Holding Pattern

Yes, we’re in a holding pattern. No, we are not dead. More to come…

Plans plans plans plans plans

The title should explain it all, but right now we are mired in PLANNNING! We took a week off to be Boozemasters for the True/False Film Festival and then a week off after that to recover. We have the final edit of our promo video for Kickstarter back and are working on a business plan. Brewing for the next promo party starts 3-24-11. Thanks for your continued interest in our beer and brewery. 2011 is going to see lots of things happen really quickly. Cheers!

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It’s a new year and we’ve been working our asses off…

So it’s a new year and we’ve been crankin out beer! We purchased a new 26 gallon boil kettle that yields us 15 to 18 gallons per batch. In light of this we brought out the March pump and built a skateboard to mount it to that we’ve nicknamed the McFly. We’ve been anxiously awaiting our promo video from Boxcar Films. As soon as we get it we will be going live (around the beginning of February) in the hopes of achieving some funds to get our paperwork rolling. Posts will be coming at a quicker rate (at least weekly) as we’ve upgraded the system which gives us more time to mess around on the computer. If you’re in the COMO area on Feb. 5th we are having a party at the house. You know where to find us. Cheers!

New kettle day

Today we’re going to try out our new kettle. We’ve got a batch built to yield 15 gallons of a basic American IPA. It’ll also be the first day with the pump setup (the McFly) in action. A full report and photos to follow this weekend. In the meantime, here’s a quick shot of Josh with the new vessel. Prost!

More photos

We are getting back on track here after our Oktoberfest party last month. We’ve got Berliner Weisse and a Belgian Wit with Rosemary in primary right now, with plans for a Scotch Ale and the usual runs of IPAs and such. Below are more photos from this falls adventures. There will be a real post coming soon. Cheers!

Late late late GABF recap part 1

Hey friends- apologies for the delay on this GABF recap. I’m taking the easy way out and just doing a series of photo galleries. We had a great time working the festival, Flat Branch took home 2 medals (Silver for American Hefeweizen and Sweet Stout) and we had several great drinking sessions. We’ll be back to normal in another week or so with many brew days and the launch of our Kickstarter program. Cheers!

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GABF in 1 week!

We will be attending The Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado in one week. Posts and photos will be forthcoming as we have time to put them up amidst all the beer. Keep your eyes on this here blog!

Movin’ on up!

Hello and woot! I just got word that we have been accepted to do a funding project with Kickstarter! This is a form of crowd sourcing micro loans that will enable us to get very small (as low as $5 a person) loans that go toward reaching a goal (in our case $30,000) to help us buy bigger equipment, get to talk to a lawyer and get things squared away with the government. If you are following us here or via RSS and would like to help I’ll be posting links very soon when our project gets officially announced (within 3 weeks). I’ve contacted Brock Williams at Boxcar Films, a local video production house, to help us make our promo video for the Kickstarter site. In the meantime, please friend us on Facebook: Hellbender Brewing Company Facebook page.

Cheers to all and to all a good night!

Craps…

So I was in St. Charles yesterday for the U.S. Foods (our main food supplier at Flat Branch) food show. It was a showcase of their upcoming products and such. Chef and I stayed at the Ameristar Casino. and did a bit of gambling. He didn’t do so well. I, however, managed to make $130 USD on some safe bets. I turned that into a bunch of beer at Friar Tuck’s (google maps link) in O’Fallon. I finally got to taste New Belgium’s Imperial Berliner Weisse, a beer that I had hyped up in my mind after tasting the Bruery’s Hottenroth earlier this year. It didn’t quite live up to the billing that it had received in my head, though it did pair well with turkey burgers and Claussen pickles. The real catch (so far, anyway) has been the Classic Gueuze from Cantillon. For those unfamiliar with gueuze (wikipedia link), it is a blend of 1, 2 and 3 year old lambics (aged sour beers- they taste better than they sound, trust me). Cantillon can do no wrong in my book, and this beer is even better than I remember it from earlier in the year. Behold:

Frakkin' delicious!

Guest Brewer

I got home late last night and went to grab a pint of our Ale w/Wheat (real name still being decided). I almost stepped on this little guy. He must have snuck in the night before when we had some late night friends over. Miss K. picked him up and released him back to the wild. Drink on, little frog friend!