The first two weeks of August saw two events with CBW in the wild. People came, they saw, they signed up for our mailing list. It was an incredible amount of fun, but we’re now retreating back into our bunker. We’ll still be around, of course, but at this point there aren’t any public events planned until after we’re open. This is both disheartening — we like you folks! — and exciting, since it’s not really that far away.

Although, after I wrote that I did think of one event in the future. But now is not the time for that.

Dan (me) and Greg at the Brewfest. Photo by Dan Magnuszewski

It’s hard to overstate how much I enjoy these events. They’re exhausting, to be sure, and by the end I’m sure I’m saying our spiel in the same robotic tone I adopted during my time as a Mighty Taco cashier. They’re important, though, and not just because it helps spread the word of our impending arrival on the Buffalo beer scene. It also lets us talk to you, the people who will be buying our beer. Last Saturday was our third time at Bidwell, and there were some people who stopped by for the third time to see how we were doing. Far more people had still never heard of us.

I got to talk to a woman at the Brewfest who was adamant both that we make a session beer and distribute to Riverside. “They’re thirsty,” she said. Rudy’s mild is fantastic, and so I hope it sees the light of day eventually, and while we won’t be in Riverside initially it certainly is close to our base of operations, so it shouldn’t be long. Then there was the man at Bidwell I had a great conversation with about yeasts. Some fans of Craft Beer Talk — currently off the air, but with plans to return sooner rather than later — stopped by and chatted with Ethan.

These events reinforced in my mind what I’ve known all along: it’s not just about making money. Money is good: please give us money! We need that to eat and stuff. But it’s also about the people, and being a part of something bigger. I’m damn near antisocial, generally (you’ll notice I’m the blogger and not the public face), but I look forward to meeting people and having conversations with them. Like I said last week: the residents of Buffalo are fantastic people.

Yes, another Brewfest picture. Somebody* forgot to take pictures at Bidwell. * me

Incidentally, about the mailing list: if you signed up before Friday the 12th and didn’t get an email, well, something went wrong and you aren’t actually signed up. It’s possible — probable, even — that I mistyped your email when I entered it in. Dreadfully sorry about that, but there’s a handy dandy form you can use that takes my reading comprehension out of the equation.

Right, done with the mailing list pimping. For now.

Our events had some casualties: our t shirts. The original design sold out at the Brewfest, as we saw all three XLs taken away to new homes. Then at Bidwell we sold the last medium shirt of our current design. That’s right: no more mediums! Well, except in women’s cut. Hopefully those of you who need that size have it already. If not, uh, sorry. We have plenty of larges left! We suggest an extra piece of pie after dinner, paired with a barleywine, to help you fill it out.

Now that we’re done parading around in public and getting messy eating a pork sandwich, what are we working on? The Federal TTB license is done with, and so it’s on to the state. Our application should be filed soon, and then they can work on processing it while we focus on our brewery buildout. It’s time to turn our house into a home.