Bites 'n Brews | If it tastes good, I'm there!

by Becki | August 29, 2017 · 3:41 pm

So I Don’t Own a Brewery Anymore

It’s been a little bit, hasn’t it?

Things have spun madly around in wonderful, intricate, and confusing spirals over the last three years. I helped open a brewery, bought into that brewery, ran that brewery for the entirety of two and a half years and then left at the end of last year. I know the few of you who didn’t delete this blog from your feed are probably dying (or just curious) to know what happened, and the truth is quite simple. I lost myself within that brewery.

I’m extremely good at completely immersing myself into the culture of a business, and when I OWN part of that business, I let it melt into me like it’s part of my entire being. I worked for 74 days without a break when we first opened the business. I devoted the majority of my time to that business, waking up at 3am to respond to notifications on Facebook, answer emails, just to get our name out there and show how involved we were. Waking up at 6am, heading into the brewhouse and then running the taproom and eventually the sales team until the very end of the day became natural to me. The first time I went outside after that 74 days in a row, the shining orb in the sky looked unfamiliar, and the lack of a concrete bar between me and the other people around threw me for a loop and almost inspired a panic attack.

Now – almost 9 months after I departed the brewery, I think I’m finally setting into plain and simple joy, happiness, and contentment.
I also found a new job – WINE! I’m now the proud manager/social media maven/event planner for Sweet Hearty Winery! Through this new venture, I’ve been able to sneak away every day to a vineyard which resides on a few acres, next to a river, with views of the mountains. Life is pretty danged good now.
I’ve been setting up TONS of sold out events! Wine Glass Painting… Fly Fishing Casting demos with the local business, Elkhorn Fly Shop…
Cupcake and Wine Pairing with another local business, The Cupcake Gypsies…
Yoga on the Lawn, where I got to meet one of my Insta-Friends in real life!
The oh-so-lovely Beer Yoga! And what have I been up to for the past few months prior?
Managing another brewery in Fort Collins for a bit…
Enjoying boat rides on Carter Lake with the family…
Hanging out with my friends…
Both human and canine…
Helping out at a local brewery farm in exchange for beer and wonderful friendships…
Accidentally falling in love with my best friend…
Going on brewery tours with some of the best people I know…
Drinking plenty of craft beer still, don’t worry!
And also some not-quite craft beer that isn’t owned by the big guys. Unofficial Street Team

With all honesty, I am beyond happy, and oh-so-blessed, to have ended up where I am today. Life is such a random roller coaster of an adventure and I’m thrilled, terrified, and excited to see what else God has for my path. I’d like to say a huge thank you to anyone who’s still tuning in here after such a long hiatus! Let’s see where we end up from here…

