Friday, April 20.

Cole’s and Mister Goodbar.

Community Beer Works is launching.

Everything seems up to snuff. Get it? No, you're not laughing, I don't think you get it. See, snuff, like sniff. Snuff! Never mind.

Is this exciting enough for you? No? Well, how about we talk about the first two beers we’ll be releasing? Only the first will be available next week. The second will follow soon enough, don’t fret.

Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to introduce you to our pale ale. Meet Frank. Frank is honest. He’s just zis guy, you know? He goes well with pretty much any food. Frank is our flagship beer and we’re proud as hell to be showcasing him next week. He’s under a bit of pressure right now (that is a carbonation joke) but, fear not, will be completely ready in time.

I love pale ales. They might not be exciting or extreme, but they’re tasty. They’re the meat-and-potatoes of the craft beer world. There is literally no time that I would reach for a beer and say “No thanks, I don’t feel like a pale ale now.” A pale ale is unassuming, doesn’t put on airs and is the perfect flagship beer.

Our second beer might catch you from surprise, rumbling from beneath. We’ve talked about a saison since the beginning, and the saison is coming, but instead may we present The Whale, our brown ale.

Having a whale of a time

I think brown ales just might be my favorite style of beer. A hint of sweetness, but not a sweet beer. Some dark malt characteristics but not so much as to be out of place on a hot summer day. While a pale ale is what I drink with dinner, a brown is what I drink afterward while playing a game of Carcassonne.

More information on both these beers, including pictures and maybe even a video or two of us drinking them (just to rub it in) will be coming soon.

I’d like to close with a story from last Saturday. The five of us were there, as we always are, and busily working on tasks. Instead of all putting up insulation or waterproofing or cleaning, we each had our own separate activity. Rudy and Ethan were brewing: brewing, you understand, actually doing it nearly two years after we first gathered in Ethan’s basement to discuss this idea of Community Beer Works. Greg and his cousin-in-law, in for the holiday, were cleaning kegs. Dave was putting together shelves and then filling them with hops or growlers. I was filling boxes with Kickstarter rewards, wrapping glasses with such an obscene amount of bubble wrap that they could, if desired, be used in a pinch as footballs.

All hail his noodly appendage!

My overwrapping was paused, from time to time, as Kickstarter backers walked in for their tours and high fives. (If you’re a Kickstarter backer and haven’t received any mail from us, please let me know and we’ll set up a time for you to come in or will get your stuff to you post haste. Those we haven’t heard from will be receiving packages soon.)

So the day went, us each working on something separate yet related, with pauses to meet people as excited about our idea as we were. I got to show off our brewery, my brewery, fully functional with kettles boiling and fermentation vessels conditioning and kegs prepped for filling. “This conical here,” I said in the afternoon, “was empty this morning. Now it has a barrel and a half of brown ale in it.”

It was an exceptionally satisfying day. I simply cannot wait to share its results with you.