toward 10 percent this summer, Erica Shea and Stephen Valand, quit their advertising jobs, took $10,000 in personal savings and started selling their 1-gallon home brew beer kits from a stand at the Brooklyn Flea Market, testing the theory that beer is recession proof...
Personal commentary: they worked in advertising, live in Brooklyn, and in a crappy economy the QUIT their jobs to do THIS?!
...Valand said in September online sales through their website - www. brooklynbrewshop.com - surpassed in-person sales at the market for the first time and the couple would like to drive more traffic there, but know that entails a major revamp of the site. In addition Shea said they are also looking to get the kits into retail stores in time for the Christmas rush. That will likely entail hiring more people to do the packaging to free up their time to devote to marketing the product better.
"Our challenges as we continue to grow the business are time and space. There's only so many hours in a day that you can be doing things and there are so many ideas that come up that we really want to pursue, but ultimately there are two of us and we get tired."
via Reuters.com
Can I order a kit from KC to send to someone in Brooklyn? Heh. Guess what my brother & sister in law are getting for this holiday? They'll be thrilled, I am sure. Especially when they find out that brewing inside makes the kitchen smell like dog food.
Raise your glass for a Guinness Toast! The famous Guinness story began in 1752 when Arthur inherited 100 pounds from his godfather. It wasn't until three years later that 34-year-old Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease for his new Dublin brewery 250 years ago on September 24, 1759, and began brewing stout, a very dark beer the world knows and loves today.
It's our anniversary,
Made for you and me and
I've only made plans
To hold your little hand
It's our anniversary (anniversary)
Happy Four Year Blog-a-versary to us, little blog & me. The official 4th anniversary suggestions are fruit or flowers. The only fruit beers we can stomach here at a beer sort of blog are Magic Hat #9, and Dogfish Head's Punkin Ale. I'm ordering some of each.
I have been looking for events in the KC area for Craft Beer Week, coming up May 11-17. So far all I have found are the Boulevard events, posted to their FB page. Even BeerAdvocate has let me down. Anyone else have an idea on what else might be going on?
Monday, May 11
Boulevard Smokestack Sampling
O'Dowd's Little Dublin (Plaza location)
http://www.odowdslittledublin.com/
Tuesday, May 12
Boulevard Beer Dinner
Grinder's (Crossroads)
7 pm $30 per person
Call 816-472-5454 for reservations.
So here another reason you should most def hit Waldo for St. Pat's tomorrow. Kennedy's is open again, in their shiny new awesome space! (Thanks to BullEVard)
Check out their Facebook page, with pics.
I wanted to say again that I love this day. I do. But not how others love this day. I don't get crazy, start fights, participate in drunken drama, puke, scream, or otherwise become an asshat on St. Patrick's Day. I don't drink or eat anything dyed green. I take cabs everywhere because I am afraid to risk my car getting hit by a moron. I am not, as you should know, some ridiculous amateur. And it is almost amateur hour again.
But I WILL be eating an Irish breakfast, perhaps cooking up some boxty options for lunch @work, maybe with Guinness floats, and enjoying the little authentic Irish music to be found here & there.
Need info on the parade route? Go here.
Here is the website for Lew's Irish Hooley, where I will be in the afternoon.
Here's my little lecture on being safe.
Here are my favorite Irish brews.
Have fun!
I like to keep things simple, so I don't have a long list. I am putting them here to keep myself honest, to check in on from time to time. Resolutions are very easy to make and very difficult for me to keep.
Happy New Year!
I love fresh starts, new beginnings, clean slates and alla that. I love shiny happy hopeful opportunities, inspirational quotes, and the like. So when I wake up tomorrow, hungover or not, I will remember that I have 365 days, 52 weeks, 12 months, or however you like to look at it, all clean and blank and stretched out before me to make amazing. Before I snarl at anyone and bitch and moan about how bad I may or may not feel, I will lay in bed and remember that it's a new day and a new year and it will be as awesome and amazing I allow it to be.
K, had enough sunshine blown up your wazoo? Have a marvelous time tonight, doing whatever you do, and remember, Holiday Cab is back up & running in KC. Call 816-777-1115 for a safe ride home. Driving around on NYE is a bad idea, no matter what. Morons. You know. I will stick to drinking beer tonight. Last time I drank anything else it was a bad plan. V. bad plan. Am grounded from red bull and vodka for life, I am sorry to say.
Lee is in town, Lee is in town! Freezing his mild Texas behonkey off in our sub-zero climate, I am sure. He's going to be at McCoy's tonight. Sadly, I will not be at McCoy's tonight. :( If you see Lee, tell him I said hi, and I'll catch him another eve. With beer. I promises.