3 Comments

Filed under beer, Daily Life, wine, work

by Becki | September 1, 2015 · 2:50 pm

So I Own a Brewery

It’s been a hot minute now, hasn’t it? Let’s play catch-up with way too many pictures!
Turns out I’m part owner of this wonderful brewery, Snowbank Brewing! Paperwork was signed, wallets were put under duress and now I’m a proud partner with some of my favorite people in the world at what has become my first home, seeing as I’m here at least 60 hours a week.
We’ve come a long way since our very first tapping at the (sadly now defunct) Cranknstein. On August 22nd, we officially turned one year old!
It’s been a long year, yet it seems like we just opened yesterday. Since becoming an owner, I’ve also come to realize that sometimes balance is required in life, no matter how much I love being at the brewery all the time.
I’ve recently become an active member of Gociety – a website dedicated to adventure meet-ups.
Every Wednesday morning for the past month and a half, this group has been ascending Horsetooth Rock in order to catch a glimpse of the first rays of sunlight streaming over the horizon.
Hot coffee is brewed via JetBoil and all ten to twenty of us chow down on homemade breakfast burritos, take ridiculous GoPro pictures and then descend the mountain in order to get to work on time.
I love these people.
I tend to rep my brewery quite a bit… I also sometimes force other brewery owners to join. This is Matt from Odell Brewing, now a co-owner of that brewery!
Of course all of my Gociety friends are now Snowbank ~~addicts~~ lovers.
These sunrises will never get old.
I took an actual full weekend off and headed up to Trestle in Winter Park with some awesome/insane biker guys for some downhill mountain biking. Almost faceplanted, but didn’t! They ended up heading down the black diamond trails while I stuck with going fast on the greens. I’m cool like that.
I’ve also been running early in the mornings. For some crazy reason, I’ve come to ENJOY running! WHO AM I?
I even bought shoes to match my hair to convince myself to run more. Or the shoes were just really comfortable. Definitely one of the two…
I took off for a week and head up to one of my favorite spots in the world – Jackson, Wyoming. And yes, I check this every single flight I take, Final Destination style. The first day was a six mile hike followed by cliff jumping into glacier water.
This wonderful little vocal one was along for the trip. It was wonderful to have a large chunk of the extended family together for the first time in years!
I already miss this view.
The second day my pops and I went downhill mountain biking in Teton Village. I started the day off with a Golden Moose, a caffeinated beverage that I last had six years ago when I was in Wyoming last.
Lift ride up to the top!
Helmet on, ready to go!
My pops had an unfortunate incident where he biffed right in front of me. I slammed my knee into my frame attempting not to run over his face. Besides a cracked helmet and a couple of possibly cracked ribs, he’s fine! He even rode the rest of the trail down before succumbing to his injuries and heading to the store for some pain killers.
The next day I hiked up to the top of Rendezvous – 7.4 miles with a 4,000 foot elevation gain. Came across a new addition and sat on the swing enjoying the view.
Two and a half hours later I reached the top. A French man was walking down and asked why I’d walked up from the village instead of taking the tram up. My response? “If you hike to the top, the tram down is free!”
I hike because I’m cheap. And it was wonderful to escape from humans for two hours and hear nothing except for my wheezing lungs and the sound of the wind.
I celebrated the victory of the climb at Snake River Brewing with the parental unit.
And met up with a Colorado buddy, Ben, the next day as he was passing through the state on a long road trip.
Our final evening was spent halfway up the mountain with a glass of red wine, tempura summer vegetables and a relaxing sunset. Bliss.
I came back to the real world with a refreshed view on life, making a promise to myself to get out into the neat nature that surrounds me here in Colorado. Louie, my favorite regular with an awesome underbite, agreed with me.
My friend Kylie and I hiked up to Isabelle Glacier on my next day off.
The lovely Joule Bug joined us. This Instagram star is a trooper.
We heated up some French press coffee and shivered as we gazed over the crystal clear blue water.
The temperature at the end of that six mile hike was about 35 degrees, and there was absolutely not another human around.
We cradled the piping hot coffee cups in our hands, sipping greedily for the few seconds we could before the coffee also turned icy.
After a few hours of brutal freeze, we decided to hike back down and grab some hydration.
We hit the Tasty Weasel for a brew and then headed back into civilization.
Snowbank Brewing’s one year anniversary came about! We’ve bottled our first beer ever, Tripel Corkscrew, named after the snowboarding trick, the Backside Triple Cork 1440, made famous by Mark McMorris in 2013. This beer is a fruity Belgian Tripel with hints of peppery spice on the nose, a medium body full of citrus flavor with a touch of oak and a dry, lingering spicy finish. 8.5% ABV, 30 IBU. Conditioned on Blue Skies Winery Chardonnay French Oak.
We were absolutely slammed the entire anniversary weekend and had an amazing time with our regulars/newbies and amazing friends. And beer, of course.
I came ridiculously close to adopting this perfect, blissfuly happy dog, but he found a full family so he wouldn’t have to have a single mama like myself. I attempted not to tear up as the new family took Nugget away. Yes, I renamed him after a hop, and the gracious new family agreed to keep Nugget as his official name.
And then this. I was cleaning up after the celebrations and just happened to drop a heavy metal table on my foot. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone…
And just like that, my running and hiking days were delayed for four weeks. Nothing is broken, it’s just a “crush injury and massive contusion”. I get to wear this beautiful boot for four weeks until the bone bruise is finally healed. I also get to soak my foot in a bucket of ice water four times a day for twenty minutes each time. Brutal.
Which means I have extra time to study for the new Advanced Cicerone test!
Said studying will take place in my new favorite coffee shop, Bindle Coffee. It hurts me to post this since I want to keep this gem all to myself, but they deserve all of the customers they can get with their fantastic coffee and housemade almond milk. I may have spent four hours there yesterday morning…
So I’ve missed a few months, but I feel like the most important information has been covered! I hike, I travel, I drink coffee, I own a brewery, I break myself, I study beer.

