Sixpoint Brewery tour

Do yourself a favor and take the Sixpoint Craft Ales brewery tour in Red Hook, Brooklyn. I had the pleasure of meeting brewmaster Shane Welch at TAP New York last weekend and he said come on by. So I did, joined by my wife and her mother to celebrate her birthday.

He began the tour by saying that he normally takes people into the brewery, shows the equipment, talks about how everything works... but "that's boring - it's a nice day, so why don't you get your complimentary beer now, meet me on the roof, and I'll tell you a few stories first."

The man is a natural storyteller, but he has clearly had some great experiences starting a small business from a dream. Fifteen months going strong.

First time I ever had beer right out of cold conditioning in a brewery. Wow. Try the IPA.

I wouldn't dream of ruining any of the stories. Just take the tour. And find places to drink their beer.

Very social day. In addition to the three of us, we ran into Michael from The NYC Homebrewer's Guild, who was every bit as enthusiastic about the people, the brewery and the beer that is Sixpoint.

I am reading Radical Brewing! Very well-written. Every so often you need a pick-me-up, and inspiration for your brewing. Good book for it.