Oh, February, arguably the most hated month of them all. It’s winter…still. New Years resolutions are crumbling. Valentine’s Day is somewhere between mildly annoying and full-blown stressful, depending on your situation. People say that the best thing about it is that it’s over sooner. Well we thought we’d reclaim poor February and make it the Month of Awesome. Remember when we made 2010 the Year of Awesome? This is like that, but with February.

So what are we going to do?

First, we’re expanding our hours starting February 1st.

Second, we’re revitalizing regular events like Drinks With Fullsteam and Celebrity Trivia (oh yes, stay tuned).

Third, we’re kicking off some brand new monthly fun stuff. Belly Dancing! Drag Bingo!

Did someone say Mardi Gras?

We told February about our plan and it was so excited that it’s giving us an extra day. That’s 29 days of awesome. Wow, February, you never looked so good. Did you do something with your hair? You said you’re just feeling awesome? Awesome! Glad we could help. More Month of Awesome updates are on the way.

Fullsteam is a place for beer-making and beer-drinking. Other things too, but let’s keep it simple for a minute. The beer-making side is the brewery, of course, and the beer-drinking side is R&D, more often known as the tavern. Why a tavern? Why not a bar or brewpub? Why do we always have to be so dern quirky?

Well, ahem, historically in America and particularly in the South, taverns were essential waystations and meeting places for both travelers and locals. They were places where people went to conduct business, talk politics, and hear news of the world. Some doubled as post offices, polling places, or even jails. In the colonial era, taverns were one of the few establishments where people of different genders and ethnicities commingled in a shared space. People relied on them to be open for a drink and a bed no matter what time they came through town.

So Fullsteam is a brewery but we’re also a tavern, or at least that’s the spirit we’re going for. We can’t stay open all night, and we’d get in trouble if we let you sleep here, but we hope to always be a welcoming and reliable community space. With that in mind, we’ve extended our hours and set them in stone (or at least we’ll update the website).

Fullsteam’s expanded here-when-you-need-us hours, effective February 1st

Monday – Thursday: 4 p.m. – midnight

Friday: 4 p.m. – 2 a.m.

Saturday: noon – 2 a.m.

Sunday: noon – midnight

So for a while we’ve been doing a little thing on the third Tuesday of the month called Drinks With Fullsteam. It’s been a pretty casual affair—some people with some beer sit down with some of our brew staff and talk shop. Drinks With Fullsteam plans to get a little classier in 2012. Don’t we all?

From now on, each session will have a theme. Our first theme was: Seasonal Ingredients &  Seasonal Beers! Our brewery staff talked about how they choose and use the bounty of seasonal offerings available to us in North Carolina, from figs to rhubarb to basil… and beyond (kudzu, anyone?). Themes for upcoming talks will be announced ahead of time.

These will be informal talks with plenty of time for questions and conversation. The tavern will be happy to sell you a pint that you can take into the brewery during the session, which should last around 45 minutes. We’ll be at the brewery glass door to check you in.

What else is new in 2012? We’re now offering tickets for Drinks with Fullsteam! You can reserve them on our Eventbrite page. Tickets are free but there are only 20 spots per session, so please reserve for only as many as you know will attend.

So, RECAP! Drinks With Fullsteam is the third Tuesday of every month. Tickets are here and free. Beer will be there and not free. We will be there (but also not free!). Hope to see you there and classy.

We’re excited to welcome the newest addition to our weekly food-truck rotation: Local in Motion…a four-star farm-to-table food truck!

Beginning tomorrow and every Thursday after that, Local in Motion will be offering its farm-t0-truck small plates outside the tavern, and the food looks downright gourmet. Check out the menu for tomorrow (subject to change):

Per item: $6, All six dishes: $32

It’s been a busy December here at Fullsteam: a beer dinner, two craft markets, a First Frost launch, a strange and wonderful variety show. And we’re just a little over halfway through the month.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s ride the wayback machine…all the way back to Movember.

Last month, along with men and women around the world, we grew mustaches to support men’s health research and education. We posed, you voted with your donations, and the Fullsteam team raised over $650 for the cause. In total, our team, Team RDU (of which we were a very small part), raised nearly $20,000.

But let’s get real. In life, there are mustaches that play the game and there are mustaches that change it. Here are the winners of Fullsteam’s mustache contest, starting with third place:

Bronze: Sean Lilly Wilson

Silver: Chris Pope

And, the Movember winner, in a stunning gender upset:

Gold: Alice Powell

Congratulations, Alice! Thanks to everyone who voted. We’re already scheming up our ‘staches for next year. And, on that note, onward toward 2012!