Also, I’ve missed writing and living such an adventurous life. T-minus four weeks until the boot comes off and I’m back on top of that mountain!

6 Comments

Filed under Daily Life

Tagged as brewery life, Fort Collins, Gociety, Snowbank Brewing

by Becki | July 17, 2015 · 12:02 am

Becki and Bonnie’s Day of Meh

All quotes captured via Instagram.

Episode 1:

Day off with @theBonnie. So much fun. #Golden #wineslushies #dayoff #brewerylife #foodtrucklyfe #beckiandbonniesdayofmeh

Lunch with @thebonnie. Delicious. #Golden #brewerylife #foodtrucklyfe #dayoff #beckiandbonniesdayofmeh

Riding fish on the river with @thebonnie. Whee. #beckiandbonniesdayofmeh #Golden #dayoff #foodtrucklyfe #brewerylife

Checking out the flatirons with @thebonnie. Beautiful. #Boulder #brewerylife #foodtrucklyfe #beckiandbonniesdayofmeh

Having a beer at @upslope with @thebonnie. Ugh. #Boulder #brewerylife #foodtrucklyfe #beckiandbonniesdayofmeh

Friendship tattoos? #Longmont #beckiandbonniesdayofmeh #brewerylife #foodtrucklyfe

Because friends with @thebonnie. #Longmont #beckiandbonniesdayofmeh #bfftattoos #brewerylife #foodtrucklyfe

Because best friends with @thebonnie. #fortcollins #theforge #beckiandbonniesdayofmeh #brewerylife #foodtrucklyfe

Mini-beer and mini-Moscow Mule with @thebonnie. #beckiandbonniesdayofmeh #brewerylife #foodtrucklyfe #cutoff #pourbrothers

Cards Against Humanity with @thebonnie at @pourbrothers. Fun. #beckiandbonniesdayofmeh #brewerylife #foodtrucklyfe #fortcollins #tatertots

And that’s a wrap. See you on the next episode of ‘Becki and Bonnie’s Day of Meh’. #beckiandbonniesdayofmeh #fortcollins #pourbrothers #brewerylife #foodtrucklyfe #goodnight

Thank you for joining us. Happy Friday to all.

2 Comments

Filed under Daily Life

Tagged as brewery life, day off, food truck lyfe, Fort Collins, Golden, tattoos

by Becki | May 29, 2015 · 12:44 pm

Tivoli Brewing

Last Friday the Snowbank Brewing team was invited down to Denver to check out Tivoli Distribution and the build-out of their upcoming brewery.
We grabbed a selection of brews from the distribution warehouse, talked with the team about territories, reps and ride alongs and then headed over to the brewery location for a tour.
The new brewery is located in the same location where the originally Tivoli Brewing stands.
The building was built in 1864 by Moritz Sigi, who died after a horse carriage accident in 1874, before bringing the brewery to its full fruition. Originally named Sigi’s Brewery, It exchanged hands a few times before being acquired by John Good in 1900, and was renamed Tivoli – a famous amusement park in Copenhagen.
The building currently houses the Tivoli Student Union as well as the student center for a variety of Denver colleges. The original signage for the hop storage and receiving dock still remains.
Established in 1850, erected in 1890.
The original 125bbl copper fermenters remain inside, hanging above the ground floor of the new taproom.
New ~~shiny~~ dusty mash tuns and boil kettles sit underneath the huge copper bowls, waiting to be filled with malt.
We got a tour of the brew system and soon-to-be taproom from Corey and the head brewer Dieter (whom I originally met at Angel City Brewery on our distribution team training day two years ago – this industry is so small!!!) and then proceeded to explore the rest of this historic building.
The basement.
Pipes for the ammonia radiator – a more efficient, ~~slightly~~ extremely more dangerous version of a glycol chiller.
Underground tunnels.
Exhibit A.
Exhibit B.
The vast arches that extend throughout the building.
Absolutely in love with the piping and architecture of these underground tunnels.
The cracked and faded base of the bar that used to operate in the underground level.
The stormy Denver skyline after we reemerged from the dusty, creaky, beautiful building.
My creepy, beer-y bliss.

