Libri Divini – August 2011

The Official Newsletter of Port Brewing & The Lost Abbey
Volume 3, Issue 4

In this issue:

Around the Brewery | New Faces | Pre-Stone Anniversary Breakfast | Farewell to Larry #5 | End of Summer Sale | New & Upcoming Releases

Around the Brewery

Hard to believe it’s already August, but here it is. Around the Abbey we’ve been so busy that we almost didn’t notice summer is just about at an end. Since spring we’ve been brewing so much that we’ve passed our total production for 2010 and are in the midst of yet another expansion to meet demand.

As part of that expansion we recently moved fermenters 7 and 8 (aka: “Heaven” and “Hell” since that’s what had to be moved to get them into the brewhouse) into our production area next door in anticipation of the arrival of a couple more big fermenters in the next few weeks. Tomme’s also made mention of acquiring a couple of new grain silos which will prevent us from running our current one dry each week (it’s hard to make beer when you have no malt).

All this new equipment will allow us to keep ramping up production and eliminate some of the off and on shortages we’ve been experiencing. And while there’s no expansion of our distribution territories planned just yet, who knows — 2012 could present some new opportunities for us.

Things have been busy over in the tasting room as well. Even though we’re a tiny operation compared to many of our San Diego craft brewing compatriots, we’re on track to see almost 60,000 (yes, 60,000!) visitors this year. To handle all the new folks we’ve already added an additional 20 taps –for a total of 44 handles — and we’ve got some exciting new remodels in the works for the fall. Look for an announcement with details some time after Labor Day.
All told, it’s pretty good stuff and we owe it all to you, the Faithful. Thank you. You keep drinking and we’ll keep brewing.

New Faces: Meet Ryan Tillotson

Recently you may have noticed one the addition of some new multimedia components — photo galleries, video shorts and live broadcasts — the Lost Abbey website and our social media pages. (And if you haven’t noticed, why not?) All this is the work of our new Multimedia Supervisor, Ryan Tillotson, who recently joined us after graduating from film school up in the Los Angeles area.

A gifted guy behind the camera, Ryan is tasked both with documenting life here at the Abbey, and providing you with an informative (and hopefully interesting) look inside the operations of a small American craft brewery.

Beyond providing daily snapshots from around the brewhouse, Ryan has also produced the first two of our “making of” videos (Hot Rocks, La Cruda and Ten Commandments), and our time-lapse silo video. He’s also the man who directed our live broadcasts from the Anniversary Party and Christmas in July. Over the next couple of months you can look forward to plenty more from him.

Ryan’s in the brewhouse most weekdays and a few weekends as well. You’ll also catch him at events around town and some big national ones such as the GABF. If you happen to bump into him anywhere, make sure to say hello. Who knows, he could make you Internet famous…

You can talk to Ryan on Twitter too. Follow him at http://twitter.com/LostAbbeyRyan

Pre-Stone 15th Anniversary breakfast

Stone Brewing’s 15th Anniversary party is just a week away, and as usual we’ll be serving breakfast at the brewery for everyone who wants to carbo-load before heading up to the first session a “stone’s” throw away at Cal State San Marcos.

Our dynamic-duo of chefs, Jason Danderand and Steve Owen will be manning the Magic kitchen and griddling, grilling, frying, smoking and steaming their way through a monster buffet of rib-sticking breakfast foods. As always, the food and fun are free, the beers are regular price.

Doors open at 8:30am on Saturday, August 20, 2011. More information is available here.

A Fond Farewell to Larry #5

Each summer we host an intern who spends several weeks with the brew crew learning how to make beer the Port/Lost Abbey way. (We’re not really sure if this hurts or helps in the real world, but whatever.) Our first intern five years ago was named Larry, and even since then we’ve always referred to the summer intern as “The New Larry”.

This year’s Larry (number 5) is Travis Herman who hails from the East Bay area up in Northern California. Travis recently left a career in bio-research and for the past five weeks has been working long hours learning the craft of brewing from the ground up. (Biggest lesson: “brewing is a lot of hard work.”)

Travis’ internship ends today and he, along with his dog, Hudson, who came down here with him, is driving back to Northern California this weekend to rejoin his wife, who is six months pregnant. A quiet, friendly guy with a wry sense of humor and a quick brain, we’re all going to miss him around here and wish him the best of luck in starting his career as a brewer.

If you’re ever in the Bay Area and happen to run into Travis, feel free to call him “Larry”. He’s only one of five to have earned the title, so you know he’ll appreciate it.

End of Summer Sale

With summer winding down we need to clear some room to make way for new stuff expected this autumn. As a result we’ve put all of our Port and Lost Abbey tanks, T’s and shirts on sale in our online shop. Now through Labor Day (September 5, 2011) you’ll find all these oh-so-cool wearables marked 25% off. Stock is limited to what’s on hand (read “no backorders”). so if you want the best selection you should shop sooner rather than later.

» Click here to see everything on sale.

New Beer Releases

Here’s a quick list of recent and upcoming beer releases:

• July 16: Santa’s Little Helper (Bourbon Barrel-Aged) – 22 ounce bottles and draft. Limited quantities in distribution
• Aug. 5: Summer Pale Ale (SPA) – Draft only. Distribution limited to Southern California.
• Aug. 15: Panzer Pils – 22 ounce bottles and draft. Seasonal; Full distribution.
• Aug. 19: Hop 15 – 22 ounce bottles and draft. Seasonal; Full distribution.

For a full release schedule, check our event calendar.