Fullsteam

Well, that was a success!

It was 32’s idea. Less than a month ago, Chris said to me, “I think we should have a homebrewers gathering at Fullsteam on the day of the World Beer Festival.”

Those of you who homebrew know that’s not much time. Thankfully, the region’s homebrewer community is active enough that enough folks had beer available. A few (Jimmy and Erik, perhaps others) got to work right away to have batches ready in time.

First I cleared the idea with the World Beer Festival guru, Daniel Bradford. He thought it was a great complement to the World Beer Festival: his large, well-produced fest specializing in professional beers from around the world; our scrappy super-local festival showcasing homebrew all brewed with a 20-mile radius of the event. We called it the Backyard Beer Festival. I bet you knew that already!

All the work came together on Saturday. We hosted a dozen homebrewers who served two dozen beers…including several of our own. Nearly 300 people attended, and a good (responsible) time was had by all. Beer lovers enjoyed the more intimate venue size. Homebrewers spoke to an engaged audience. No one stuffed a glass in front of a brewer and mumbled, “Gimme your lightest beer.” And we got to test out five Fullsteam beers to a discerning crowd.

Indeed, a perfect (if humble) complement to one of the nation’s best beer festivals.

Two things in particular stand out:

Austin Dowd and Brandy Callanan brought their “New B” IPA and Brown ale to the event. Both were very tasty, of course.  But here’s what’s remarkable: prior to the BBF, these guys had never shared their beer with anyone. They’ve only been brewing five months. To come to a festival and share their beers speaks volumes to their skills, enthusiasm, and bravery!

Michael Sulyi wrote us this very kind email. Incidentally, Mike brought 20 gallons of awesome beer to the event.

Sean and Chris, I just wanted to send you both a personal thanks for hosting and putting on the BBF on Saturday. I had an awesome time to say the least. I think you guys were great hosts and I appreciate the opportunity to share my beers in that format with your brewery. That was the first time I was able to share my beers in a setup like that and it was great. I met many new people and got lots of great positive feedback on the 4 beers that I poured.

I will look forward to participating in BBF 2010 for sure.  Taking from the BBF poster, your event for me further solidifies my passion and drive with brewing: “…for a few, it’s a precursor for going professional.” Thanks again guys, and hope to see you soon and participate in future events.

Michael Sulyi

That’s what it’s all about for Chris and me. Yep, we’re doing it again in 2010…and we’ll be sure to give homebrewers more than three weeks’ notice!

LINKS — including some great pictures!

• Durham Magazine took some great shots at our humble warehouse
• Erik Lars Myers (a homebrewer participant) blogs about BBF at Top Fermented
• thinkingbrew proffers a World Beer Festival and Backyard Beer Festival recap
• The BBF program guide lists all the participating homebrewers, their beers, and some stories about homebrewing (PDF)
• Help us recover our costs from this free event! Order a men’s or women’s limited edition t-shirt!
• Interested in brewing beer at home? Visit the American Homebrewers Association…and your local homebrew store!
• The voices tell us to keep showing The Room — at least once a month! Stay tuned!
• Follow us on Twitter and Facebook! Blah blah blah social media!