Loosening the Reins

Many of you have met my assistant, Natalie, who has done an admirable job being my eyes, ears and hands in the Brewery while I’m away.

I must admit, I’m a bit of a control freak in the Brewhouse.  When I arrived at the St. Francis Brewery in June of 2009, I inherited an assistant who helped me learn the procedures that were in place at the time, and how the equipment worked.  From there, I modified those procedures and made the brewing operations my own.  As time went on, the necessity of an assistant diminished, and I had to let him go.  Fortunately, he moved on to bigger and better things and has become a fine brewer in his own right.

When the opportunity for me to study brewing in Europe presented itself, I knew that having an assistant would become a necessity once again.  Only so much can be done remotely, and I needed a physical presence in the brewhouse.

Enter Natalie.
 
Nat has an engineering background.  Like me, she decided that she wasn’t happy with her initial career path.  Unlike me, she came to this realization at a much earlier age than I, and that is to her great benefit.  I can honestly say that she has transitioned well into our little family, and I’m proud of the work she has done.  It is now with great confidence that I can leave the brewery for weeks at a time knowing that the sky will not fall in my absence.

I decided it was time to give her a gift.

A few months ago, she gave me a bottle of a beer she had homebrewed—an English Best Bitter.  It impressed me, as I’m a bit of a sucker for English Ales.  There was some room in the Seasonal schedule so I offered Nat the opportunity to take the lead on this one.  We ramped up her recipe to a full-scale commercial batch.  The June seasonal is all Natalie—she devised it, brewed it, fermented it and will be serving it tomorrow for our Mug Club.

So, if you’re a Mug Club member, stop in to the tapping at 7 pm Wednesday.  Everyone else can try theirs on Thursday.  Let us know what you think.