Tonight my co-workers and I are embarking on what sounds like a Very Bad Idea. We're doing a pub crawl, on a Monday night, as our own little holiday party. All full-time employees and all contract field staff are welcome to attend. We're starting at the office, and heading out into the frigid night around 6 ish. This is what the work fridge looks like right now. Boulevard Pale Ale, Schlafly & Breckenridge Christmas Ales, and a little Hoegaarden, not to mention the Bailey's, Bud Light, Jose Cuervo margaritas, or the bottles of random booze below. I heard that someone is bringing their own 30 pack of Busch Light. A little something for everyone, then. The little mustard bottle looks a little out of his element, don't you think?
I think I may be breaking the law. I bought a bottle of both Boulevard's Saison Brett and Bourbon Barrel Quad, wrapped them in 900 layers of paper, and shipped them off to my brother & sister in law in NYC. I just placed them in the care of the US Postal Service tonight, using the self-service kiosk at my post office so no postal worker could detect my guilty red face when they ask if the package contains any liquids and I say "NO!" Considering the current temperatures, I am taking bets on the likelihood of both bottles arriving in whole condition, with no explosions, breakage or leaking.
I bought a sixer of Pyramid's Snow Cap Ale last week, and I am a fan. It is a winter-warmer ale, and has an ABV of 7%, so I never drank more than one at a time. The Pyramid sites says:
A rich, full-bodied winter warmer crafted in the British tradition of holiday beers. This deep mahogany colored brew balances complex fruit flavors with a refreshingly smooth texture, making Snow Cap a highly drinkable and desirable cold weather companion.
Beer Advocate members rate it as a solid "B," not amazing, but not bad. I gave it an "A-." It's smooth, malty, toffee-coffee goodness, with a tiny bit of spiciness. It is good. I dig it. I love amber, malty, yummy goodness meant for chilly evenings. And I am extremely happy that I didn't pick up the Shiner holiday brew instead. Even though Lee is a fan, I can guarantee I wouldn't have the same reaction. Me & fruity beers just are not a match.
I got ANOTHER tasty present in the mail this month, from the PR company that does work for Newcastle. I appreciate presents. Who doesn't?! So I'll tell you all about what I got, and I am going to offer my personal 2 cents on the whole thing.
Every now & then the life of a beer blogger includes a good smack on the forehead with the realization that you simply forgot about a brand of beer. Like wiped it out of your memory. Like it was one of your gateway beers in the 90's, when you were labeled a snob for not drinking frat party keg beer, and you haven't tasted it since. Newcastle, Fat Tire, and JW Dundee's Honey Brown all fall into this category for me.
I received a full 6 pack of Newcastle, along with a few sample tips and pages from Newcastle Brown Ale's Holiday MAN-ual. Meaning it's a manual for men to get thru the holiday season. Tips include how to toast (do tell, don't tell), how gifts say a lot about how you feel about the recipient, personal attire tips (Don't wear a sweater that screams, "Look at me, I'm a walking parade float.") and the basics of hosting a party. The funniest thing, IMO, was their recommendation to include wine & liquor in any party, and not JUST serve Newcastle.
The other pages seemed to be printed off of a master book (the Man-ual) included a recipe for something called a beer-nog shooter (yes, a separated shot of beer & egg nog) and a cheese and beer fondue. The fondue DOES include both bacon and beer, and that's manly, right? I want to know, gentlemen readers, would you really make a fondue for a party at your place?
My feedback is personal, because I work in marketing, in the WOM arena, did interactive advertising for years, and still work with others who do blogger seeding now. I'm outing myself, and possibly limiting future presents of the tasty variety. I apologize to Liz in advance, and DO thank you for the free brews. I enjoyed them, and will definitely post a dedicated review.
I appreciate the sentiment, and probably even the brainstorm that took place somewhere in El Segundo to come up with the idea overall. But the name "Man-ual" strikes manly-man beer connotations for me, more like the MGD audience, not Newcastle's perceived refined, educated target. I also strongly believe that the full MAN-ual really should be living online if bloggers are to leverage it well, with the capability for links, for traffic drivers, to generate more interest from a like-minded audience of beer blog readers. It would have been much more beneficial if it had been further fleshed out. I got super busy, & didn't ask for high res images to post here, although they offered. Maybe it would have helped just to post them to a site, and let bloggers access them if they were willing?
