2 Years in Alexandria!

Hello Socially Distant World,

Today, 04/21/2020, is our actual two-year anniversary. What started out as a pipe dream when I was brewing on the patio at our old condo wound up being much more than I ever dreamed it could be. A large part of that is thanks to the people of Alexandria and its surrounding areas. We have made some great friends throughout this entire experience and, despite our current situation, I would not have done things differently.

First and foremost, I have to say thank you to our investors, my business partners (especially Brad), our Kickstarter backers, and, especially, our staff. Without you, this dream of mine would not exist. I must give an incredibly special thanks to my wife, Ann. She pushed me to be my best when I was at my worst. She continues to push me to always be my best self. She has also been here, helping the brewery get through this unique challenge we face. I would be really remised if I did not thank my two children, Cecilia and John. The two of them put up with me working long hours, the stresses being a small business owner family, and, as of late, spending more time here than we ever thought possible. I know it isn’t always the easiest thing for them to do but their patience and understanding has been nothing short of awesome. Finally, I want to thank everyone that has come through our taproom, shared our social media posts, or told their friends about us. You have truly made this place what it is today. Your support throughout these uncertain times reminds me why I love my job daily and reinforces Ann and my decision to move to Alexandria prior to opening the brewery. The sense of community we feel is amazing. With your continued support, we will get through this quarantine and come out better for it.

Again, this past Saturday we had our anniversary celebration scheduled. We had booked 3 bands, Hayden Kaye, KY Myle, and The Last Troubadour. All 3 of these bands are friends of the brewery and we were so excited that all three were able to play. With that said, we are still planning on having our anniversary celebration. It will be when things return to somewhat normal. We still hope we can get our friends to play but we also understand they may have a prior engagement. At this time, we have no idea when this will happen. The good news (at least in my mind) is that our anniversary beer, Saturn Ascends, will have more time in the barrel. We have 3 variants that will be bottled this year. They are Saturn Ascends – Mexican Hot Chocolate (similar to the Mexican coffee last year), Saturn Ascends – Madagascar Vanilla Bean (a collaboration with our friends at Cork n’ Bottle and aged in the barrel we picked with them towards the end of 2019), and Saturn Ascends – Willett Clan Enter the Front of the Line (this is a coffee BBA stout made with coffee beans that were aged in the same Willett Barrel our beer is aging in). I am a sucker for the Mexican Hot Chocolate myself, but they have all exceeded my expectations. We are also planning for a keg of the raspberry birthday cake variant to be available in our taproom only at the anniversary celebration. A little bit of bad news to add to this, we had planned on having 2019’s Saturn Ascends available at the celebration. We decided to release it during this quarantine instead. Our goal was to help put a smile on the faces of our BBA stout lovers in this time of chaos. It seems to have worked. There is always 2021 to have some reserved 2020 at our party and we look forward to that.

Finally, I want to mention Craft Bash and the virtual beer festival by the Kentucky Guild of Brewers. The Craft Bash is the single biggest money maker for the Guild. With the quarantine going on, the event has been postponed until the fall (at least for the time being). That throws the budget for the entire year out of whack and effects things like continuing education for brewers and brewery owners alike, legal protection, and even health benefits for employees of some of the breweries in the Commonwealth. In order to help the Guild continue those efforts, there will be a virtual beer festival on May 2nd, 2020. A ticket is $5. You can get a VIP ticket and tee shirt for $20. It will give you a chance to ask the breweries in Kentucky any question you want, learn about what goes into development of a beer, and even see a circus act. Please check it out.

I can not thank you all enough for your support. We look forward to seeing you to pick up your carry out orders and I can’t wait until we can see you sitting in our taproom again!

Cheers,

Andy Reynolds

Founder / CEO / Head Brewer