Just as we discussed two weeks ago, this Saturday (a mere two days from now!) we’ll be doing a brewing demo at the Bidwell farmer’s market, on Elmwood and Bidwell.

That long stretch of green? CBW town, baby.

We should be getting there at the crack’o 7:30, preparing to set up and then flexing our brewing muscles until 12 or 1, depending on how smoothly things go. How can they go badly? After all, we’ll just be making a new recipe, outside, in the cold, in a location we’ve never brewed in before, while also trying to hold conversations with any passersby that makes eye contact. It’ll be great!

That’s no sarcasm, either: I’m really looking forward to getting out there and meeting some of you, as well as some new faces. And we may not be entirely in our comfort zone, but neither are we strangers to ‘combat brewing’ in the wild. It should be a good time and we hope to see you there.

Will we have beer? It seems important to address this at every turn, because: no, we will not. Not even samples of our homebrew. Why? Because skating on the edge of legality doesn’t seem like the best idea, and this seems well out of any ‘well maaaybe’ gray area. You’ll get our beer when it’s legal to let you have it, and though we wish we could give it to you beforehand, well, alas.

What will we be making, though? Being true to the ‘community’ in our name, we’re going for a good helping of local ingredients: hops from Urban Roots and hopefully some unmalted rye from Five Points. They’ll be contributing to what Head Brewer Rudy describes as:

My general feeling, after walking through piles of leaves to the bus stop today, is that we should brew a strong-ish fall ale. . . to drink Thanksgiving day while staring out the window at the first snow of the year.

Doesn’t that make your mouth water? I know I’m generally in the minority but I love Buffalo, and I love winter, and the thought of snow excites me. Having a wonderful beer to drink during it, one made cooperatively with friends and using local ingredients, well: that’s what CBW is to me.

Shirts!

‘Dan!’ you exclaim. ‘You were talking about t shirts earlier. You even had a picture of Yogurt from Spaceballs and everything!’ You’re right, I did. And guess what? We’re going to have t shirts on Saturday too, if you already know how brewing works, or don’t want to stand outside for too long, or just like t shirts. That’s okay too.

Made by our neighbor Barbara Rowe at Abaca Press, the first CBW t shirt has our logo on the front and an image she created on the back, of a glass of beer and a hop bine. It looks fantastic and due to their very limited quantities should sell out quickly. The blue is CBW only, we’re afraid, but if you see someone wearing it you can be sure that they’ll be friendly and will talk about beer for hours on end. The brown is what will be on sale for $15 at the market, and let’s be honest: anyone wearing one of those will also be friendly and will talk about beer for hours on end.

Will we see you there? Oh, please say yes!