The DIY District is  heavily involved in this fantastic event: in addition to the activities at Fullsteam and the Trotter Building, be sure to check out all the artists and festivities at Motorco, Central Park School  and See Saw Studio.

I enjoyed my time on WUNC radio last Wednesday! The topic on The State of Things was ”Sip Local.” Here’s a description of the show, as listed on The State of Things archive:

The Triangle’s robust eat-local scene with its markets, grocers and farm-to-table restaurants means thoughtful consumers can know where their food is coming from. But what about their drinks? Is it possible to “sip local” when you’re enjoying coffee, wine, tea or beer?  

In case you missed it, here is:

• a clip featuring yours truly (4 min)
  
• a link to the entire interview, which featured Lex Alexander of 3 CUPS, Margo Knight Metzger of the North Carolina Wine and Grape Council and Dorian Bolden, a fellow Durham entrepreneur opening up Beyu Cafe. (60 min)

I had hoped to be able to announce our location on the air, but we have a little bit more work ahead of us. Plus, it wasn’t really the venue. Soon! I promise!

Yes, it’s a difficult time to raise money. But we believe there are plenty of people out there who believe in 1) us, 2) Durham, and 3) the Fullsteam business plan. We want to get as many of them as we can under one roof, have them taste our beers, and meet us in-person. We promise it will be even more exciting than a 90-minute presentation for Myrtle Beach condo timeshares!

“I want to attend, but I’m not an investor!” This is a tough one. While it’s tempting to host a beer party for locals, our focus needs to be on securing our equity investors. Finalizing our investors is the best way to secure our dream location and the matching debt financing necessary to bring you a great neighborhood brewery and tavern.

Lean economic times may mean we need to tweak or phase in growth (contract brewing, holding off on a tavern, etc.). We’d really rather not do that. So we’re very hopeful that December 5th will bring great results…and, ultimately, a great landmark brewery to Durham.

Please contact sean-at-fullsteam-dot-ag if you are interested in attending the December 5th fundraiser, or if you’d like to invite a friend who may be a potential equity member. With all due respect, no tire-kickers please…it sorta wastes valuable time. 

Lastly, if you’re interested in investing now and don’t need to wait to sample 32′s great offerings…well, then we’ll turn December 5th into a celebration! Wouldn’t that be great!

Click to see the other side. It's got red on it!

Next up is the famous Carolina Common and a Golden Ale.

By the way, the pomegranate is full of great tradition and legend. The Old Testament depicts the pomegranate as a symbol of both condemnation and forgiveness. Hebrew tradition claims the fruit to have exactly 613 seeds, the same number of laws in the Torah and the number of nerves in the human body. In Greek mythology, Persephone mistakenly ate the seeds of the pomegranate, condemning herself to the realm of the dead. It’s the fruit on the coat of arms for both the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Obstetricians.

Pomegranate isn’t a Southern fruit, but it tells some great stories. I’ve heard iceberg lettuce is pretty jealous about all this.

For us, there’s something about a brewery’s on-site tavern. It makes a production environment come alive, for one. It’s also a great opportunity to for R&D as we test out our beers on a discerning, opinionated audience. Much better than rolling out a packaged beer that nobody wants.

If the space supports it, we hope to support the local music scene through weekend concerts. And hopefully I’ll have a chance to roll out the long-discussed “Alan Smithee Presents:” series, where we show truly awful “films” and let you, the audience, yell at the screen.