1 Comment

Filed under brewery

Tagged as abandoned buildings, Denver, Tivoli Brewery, Tivoli Brewing, Tivoli building

by Becki | April 9, 2015 · 7:00 am

March of Brews

Who’s ready for a picture-bomb post with short blurbs? A lot has happened in the last month and once again I’ve failed to blog regularly. If you want to keep up with me follow me on my personal Instagram or on the brewery’s Instagram!
More Snowbank beer photography.
Pint o’ Barley.
One of my favorite regulars, Louie. He enjoys long walks on the beach, candelit dinners, trips to Home Depot and running into one prairie dog hole only to emerge from another over twenty feet away.
I spent a day in Denver with the parental unit visiting breweries…
And attending a kickass Colorado Avalanche game! We won. Obviously.
I’ve found time to sneak away from the brewery here and there to visit other local breweries, and I’ve rediscovered my love for my bike with the 70 degree temps we’ve been having lately.
Avery Brewing recently opened up their new facility which is absolutely stunning!
We spent a wonderfully long afternoon wandering the brewery and sipping some of the specialties on tap.
Our most recent managers meeting was atop a mountain.
The brewdogs were in attendance, of course.
And we rehydrated, as one would expect, with Moon Arete Wheat.
Afternoons and evenings have been spent on the porch, enjoying the lingering light of day…
And sunsets over the mountains.
I found my replacement coffee shop once my beloved Cranknstein closes it’s doors on April 18th. Pardon me while I quietly sob. I’ll write a full post on the new coffee shop later this week!
Our customers are ridiculously talented.
These were created by one half of my favorite couple. Chuck’s famous ceviche! I had seven spoons of these before he announced dinner. And then had another one for my actual dinner since I was so stuffed.
Every so often the Snowbank crew goes out to support our accounts. 47½ Stout at The Moot House in Fort Collins.
We’re repairing our patio so we can soon have beer outside! Obviously, photos don’t count as “outside”.
This kid came to visit for the weekend – one of my buddies from waaaay back at UCSB. I hadn’t seen him in over eight years!
And nine years ago at college. Feeling old starts… NOW!
Early mornings at the brewery are common. I always love watching the sunrise whilst sipping coffee and answering emails.
The brewery has been involved in a ton of collaboration brews in preparation for American Craft Beer Week.
Hanging with Linsey from Horse & Dragon and Kelly from New Belgium.
When great forces combine.
Fresh can straight off the canning line. Because free beer.
It’s always a good day when you’re brewing at New Belgium.
I enjoyed a just-after-sunrise Easter service followed by a long bike ride on the trails and, of course…
Rehydration.

I make no promises for when the next post will be. Lesson learned.

