First, I took a trip on Thursday to Redlight Redlight in Orlando. Brent, the owner, is a good friend of mine and someone I respect a bunch. Every time I go to Redlight, I see in the faces of the staff and patrons the true love for beer and the intense desire to learn more about our liquid bread. I always manage to run into some good friends while I'm there and Thursday was no exception. When I walked in, I saw my good buddy Mike Wallace from Terrapin and he reminded me that it was National IPA day and he bought me a Hopsecutioner. In addition to the fact that I love Hopsecutioner, there is something great about drinking a beer with someone who works for the brewery. You can see a great level of interest when they watch you take your first sip and it makes me appreciate the pride and humility that is still very present in this industry.
In the middle of my beer, Tom Moench walked in. Tom owns the Orange Blossom Pilsner label and has been a great friend and ally from my first days as a bar owner. I owe much of my success to Tom and I'll always be indebted to him. After hanging with these two guys for a bit, my energy for the beer business was back to where I need it to be at all times. We ended the night with a trip to Tom's house to sample some rare beers, but I will divulge that story on my next entry, as it will be a long story.
Next, Tropical Nights in DeLand on Friday night. For the 5 years that I have been involved in the bar business in DeLand, I have despised this event. For the first few years I was here, it was as if the crowd from TA Slammers turned into Gremlins, took a field trip to Victoria Falls, returned en mass to destroy downtown DeLand, only to sink back into the woods waiting to ruin my night again the following year. It's not that I would find crack pipes on the ground after the event, it was just that I couldn't handle the "YOU DON'T HAVE MILLER LIGHT?!?!" question so many times without desiring that my potential customer take their business down the street to redneck bar numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.
This year, the crowd was awesome! I think ABBEY has finally locked in the crowd we were looking for, and as far as I know there weren't any fights on this side of Indiana Avenue. It made me think of the dreams that we had when we were planning the bar and now to finally see it after 5 years is a revelation. I am reminded that if you are diligent enough, eventually you can succeed. It also reminds me of how easy it is for me to get down on myself and become frustrated. Working on it.
So Saturday I was hung over as all get out and was supposed to leave for Tampa for the WaZoo Festival with Vinnie. I was awoken at noon to Vinnie knocking on my door and answered hazily. Luckily, I built in some extra time to the trip, so we weren't in any danger of being late. This event, if anyone has not bee to it, needs to be attended. This is one of the best events that I've ever worked and I'm greatly looking forward to next year. Over 6,000 people attended this year (see pics below). They gave us 3 volunteers and they were awesome. I'm going to do a spotlight on the festival this week, so keep an eye peeled for it.
I feel very fortunate to be where I am and I'm feeling good about the next few events we have coming up. I will be updating this week on all that is going on, but I will mention that we have a Lazy Magnolia kickoff at Redlight Redlight on Monday, August 15th, and will be featuring the Jefferson County Sweet Potato Cream Stout on draft!! Stay tuned.
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