Mid-week round up
I have to say, it’s been a very frustrating start to the week. We’ve sold a lot of beer out of FP Winner’s warehouse over the last couple of weeks and The Ale House had a great week last week and we ended up stocking the pub with 24 kegs, 8 sixtels, 2 firkins and 2 kilderkins over a seven day period! So, it was always going to be a busy week (we’re brewing Amber, Ironman, Old Habit and Red Ales) but the planets have aligned just so to add maximum inconvenience to the mix! Monday was kegathon day as we spent the day processing and kegging beer for delivery to the warehouse. Of course when the truck had arrived the tail lift was broken so the driver had to return to the warehouse and dispatch another truck. Ho hum. That sort of set the tone for the week! Slightly more serious in nature, the glycol system failed (again!). Ho hum. Fortunately all the fermentations had been crash cooled over the weekend but we needed it up and running again as soon as possible for this weeks brews. Even as that was being repaired one of the conditioning tanks that I had prepped to receive beer started to leak so I had to abandon that tank and swap around an extra batch to free up another tank. Ho hum. I’ve managed to find a gasket which looks like it will do the job, so fingers crossed it holds out today as we’re maxed out on tank space. This morning has also been “fun”. It’s so windy out back of The Ale House that the wind has been blowing down the flu of the brew kettle and extinguishing the pilot light of the brew burner. Ho hum. I’ve re-lit it some 10 times already! So, if you’re ever in the dining room here and look down into the brewery and see either Justin or myself sprawled across the floor with our head seemingly stuck under the brew kettle we’re (probably) not trying to end it all by gassing ourselves, we’re just trying to light the bloody pilot light! I wait with baited breath to see what will happen tomorrow! Being a brewer is not quite as glamorous as it might seem! Here’s something I saw on the Flying Dog website advertisement for a brewery position:
Working Conditions:
Brewer needs to be able to work on their feet for over eight hours at a time, repeatedly lift up to 55lbs, work in extreme temperatures for extended periods of time, in loud production environments, with chemicals of varying composition, work from heights, work in damp and wet areas and work in confined spaces.
That about says it all really!
O.K., I’ll stop whinging now, just needed to get that out of my system.
Tickets are selling well for the Real Ale Festival on March 20th. If you haven’t already got yours I suggest you move quickly. Check out www.spbw.org/springraf/ for details. As well as the firkins we’ll have set up upstairs our three cask ales at the bar will be included in the festival. As with the September festival you’ll be able to fill up a growler of any beer left in the firkins at the end of the festival for a low price of $5 so bring a growler with you (or we can supply a growler for a small charge). Food specials will be available for festival attendees.
If you’re in the DC area check out ChurchKey for more Best Bitter and the Brickskeller will also have the Best Bitter and Oak Aged 3 Lions on cask in the near future. Closer to home look out for the Biere de Garde and Strongman Pale Ale @ Max’s and the Three Spires on cask @ Metropolitan on March 11th.
Ah, 10am, must be time to sample the Bishop’s Indulgence!
Cheers
Steve
Yikes. You weren’t lying last night…
ugh that’s a rough few days.