When Breweries Attack

Every time I write a new blog post I promise myself that I’ll start writing them more often. And then the brewery comes into play, wraps its oh-so-loving hands around my neck and directs every moment of my life. At the end of a long day of photography, social media posts, tastings/sales calls, event coordination, keg deliveries and running the taproom, all I want to do is collapse into a puddle on the couch with a cup of tea and fall asleep. I miss my little blog! Here’s a long catch-up on all that has happened since that epic sammich, almost a month ago.
After the Budweiser commercial that aired during the Superbowl (not the one with the puppy), the craft beer world was up in arms. We (along with every craft brewery in the US) decided to make a peach pumpkin ale that was worth fussing over, as one should do when it comes to craft beer.
And so Fussy was born – our 47½ Stout infused with Ghana cacao husks and nibs from Nuance Chocolate and conditioned on peaches and pumpkin spices. Brewed the Craft Way.
This specialty keg was kicked insanely fast!
On one of our standard twelve hour days at the brewery, my sis-in-law and I started trying out beer/juice blends which we deemed “Science”. A few weeks later the Solar Panel was debuted as an official offering on the menu – Moon Arete Wheat with a splash of orange tangerine juice.
We brought in one of the newest food trucks to Fort Collins, Austin Taco, and paired their amazing breakfast tacos with the new creation.
The Solar Panels were so popular we ran out of Moon Arete Wheat! We’ve increased our brew schedule exponentially in attempts to combat our quickly depleting brews. It’s so hard being popular.
On one of my only days off this month, I headed down to Denver with my bestie Michelle to wander the street in the 70 degree weather and sample some of the wares around town. Big Bad Baptist from Epic Brewing. I requested a taster. This was the “sample size” the taproom manager Kevin gave me. To be fair, twelve ounces probably is the best size for a true sample of this epic beer.
But I always come back to Fort Collins for the comforts of home. Loose Leaf paired with Chicken Banh Mi from Umami.
For my birthday, I took the day off and spent it down in Boulder. The Dushanbe Teahouse has been a favorite ever since my first visit last year.
Their rotating menu is ridiculously fresh and creative. Crostini with housemade burrata, pistachio pesto, cherry tomatoes and a balsamic drizzle.
Greek meatballs with feta and tomato reduction.
Of course a birthday wouldn’t be right without a brewery visit! I tried to go to the new Avery, but alas, they weren’t open until the following weekend. We ended up down the street at Asher Brewing for a few samples.
The next day, it was back to work as usual! Umami decided to try out their new sushi rolls and made me fall in love with them all over again.
Valentine’s Day brought four separate chocolate beers, including our most popular to date – S’mores Stout garnished with mini marshmallows.
I decided the following Monday that it was time to go to the grocery store and make my own food for a change, instead of surviving off of food truck leftovers. Avocado toast topped with goat Gouda and chipotle pepper flakes.
Kale salad with roasted butternut squash, blood orange and roasted garlic.
More avocado toast! This breakfast never gets old.
After a few days of my “cleanse”, I discovered there was a new donut cart in town – Donut Lodge. I promptly ordered the maple bacon bar topped with melt-in-your-mouth crispy bacon. I’m easily swayed by food trucks/carts. And bacon…
It paired quite well with our latest batch of Ghana Chocolate Stout.
This past Sunday was our six month anniversary! We celebrated our halfiversary by releasing four specialty beers along with a Solar Panel bar where you could choose your own juice addition. We were absolutely slammed which was incredible, especially considering the insanely snowy weather.
Some of our favorite regulars came to visit – he may look young but his ID claims otherwise…
I got my hair dyed with Snowbank colors to celebrate surviving these past six months! Dedication right there.
I received this wonderful gift from a blog reader-turned-friend when he was in town on business. Thanks, Eric! Painfully sour in such a delicious way! I split this with my brew crew in an attempt not to get heartburn. It didn’t work.
The beer laughed at me as I felt my stomach lining being eaten away by its fantastic fruity acidity. It hurt, but man do I want another bottle!
Yesterday I had to go to the Nuance Chocolate factory to pick up some husks and nibs for tomorrow’s beers. Since I was there, I had to pick up a few of their new single origin bars for myself. Life is so difficult.
The snow is falling yet again this morning. Today will be a long day of slowly navigating the icy streets for the tons of meetings and samplings I have scheduled. I’m already looking forward to melting back into my couch again this evening.

Here’s to promising myself I’ll blog again within the week!

