Monday 9/9
We have set some additional appointments that brings us within the final sprint of accepting unsolicited investment. This is a big deal as it will take the project from moving at a decent pace to moving at a rocket pace. Very big when considering our opening goals and the work needed to get to that point.
Sunday 9/8
We hit 1600 likes on Facebook which is excellent. The support from the community has been excellent and appreciated. This number is indicative of the excitement and enthusiasm we see on a daily basis. Thanks to everyone for each like and share on Facebook, each one helps spread the word.
Overall though we had an off day and recovery. We had what we perceive as an incredibly successful inaugural event at Saturday's Tanglefoot BrewFest. Of the reported 250 people in attendance, we sold approximately 65 shirts, likely more had we not sold out of a few sizes. The feedback on the available beers was excellent as well, making for a very successful first event.
Saturday 9/7
Our first event, the Tanglefoot Brewfest! An excellent time, a successful first showing, and a day with only a few small hiccups, though they didn't seem small at the time.
We (Barry, Jan, Rachel, and myself) want to thank everyone who helped us on Saturday: Ryan Weik, Jeremy and Jenny Bell, Emily Dunn, Justin Lammert, Geoff Baker, Kyle Anderson Train Mayer, Matt Basler, and Doug at Brew & Wine Supply in Hillsboro. In addition, a big thanks to everyone who came out, tried our beer, bought any swag, or just expressed excitement about what we're doing. At the end of the day, this is a project that we want the community involved in, and so far we couldn't be happier.
Friday 9/6
A very busy day preparing for Saturday's BrewFest. We started the day meeting Kyle Anderson from Oasis Sign and Detail to pick up our banner. We also were supposed to have our glasses delivered but found out they were shipped on a FedEx semi, meaning we had to meet the driver at an easier location than a dead-end road (my house), just throwing another wrench in an otherwise crazy day.
We also went on a search for the right copy paper for the beer lists, only to find it at Jo-Ann's Crafts...along with the fabric pens we planned to use to number the shirts from 1-100 (every shirt we produce will be limited). This find at the craft store was a relief after striking out at a few other local establishments.
We had to head to the The Brew and Wine Supply Shop in Hillsboro to grab a few odds and ends from Doug and grab his donation to the event (a full Homebrew starter kit, which was well received at the festival).
We had a ton of other small odds and ends to do...like add the coffee to the porter, finish carbing any beer that may be lower than we had liked, finalize some design work, and get ready for the demo brew on Saturday.
Oh, and we released our new branding and identity via Facebook...making for a crazy day.
Thursday 9/5
More preparations for the BrewFest...taking a decent portion of the day. We also spent a good portion of the day discussing our first business cards and the upcoming branding release that came our on September 7th.
Wednesday 9/4
Met with our very talented designer (sister and daughter) Fran Foster from CMYF to pour the carbonated beers for the first time. We wanted to get an initial taste for upcoming tasting notes, pictures of the beers, and an idea of designs for each beer name. Everything went very well, the pictures turned out excellent as did the tasting notes.
We also met with the two guys helping with brewing, Jeremy Bell and Ryan Weik. Both are instrumental in our pilot batches, the community brew day, and the brewing demo at the upcoming festival. Both help on their own time, providing good advice, feedback, and general help on any busy brew day. They both came over to try the beers for Saturday, discuss the results, and any changes we wanted to make for to the pumpkin beer to be brewed at the festival. Overall, we all were very pleased with the beers.
Tuesday 9/3
After this busy week, it's hard what exactly went down on Tuesday. I can make easy assumptions...working on brand and image identity, carbonation of the beers, and investment stuff. For the last two weeks, these three things were worked on every day for more than a few hours...