Perhaps I am critical because I only see a small window of the whole effort. I hope the MAN-ual gets more support than this small blogger outreach. I still enjoyed Newcastle Brown Ale more than anything else in my fridge, and I PROMISE to post a dedicated review of the beer soon.
So, who wants to go to Colorado with me before it gets snowy? The "Napa Valley" of beer is Colorado. Denver ranks first in the nation in beer production per capita and second in the number of breweries. There are more than 100 breweries statewide. Breweries include Coors, Anheuser-Busch, Rockies Brewing Co, Bristol, Breckenridge, New Belgium, Aspen, Avery, Great Divide, Odell, and more.
The Great American Beer Festival, in Denver hosts thousands of people every September for tastings, live music and entertainment. **correction - it is Oct 9th-11th, per Lee**Brewmasters compete for coveted medals in more than 58 categories. Farther north, visitors can enjoy the Annual Colorado Brewers' Festival, June, in Fort Collins. Enjoy music, food, games, entertainment and beer sampling. Don't miss the Annual Telluride Blues and Brews Festival, every September. This Colorado favorite combines the best brews with the finest in traditional blues music.
The remnants of an irish car bomb in a plastic cup from the hooley I went to yesterday. Gross. How YOU doin'?
I stumbled across this blog today, and I love it. It is also timely what with the white-people-drink-themselves-into-a-coma-holiday coming up and all. It is written by an Irishman living in KC, although at the moment back home visiting family, diligently updating the KC St. Pats 2008 Guide.
Check it out if you need to catch up on the activities round here. About.com has a decent list too. I'll be at the parade, hanging with friends downtown, and wrapping up my day at Lew's Hooley in Waldo. I can only imagine what will be spent in cab fare.
What's the deal with the spelling of hoolie? Is it hooley or hoolie?
Because my mom & dad decided that they couldn't raise their kids in a Catholic household, this conundrum holds no water with me. Thanks Mom & Dad! Attending an Episcopal church (Catholic Lite!) in my formative years is making St. Patrick's Day a non-issue. For those of you actually grappling with this dilemma, I say you are Irish first, Catholic second.
I really am Irish, truly. I don't even have to wear a green t-shirt to prove it. Between 40-50%, in my extremely complex and totally unquestionable estimation. As my brother informed me this evening, we have a duty to celebrate our ethnic holiday. Check.
Happy New Year! Yeah, ok, I am a little late on that. A little late on a lot of things, I am afraid. I still have a Mexico mindset, which apparently means saying "Gracias," to the gas station clerk after receiving my change, and avoiding my endlessly buzzing smart phone by imagining having another something-made-with-tequila and just not worrying about it right now. I had some beer, I did. Sol, Dos Equis, and Tecate. But mostly I stuck to the fruity confections that seemed most appropriate to the locale. See? 
It looks slightly out of place, doesn't it? Like it should be a giant glass rimmed with salt and a slice of lime festively garnishing the side. Not a lonely little beer can, sweating in the sun.
I am sorry that I missed the beer blogger meet up. Hope you all had a blast. When I saw that you guys left me a voicemail, I was half hoping it would be psuedo-drunken slurring. And then I remembered that we're grown ups, and it is just really really nice to be missed. I can't promise no more trips to Mexico, but I am wishing really hard that I get to meet you all for reals sometime.
Whew. Tis the season, eh? I am so tired. We've been everywhere and done everything. Almost. Not counting tomorrow, and 2 families on top of cooking a ham. But at this exact moment, I am sitting in my living room with my youngest brother and his girlfriend and my husband, trying to get the darn Wii set up on the wireless network so we can play Mortal Kombat, drinking stouts and holiday ales. A very large group just vacated the living room to attend church.
I feel terrible that I am still unable to meet up with Lee & Margaret, or Chris. I haven't been able to figure out how to gracefully bow out of family holiday commitments to meet up with beer bloggers. Call it a crisis of priorities. :) But I toast you all tonight. Cheers!
I think that I may be too worn down to beer blog well for now. But here is my holiday card to you all. (Again, on the crappy camera phone. I have asked for a new camera from the Husband, so if he listened, the picture quality will increase over time. ) That is a Four Fingers Stout from Flying Monkey. Flying Monkey is brewed in Olathe, Kansas, in a southwestern suburb of Kansas City, and the smaller brewer in town. Their labels are the best. The stout is dark and sticky and jet black with a dark tan head. This has a tiny bit more of a bite than the blander, Guinness-like stouts of the world. I can't place it. A little nutty, a little roasted, burnt, oatiness, even a little black coffee bite? I am sure someone who reads this can tell me exactly what's in it. But it is tasty, and just what I needed tonight.
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