1 Comment

Filed under brewery, Daily Life

Tagged as Brewed the Craft Way, Brewed the Hard Way, Budweiser, Fussy, Snowbank Brewing

by Becki | February 5, 2015 · 7:00 am

The Best Thing I’ve Eaten All Week

I’ve finally decided upon my only resolution for the new year! I’ll be on a quest to visit every single coffee shop in Fort Collins, and there are many. I haven’t done a full count yet, but once my list is compiled I’ll share with you. Yesterday was a visit to Little Bird Bakeshop which I plan on recapping for you very, very soon. But FIRST!
I had to share this magical pairing I experienced yesterday. Honestly, my life has been changed. After delivering a keg to one of our accounts in the morning, I headed over to The Fox and the Crow, a new cheese shop in Fort Collins, to pick up a keg of ours that they’d just kicked. Since I was there, I decided I should grab some lunch to go. After perusing the menu for a few minutes, I asked the owners what their preference was between the French Kiss – a buttered baguette with thinly sliced ham and brie cheese, or a simple grilled cheese with bacon. They kindly pointed me in the direction of their not-so-simple grilled cheese of the day – French Onion. I just wasn’t prepared to miss out on the bacon, however, so I requested a few slices in addition.
Two soft pieces of bread generously slathered in butter, stuffed with sweet, tender caramelized onions, rich layers of slightly salty cheese and crispy bacon panini-pressed into a melty oblivion. The aromas emanating from this heavenly sandwich swirled around the shop, enrobing me with the ever-so-sweet scent of comfort food with a gourmet twist.
The Snow Squall Black IPA from Snowbank Brewing (also known as my second home) paired perfectly with this meal. Notes of roast enhanced the smoky bacon while the earthy hop bitterness and effervescent carbonation sliced through the richness of the creamy cheese and the sweetness of the caramelized onions balanced out the final resiny bite of the brew. After inhaling this, I was fully prepared to officially start the day. I waddled to the door and turned on the open sign.

If you live in Fort Collins or any surrounding area, get over to The Fox and the Crow and request this perfection of a grilled cheese. And then come see me at Snowbank Brewing to complete the pairing!

2 Comments

Filed under beer, Daily Life

Tagged as beer and food pairing, grilled cheese, Snowbank Brewing, The Fox and the Crow

by Becki | January 20, 2015 · 1:33 pm

Days Off

I’m alive, but barely!
Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration. I got wiped out Sunday with a fever and lovely lung issues. Therefore, I’ve been banned from the brewery and forced into a few “days off” until 48 hours after my fever subsides. Last night’s peak was 101. Thanks to that, I have time to do a blog recap again, albeit with a foggy brain.
A few weeks ago I trekked back down to Boulder on one of my real days off to pick up some tea from Celestial Seasonings that have seriously come in handy in the last few days.
I have an addiction…
On my days off, I generally like to get out of town and do anything active and new, but there’s something to be said about relaxing at home with a glass of wine and having time to play chef.
Prior to these past few days, it had been months since I’d seen the sunset from inside my own house. And I think it’s time to clean the outside of my windows…
Most of my sunsets are spent at the brewery.
No complaints there, but I have missed my wonderful couches.
We had our staff holiday party two weeks ago (after I’d spent my day off in Broomfield with my bestie) which consisted of a bottle share, tons of food and our wonderful beer tellers.
Plus the president of the Rocky Mountain Beard and Moustache Club. How could you not let that face in for a bottle share?
I went out to brunch with some of my favorite ladies at Snooze in Fort Collins for a quasi day off on a Thursday and enjoyed mimosas, long conversations and painfully delicious pancakes before heading back to the brewery and real life.
Our most popular Nuance Chocolate collaboration beer to date was tapped – S’mores Stout garnished with mini marshmallows. We kicked the keg in an hour and fifteen minutes with this one and will be recreating it for the Real Ale Real Love Firkin Festival in Loveland this Saturday.

I had to drop some stuff off at New Belgium during the work week and decided I should probably stay and enjoy a pint of their new session IPA, Slow Ride with a friend who happened to be there at the same time. Mini breaks in the middle of my weeks help my sanity.
Last Friday night was… interesting… One regular brought us canned bread. I don’t know why…
After the canned bread sampling I decided to take the rest of the night off and sat down and played Cards Against Humanity with the staff, a few of our favorite regulars-turned-friends and experimented with beermosa blends.
Sunday was another day off and I could tell something awful was about to occur, so I got out of the house and took this handsome fella for a walk before the cough really started to set in.
I had a big day planned and I wasn’t about to let the beginnings of the flu ruin it. I headed down to Denver and grabbed lunch at The Ale House – blackened chicken sammich with pepperjack cheese, fried avocado and pineapple salsa. Painfully delicious. Afterwards we headed to the Denver Aquarium that I haven’t been to since I was 13 before driving back up and collapsing into the couch with NyQuil, blankets and a movie.
Now I’m sitting here twiddling my thumbs, trying not to go crazy from being cooped up and answering work emails. Oh, lovely flu. I’ve been trying to force more aspects of quasi-days off into my life since the past few months have revolved around the brewery and nothing but the brewery. Trying to find a balance when starting up a new business is hard, so I’m using these wonderful days of illness to try and get things into perspective and start planning a life outside of work.

