Cinco de Mayo
It’s officially Cinco de Mayo(the one day a year that American’s profess a “love” for Tequila). Me, I love it 365 days a year so no big deal. You’re not likely to see me get wasted today waving my pistola in the air. Hoewever, I may actually drink more than my fair share of alcohol today because today, Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey turn 3. Yes, you heard me right. Today is the third anniversary of our opening. It was a Saturday 3 years ago in 2006 when we opened the doors to this brewing project and set out to create beers “For Sinners and Saints Alike.
In a span of three years, we have accomplished so much. In 2007 we won Small Brewery of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival and in 2008 we achieved the same accolade at the World Beer Cup thus becoming the first small brewery to hold the titles at the same time. And, while these competitive victories have been nice, they aren’t the be all end all reason we exist.
Nope, we exist and have the opportunity to come to “work” everyday to make incredible beers because of the people who support us. With that in mind, I thought today’s post should be about people and not about the tequila I am going to drink later today. I should start with my partners Gina, Jim and Vince. It was about this time in 2005 that we got together and started the conversation about building/ acquiring a larger production facility. When Stone announced that they would be building a new brewery and selling off their old one, it just made sense for us to be here. Our partnership is now four years strong and this company wouldn’t exist without them.
Without fail, this project would be doomed were it not for the support of my wife Maureen and our daughter Sydney. Most readers of this blog know that Sydney came into this world a mere 10 days after we opened our doors three years ago. In the span of three years, my wife has been tasked with raising our dauighter all the while her husband (me) has been raising another child (this brewery). Crazy doesn’t even begin to describe this time in our lives. Thankfully neither she nor I feels the need to get liquored up on Tequila waving our Pistolas in the air to celebrate this.
I also need to thank the people who run this brewery day in and day out. To my brewers (including the ones who got us here and the ones who will be taking us places in the coming years) I hope we continue to offer a workplace that is anything but boring and rewards all of us. To all the volunteers who put their time in over the last three years. It never ceases to amaze me what is possible. It was 3 years ago today that I was introduced to the concept of the Safety Nap by Teri and Sage. Today, there’s less napping as the bar is a bustling hub of activity every weekend but they’re still here filling glasses reminding each of us that good beer brings good cheer.
Rome wasn’t built in a day. We know this much to be true. We also know that in three years we have exceeded even our wildest expectations for this space. We’ve experienced some incredible highs and lows along the way. The support of our customers and fan base has been overwhelming. We couldn’t do this without you. So on this Cinco de Mayo and our 3rd Anniversary of opening the doors here at 155 Mata Way, I raise my Pistola to the air in a one gun salute. Thank you for everything these past three years. Let’s Party!
