enjoying the fruits of beer advocacy.

I'm pulling a double at the store today. I came in at 11:00, worked a normal (busy) Saturday, and then closed a bit after 7:00 to get some dinner and a beer or two before coming back to take care of a couple of projects that I've been neglecting for a while.

I walked next door to Rontom's and grabbed a burger (one of the best in town, by the way), and took a look over the beer list. Immediately, I noticed two improvements; Upright Four on tap, and Flora Rustica in bottles. I grabbed a couple pints of Four with dinner, and took a Flora Rustica back to the store with me when I was done.

As nice as it was to just have each available next door, finding the two on the beer list was extra rewarding because I knew how they ended up there.

A month or two ago, I had Ron (Toms) over for dinner, and as usually happens when I have guests over, I pulled a couple of bottles out of the garage for a little tasting. I asked Ron what kind of beers he was feeling like, and he mentioned saisons (he carries saison dupont in the bar). I pulled out a boulevard saison brett, and an upright flora rustica. He was really impressed with the flora rustica, and I encouraged him to check out the brewery, do some tastings, and pick up a couple beers for the bar. A few weeks later, I talked to him, and he said he had been to the brewery and met with Alex, and had decided to start carrying some of the Upright beers for the summer.

So tonight, I'm on hour ten (of who knows how many) at the shop, organizing inventory; but the extra hours are going down pretty easy due to a little beer tasting I hosted a month ago, and the fact that it resulted in some upright flowing next door.