Didn’t you just see us? Yes, you did. Or maybe you didn’t. But hey, know what? We’re once again being allowed to show our faces in public. Next Wednesday, the monthly Goodbeer Club at Mister Goodbar on Elmwood is being turned over to CBW.

What is the Goodbeer Club? It’s a monthly shindig where, for $25, you can taste a series of thematically consistent beers with some relevant food. It’s a great way to spend a Wednesday night, especially if you’re just beginning to venture into the world of craft beer. It’s still the only place I’ve had Dogfish Head’s 120 Minute IPA, because I’m too damn cheap to buy a bottle for myself.

This is the place!

To be clear: we are not providing all of the beer for the night. There will be prototype batches of APA and saison, as well as a porter Rudy’s working on, but the majority of the beer will come from other established, operating breweries. Which ones? We’re not ready to divulge that yet. The theme, such that it is, will be one of distinctly American beers. We’re from America! So that makes sense.

“I don’t want to spend $25 to taste your beer,” you say. Well, you won’t be: you’ll be spending $25 to taste other people’s beer, with ours as a bonus, and we and many others I know have been going to these events for a while. They’re a good time. But maybe you don’t have the money, or you’re busy that night, or May 11 is an annual holiday I’m not aware of. That’s cool. We get around, you see, and will be out in public again on Saturday, May 28, once again setting up shop at the Bidwell Farmer’s Market.

As we did last October, we’ll be doing a brewing demo on our homebrew equipment. Rather than a beer we decided to make because it sounded good, we’ll be whipping up a batch of Citra APA. We encourage you to come down and say hi, and also buy some rabbit and really hot salsa and other local wares. You don’t have to buy rabbit; it’s not mandatory. It may not even be encouraged. But you can!

You'll notice Rudy is moving sticks. Even the kids are playing with chalk. What am I doing? Taking a picture. That's right.

That’s the exciting news. I’m going to write about two more bits and then you can go back to your Thursday evening (or whenever it is that you’re reading this). The first is a reminder that this Saturday is Big Brew Day for homebrewers, so you should try to get to Niagara Tradition for their brewing demos and homebrew tasting. Ingredients will be 10% off! You’d be a fool not to. (Seriously, brewing is a great hobby and the demos are a fantastic way to learn)

Finally, last Saturday we took our weekly CBW gathering to the streets, cleaning up some of the area around the brewery. Bushes were trimmed, lawns mowed, vines removed. It was a great day, so nice outside that I forgot that my northern European heritage requires sunscreen, but the mild burn I got was worth it. Most of CBW: The Next Generation was in attendance, running around and playing together, and a family from the neighborhood that was out for a walk stopped to play too. Community is the first word in our name, and we always reiterate how we want to be a part of the community we’re in. Saturday was the first taste of that, and I’m excited. It felt good. I look forward to many more sunny days in our future.