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The cellar is full! That is, we don’t have any empty beer tanks! We have been doing lots of 24 hr brewing to try to get caught up in the last few weeks. This has worked very well, I think we can thank our new assistant, Buckley for all of his work in making ends meet. The main reason for this, other than it is just a good thing, is that both Chris and I are taking vacation in the Summertime, which is normally something that is verboten in our profession. I’ll be gone for a week on RAGBRAI next week, and Chris will be gone for a week in August. I think everything will be fine without me, but I hope that nothing BREAKS while Chris is gone! Unfortunately, there is no way to get caught up on fixes!

It would be nice if it would cool down in August. Brewing in this heat is not cool, heh heh. It was 104 degrees in the brewhouse yesterday, and at 3 am it was still 98 degrees. Yucky!

They are finally done pouring concrete and have started framing our new expansion. Apparently this is all taking longer than anyone thought, but it is a pretty tricky little building to build. There really is nothing like building a brewery, there are many requirements, such as drainage and cooling to consider. The important thing is that they are doing everything right, which is what we need. After all, this building is going to be heavily used, we are sure of that!

Lastly some really good news!

Millie, our malt room kitty, has caught her first mouse! I don’t think anyone caught the monumentous event on film, but we are all so proud of her! Good mouser! She didn’t seem to proud though, mostly she was upset that her new toy was broken.

The Tour De Brew was a great success, despite the incredibly HOT weather. I never did here just how HOT it was, but that was not necessary, because we all could feel just how damn HOT it was! The only good thing was that the still, humid air did not contain any sort of wind, which does make bicycling easier. The heat wave made the ‘refreshment’ stops all that more desirable, like a mirage in the desert, something to fantasize about. Infact, I can say that inbetween North Liberty and Old Highway 6, the thought of a cold beer was about the only thing keeping me going!

We had about 85 people for the ride, which was a sizable jump from last years attendance. The first stop at John’s grocery was quick one, followed by a very nice stay at the Old Capitol Pub and Brewery. Old Capitol was the only Air Conditioned environment, and perhaps a little too inviting. Some people stayed longer than others, and so people on the ride were fairly well scattered. But at each stop everyone would be all caught up, only to get spread out again as the fast drinkers got on their way.

The next stop was at the yard in front of LL Pellings (a cement contractor). We had tried to get the stop in the park in North Liberty, but you know how it is, beer in public spaces gets frowned upon. This lot was grassy and fine, though it could use a bit more shade. Old Capitol Pale Ale was on tap, and it was mighty fine in the summer heat.

The second stop was at the corner of Old Highway 6 and ‘new’ Highway 6. Chris met everyone here with the van full of John’s White Ale. He was even smarter and brought a cold keg of Water, which was actually finished before the beer was!

There was this great couple on a tandem bicycle wearing matching blue outfits. They were always the last ones to every stop (except for the team in pink, who never left Old Capitol at all!) They were definately having a good time!

Thanks so much for TEAM WIMPY and their bus. It only gets a couple miles to the gallon, so we really appreciate their effort. We had several people plop down because of the Heat, and the bus was there to pick them up (and take them to the next beer stop, of course).