Now for more DayQuil shots and pondering. Happy flu season!

1 Comment

Filed under Daily Life

Tagged as brewery life, flu season

by Becki | January 1, 2015 · 9:57 am

Farewell 2014

Another year in the books! Business at the brewery has been absolutely crazy in a wonderful way. I get home every evening and blissfully collapse into the couch wrapped in a blanket, pint glass in hand (or tea on those epically cold nights) as I watch the temperatures outside dip to -16.
Luckily we have plenty of brews to keep us warm here at the brewery. Here’s a little recap of my year!

January:
Got my bow, which I unfortunately haven’t had time to shoot in the past too many months. Sad face.
First resolution for the year – get back to that. I miss it so!
I learned I don’t have any DNA and basically don’t exist after two failed DNA samples.
Watched my HOUSE begin building!
Beer, beer, beer!

February:
Stupidly cold. Similar to this week, actually!
Some of my beer photography was published in a book!
I flew to California for my birthday to see two of the loves of my life.
I visited all of my favorite breweries.
Well, most of them at least.
I enjoyed California brews while watching the sun set on the ocean. Happy sigh.
I flew back to Colorado and watched my house progress even more.
I hit a unicorn in my car.

March:
Went to Celestial Seasonings with my bestie.
Became obsessed with avocado toast.
Freaked out every day over how much progress was being made on my house!
Beer, beer, beer!
Got lovely gifts from Bhakti Chai.
Flew with Marissa, met Lauren, Heidi and Laura.
…and Kait, Marisa, and many, many more.
More house development and saying goodbye to most of my mountain views.
Bacon grilled cheese, beer and beer studies.

April:
Bhakti Chai brewery tour!
Bhakti Chia Pudding recipe creation.
Craft Brewers’ Convention! Hung out with my buds Dan and Ashley the entire weekend.
Floors and drywall finished in the house!
Watched the wonderful Verboten Brewing win awards at the World Beer Cup!
Moved into my house and enjoyed beer on my back porch.
Didn’t have enough money for food, but found a way to buy beer so I at least had something in my fridge.
Brewed at New Belgium with Snowbank Brewing!
Bought a kitchen table so I could have something to put a beer glass on. Because I still couldn’t afford food…

May:
Brewed at my bro’s house for Big Brew.
Cold break!
Rediscovered my love for green monstas while on my new back porch enjoying the summer view.
Tapped our collaboration brew for Fort Collins Beer Week.
Installed our brew system at Snowbank!
Enjoyed many Loose Leafs from my back porch.
Got attacked by a rogue vacuum.

June:
Made beersicles!
Made Coconut Glazed Sweet Potatoes!
Made Veggie Hash with Imitation Panda Meat.
Biked everywhere.
And I mean everywhere.
Had our first brew day on our own system with the help of a handsome brewdog.

July:
Made friends with artichokes after a rough beginning.
A very rough beginning.
More brewing!
Biked everywhere.
Rehydrated from biking everywhere with Beer Camp.
Ate way too many artichokes.
Did quality control for four of our (soon to be) eight beers.
Hiked two 14ers in one day.
Swore I’d never hike another 14er in my life as I cared for my torn feet and aching knees.
Braided my hair a lot. Took selfies of it. Cringed looking back on them. Posted them anyway.

