Smell ya later, 2020. Hello 2021, our new favorite year.

2020 - the year that could have been but wasn't. We're moving forward in '21 and you're coming with us. 

This year seems like it took a decade of tragedy, disruption, loss, and hope and crammed it into the mess of a year forever known as 2020 (DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUN - dramatic music effect).

We're thankful for all of the great new customers and friends we've made and cannot wait to share beers safely again very, very soon. We're thankful for our health and that we were prepared to weather the storm COVID brought us.

We've been through it too. Some of you know that we have been winding down our old business model and focusing solely on home brewing and maker hobbies for the past year or so. We were supposed to move into a new space this past spring, but we decided to wait a year in the face of the uncertainty we all faced and just hold on for dear life. 

Many of you have asked us how business has been and we really appreciate your concern and support through all of this. Honestly, it's been the most challenging year of our existence, and we have had our doubts about how we can soldier on, yet we have made it work. 

We're sorry we had to close the lobby and stop walk-up business, but we needed the space for more inventory and couldn't keep everyone safely distanced. I hated that we had to close. We love spending time talking beer, tasting beer, and inspiring each other to create.  

The vaccine is here - soon we'll all be able to gather and celebrate our creative energy together - making things by heart and hand to share and celebrate with the people we love. We are moving forward. 

We're moving in a few short months - we don't know exactly where yet - but it will be a space where we can safely gather so we can hold classes, meetings, and other community events where we can celebrate and foster the creative power of people. It will be a challenge to find the right spot because of our unique need for a larger indoor space along with a working warehouse, but I know we'll find something that will work. (If any of you know of some great properties in the central Sarasota county area, hit me up) It won't be everything we want, but we can make it our own in time. 

I'm a big fan of public accountability and transparency so for now, here are the plans we have in store for 2021. 

January 2021 - release new All-Grain Kits that we've been working on, have a total of 25 all-grain kits released by the end 2021. 

Q1 2021 - expand our shipping footprint, starting with GA, AL, MS, SC, NC, TN, KY, VA, and other locations we can reach via ground in 2 days. Launch a loyalty rewards program. 

Q2 2021 - move into our new space, add coffee roasting and brewing. Increase our on-hand inventories to reduce stock outs. (Trust me, we'd stock more now if we had the room.) 

Q3 2021 - start onsite brewing/winemaking/kombucha/other fermentation classes (possibly brew-on-site as well, if new location zoning permits) - livestream classes for those who cannot join us in-person. Add vegetable, hot sauce, cheese making, and other non-beverage fermentation products.

Q4 2021 - Have an epic 3rd Anniversary Party - homebrew contest, giveaways, on-site brew demos, food truck...hopefully a giant COVID-19 going away party. 

Ongoing in 2021 - more amazing, fresh, ingredients for your brews. Plenty of content (blogs, videos, multimedia, etc). Innovative new techniques and plenty of dated "brew science" de-bunking. Expansion to shipping nationwide. Developing new kits and products that make your hobby more enjoyable. 

We'll be stepping up our communications via email, socials, etc. We're looking to get the word out - we think we have a good thing going here and want to share it. We want to hear what you want and what we can do better, so please help us  

I'm looking forward to seeing you all in 2021, safely, and sharing brews again. We are so thankful that you are here with us and your support has meant everything during 2020. 

Onward, to our best brew year yet. Cheers, and good health to all of you, from all of us.