December Days

December is finally upon us! Though the 60-something degree weather and tornado warnings remind me very much of Georgia and not something I’d associate with Jersey this late into the year.

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to bring a toy for the Lynch Toy Drive! We have a drop box near our front door.

And it’s the last chance to enter our raffle for Habitat for Humanity. Drawing for the winner will be done on December 5th and that lucky person will get a huge gift basket of merch from all Cape May County breweries. Come up to the main bar and buy as many tickets as you like! They’re only $5 each for almost $1000 worth of goodies. And your money helps fund the house that will be built in Upper Township! If raffles aren’t your thing, we still have some delectable fudge porter on tap – all the proceeds also go towards Habitat for Humanity.

That being said, I’ll be resuming my regular assistant brewer duties this week after a two-day canning run last week.

Being an assistant brewer isn’t easy. It’s not glamorous (in fact, it’s quite messy at times). It’s not all puns and hop pellets (though there is a good amount of each, as well as Dad Jokes™ from both Tony and I). I learn best by taking notes, so I have a notebook filled with detailed steps on how to rack beer, how to cycle-in-place the vessels, how to clean anything and everything. And though I still ask a lot of questions, it’s more or less ensuring Tony and I are on the same page with what needs to be done as opposed to “what comes next?”

I’m finding myself using my notebook less and less, too, as I become comfortable and confident in this position. The next big step is learning how to actually brew beer on our 15BBL (BBL = barrel) system! I’ve got the home-brewing down pat, though. Not gonna lie – brewing beer on such a huge scale is a daunting task and while I have the basics down, there are so many little steps involved that I’m sure I’ll need to take another few pages of notes.

It’s not an easy job, but it’s satisfying and fun in a way that I can’t quite put into words. I never leave the brewery feeling like I didn’t accomplish anything – because there’s always SO MUCH to do to ensure you’re getting the best possible beer from our tanks to your table (or can).

This journey is far from over (unlike this year)!

Cheers.