Today's the day. GABF prep at Oakshire Brewing

Banner…check

Table signs…check

Extra warm clothes…check

Beer to share…..check.

Tomorrow morning I leave sunny Eugene Oregon where highs are expected in the 90′s. My destination, the often sunny Denver Colorado and the Great American Beer Festival. Tomorrow’s high in Denver, 48 with rain.  Well, we at Oakshire hope to drag a little sunshine with us to the Rockies and have a great week at the largest beer festival and competition in this country.

Preparations have been many as is the norm for this time of year. We all get to head out and that means get the work done early. Joe and I ramped up the brew schedule and did 8 batches in the last 8 days, a big deal for this little brewery. So, no worries about us running the cupboard dry in October. There will be plenty when we get back.

Sam and Chris will bust through sales this week so all the Eugene and Corvallis watering holes are fully stocked for the weekend.

And finally, we sit and fret about how our bottled beer held up in the travel and the sitting around in Denver for the last month.  Today marks a usually fun day at the brewery  as this afternoon we will all sit down and crack into a bottle of each of the beers we sent to the competition.  It’s partly a “good luck” tradition and it also gives us a chance to see how they held up in the bottle.  The judging starts Wednesday and this “should” be similar to what the judges are tasting as they evaluate our beers.  If you don’t recall, we sent Watershed IPA, Overcast Espresso Stout, Line Dry Rye, Collaborative Evil, and Bourbon Barrel IPA.  I’ll try report back tonight and let you know how the tasting went.

Next stop, Denver……..