August:
Took care of this handsome gentleman while my parental unit toured Europe.
Drank some Zinfandel.
Fell head over heels in love with this handsome gentleman as I do every day.
So much love.
Kayaked around some Colorado lakes.
Had our brewery release party at Cranknstein!
Celebrated the upcoming wedding of my bestie of twenty years.
Opened Snowbank Brewing with one of the most insanely busy days of my life!
Reflected back to crossing the border into Colorado a year earlier to begin such a wonderful life.

September:
The artichokes continue…
The brewery explodes with popularity.
Our social media outlets become extremely popular.
Delicious beer was consumed.
I fell in love with Umami.
I fell in love with The Silver Seed.
I enjoyed even more sunsets on my back porch as the sun began to set earlier every day.
We played with a flame thrower and caramelized 100lbs of pumpkin.

October:
We got even busier and the posting began dwindling. I received a dirndl for all of my dog-watching efforts.
I delivered kegs in said dirndl.
I visited my old brew system in said dirndl.
One of my favorites came from California to visit!
Great America Beer Festival happened!
Wonderful invitation to a beer pairing dinner where the dessert was a chocolate waffle cone smothered in BACON.

November:
Wore two different dresses for my bestie’s wedding!
Got my hair did for said bestie’s wedding day.
Finally got my hair dyed by our brewer’s superbly talented sister after the wedding.
Had our first snow of the season.
Did lots of brewery social media pictures. So.
Many.
Picture.

December:
All brewery. All the time.
And I couldn’t be happier about it.
Oh, look! A penny.
Christmas was spent with my wonderful family.
And my adorable new town was explored.
As we say farewell to 2014, I’m ready to welcome 2015 with open arms and nothing but excitement for whatever this incredible year has in store.

Happy New Year!

1 Comment

Filed under New Year

Tagged as 2014, New Year, recap, Snowbank Brewing

by Becki | November 27, 2014 · 11:40 am

Catching Up

Happy Thanksgiving! I started this post yesterday and then got slammed at the brewery, per usual. And it’s been almost a month since I had time to sit down and write a blog!
I had a few days at the beginning of the month where I actually had time to put together meals for the brewery and went on a week long kick of layered salads. It didn’t last long…
We’ve been busy with photo shoots for an upcoming cookbook where our beer is cooked into and paired with dishes from local restaurants. I was the designated beer “frother” for a politer term of what the position was deemed on set. Let your mind go in the gutter on that one. Just this once.
The last few days of autumn colors were enjoyed before all the leaves dropped off the trees.
And this is what I woke up to the next day. It only took me three tries to get up the driveway into my garage that night.
Snowbank had our first employee appreciation day! We spent the day on the town visiting breweries, restaurants and chocolate shops. I’ll be honest, it was weird to have a full day off with everyone. Weird and awesome. Our Snowbank tellers are awesome.
The snow refused to melt for a while, which made for some opportune photo ops.
The first day…
The snow kept piling up.
And after a solid 5 inches it finally started to melt.
Part of the job includes visiting places where we’re on tap and doing quality control. Tough job.
We had to go to Pinball Jones for one of these QC checks.
And were forced to play an hour and a half of arcade bowling.
I’m player number three. This is the only time in my life I have ever, or will ever, win at bowling.
I’ve started taking Sundays off! Since I had a full day off, I decided it was necessary to go to the brewery and pick up some kegs to deliver to new accounts we’ve been selling into. Workaholic.
And on my days off, I obviously visit other breweries. Oskar Blues’ Cyclhops Bike Cantina. And since I was so close, I continued on to the Oskar Blues brewery and shared a flight with my two besties.
And THEN I remembered that Großen Bart Brewery had opened that week and trekked over to try their brews which were all solid, and ended with a growler of Fu Manchu Foreign Stout to share with my brew crew.
And now I have to head out to Vegan Thanksgiving at my bro and sis-in-law’s house (don’t worry, we have the meatitarian Thanksgiving on Sunday), so I leave you with this screenshot I found on The Chive of my old Lonelygirl15 buddy Jackson watching Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep about to make out. You’re welcome.

Happy Thanksgiving!

1 Comment

Filed under Daily Life

Tagged as breweries, brewery life, Craft Beer, Fort Collins, Snowbank Brewing

Archives