December's Playlist:
Something I Learned Today - Hüsker Dü
Kiss Off - Violent Femmes
Heliosphan - Aphex Twin
Affection - Crystal Castles
Wave of Mutilation - Pixies
Hanging Tree- Queens of the Stone Age
Howdy Ho, Neighborinos!
Kellye here.
As we drink and reflect on the year, Joe and I can recognize that, frankly, a lot did not go to plan. We've been in this industry long enough (and I've worked on enough new brewery openings) to know that this is part of the journey, but *takes long sip of beer and stares into the hot ass December afternoon* damn if it doesn't hurt a bit more when it's your own pride and joy.
Although we saw several setbacks in our Original Plan(TM), the only way to properly take the hits is to assess how to make it an even better vision than before. Joe's response was to dive head first into pursuing a brewer's certificate in his limited free time, and already our recipes are getting tighter and better. Meanwhile, I turned my head to Kyle, Texas itself, to see where the needs are in the community and how Cassette Beer Company could be more than just a standalone brewery in the town. Which led us to a decision we're very excited to delve more into in the new year...
We'll be opening with a kitchen.
As diehard foodies, we truly couldn't believe that our constantly ravenous beings hadn't given a proper investigation into this in the beginning. Our vision for our kitchen isn't unlike our vision for our beer: approachable, sustainable, and high quality. We can't wait to incorporate farm to table small bites into Cassette!
It has been a wildly joyful year, when looking back on all that we've gotten to do through Cassette Beer.
We won the Brewery in Planning Grant from Texas Craft Brewers Guild.
We also unfortunately caught COVID and weren't there in person to accept the award, but holy schnikes, if that wasn't one of the most uplifting parts of our year to be chosen. There are so many incredible breweries in planning across the state, and it meant the world to be selected by Method Architecture and the Guild.
We joined the Kyle Chamber of Commerce.
And have met so many incredibly intelligent and talented business owners in the city through it. Something we love so much about Kyle is the passion and dedication of the small businesses in it, not only to the city, but to their communities as well. We're so proud to be included.
Our friends at Growler Express invited us to guest pour.
Our neighbors are one of the best craft beer hole in the walls in the area, and to be invited to share our beers with their community instilled so much confidence. Everyone was incredibly kind, and we had a blast getting to talk to everyone about our craft and getting to know what they're hoping for with our new gathering place opening.
We poured for our neighborhood's Fall Festival.
We started this project because we care about the people around us, and we want to invest in our community. This may have been a small event at a park, filled with face painting and yard games, but to share our beer with neighbors who have become friends proved to us that we are on the journey we want to be on.
We participated in Funk 'n Sour at Jester King Brewery.
Funk 'n Sour is one of the largest congregations of amazing food and beverage in Texas, hosted every year at Jester King Brewery. Participants are randomly paired as a food/bev team, creating unique items to share with guests. We were so excited to be partnered with the San Marcos based Three Six General, who has received a ton of accolades from locals for their incredible food. I don't think we ate for another 48 hours after binging 30 different offerings, but the entirety of the festival we were met with so much encouragement and excitement for Cassette. I know we keep talking about community, but Central Texas is truly so special when it comes to the bonds of the service industry.
Honestly, we had fun.
It's beer, y'all. Even on the most stressful of days, Joe and I go to bed realizing our dream is to make great beer and serve it to great people. That's it. As hard knocks try to pull the rug from us, there's nothing more resilient than being able to know that your job and your dream at the end of the day is an absolute blast.
We can't end the year without thanking you, who's reading this. Heck, you got this far into a blog post. I wasn't sure anyone fully read blogs since LiveJournal peaked in 2008. The fact of the matter is that you're invested in what we're doing, and if folks like you didn't care, we'd just stick to being weird home-brewers with an inability to extend our music taste past 1997. People make this journey worthwhile, and we're so glad you're our people.
If you thought this year was exciting, we can't wait to share what's coming in 2023.
It's so hard to explain, so easy to feel. - Queens of the Stone Age
The only picture we managed to get from Funk 'n Sour. Also shoutout to my little cassette tape lantern.