Last night was f*cking cold in Denver. It dipped into the single digits and I listened to my furnace work it's ass off all day yesterday and through the night to keep the house relatively warm. Yesterday was the kind of day where you put your clothes on, walk outside, and immediately turn around and change your game plan. It was a day to stay inside, cook, read, listen to music, catch up with friends, and decorate the Christmas tree. Today is much warmer, climbing into the high 20's with the sun shining bright. It's funny how much warmer it feels when the sun is out. I almost feel like I could work outside in a t-shirt. Although, I am not about to attempt it!
Just a few weeks ago, we made our last payment on the industrial glycol chiller that we have in our possession. When we purchased this piece of equipment, we couldn't get cash from the bank and we damn sure didn't have it in our pockets. My brother told the owner of the equipment that if he could act as the bank and finance it, we could make payments and he could get it out of his possession. He wanted to sell the chiller, as he is in the business of doing, and we wanted to purchase it for the brewery. The terms were set and both parties satisfied! Now, after several payments, that sucker is ours! We have yet to fire it up and use it, but we definitely know that we got a damn good deal on this machine and even though it may need a little coaxing back to life, it's gonna be a workhorse for us.
The day after Thanksgiving our Kickstarter campaign ended, short of our financial goal. We were so flattered by the number of friends and family that all pledged way more to our project than they could really afford. There is a great number of believers in this project and we will work hard to show them why. We were also a bit shocked that the campaign didn't get more traction from people outside of our circle. But that's the way it goes, and we have learned from it. Although we didn't hit our financial goal, the bigger goal is to open the brewery and we are still kicking ass on that one! Sure Kickstarter would have eased a few financial burdens and allowed us to move a little faster, but we are still on track to open the brewery in the spring of 2012. My brother said it in a very cool way the other day. He said "if you are going to restore a 1968 Roadrunner, you can do it in a month if you have $100,000. If you don't have that huge amount of cash at your disposal, you can still build the car, it just takes more time and effort. And that is where we are at. It's still going to be a badass artisanal brewery. Our dream is still gonna come true. It's just taking a little longer and we are having to work harder!" Nothing good comes easy, right!
Piece by piece, little by little, just like the story of our glycol chiller, we are gonna get this little brewery open and blow people's minds! Stay warm and stay tuned...
