You’d think that the longest month would be the one where we have 2 or 3 off site events every weekend and we’re brewing twice a week to keep up with demand, but alas! The longest month for us at the brewery is …. January.
After the rush of Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Year’s Eve, January starts with possibility. It begins with a quiet breath before the new year begins to speak. It starts with the promise of a fresh new year… one with no mistakes yet.
And then it hits us….. January becomes cruel, exhaling nothing but bitter cold and frosty air and inhaling all the possibility and promise in the next breath.
Dry January. We respect it. We can work with that and came up with some simple mocktails using out spectacular Hop2O.
Snow Days. We absolutely respect the winter weather in North Carolina. That respect means closing our doors and turning off the OPEN sign. It means no sales. It means no income for our fabulous staff. We do, however, consider ourselves lucky in that we won’t lose product in the winter if the power goes out! Our beer loves being cold, so the cans and kegs can just snuggle into the cold waiting for the open sign to light up! But why does it always seem to snow/ice on the weekend? Give me a Monday snowstorm!!
Somewhere mid-month, it occurs to one of us that it’s not February yet and those last days of January drag on and on…. breathing her cold breath on us… taunting us…. laughing at us! Every day seems to be 48 hours long and the late sunrise and early sun set don’t help the perception.
The Walk for Peace was definitely a highlight of the month; coming through our little town of Pittsboro and making it an overnight stop. The Venerable Monks’ commitment to peace and mindfulness came at the right time and I’m trying to have a peaceful hour if not a whole day.
Namaste!
But now here we sit on the precipice of February 1st. Dry January is almost over. Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras are right around the corner, and they’ll come faster than the last 2 weeks of January seemed.
Sometime in February, we start dreaming of spring even though winter isn’t done quite done with us. We look forward to Valentine’s Day bringing out everything from genuine affection to playful cynicism. There’s Mardi Gras, injecting color, indulgence, and a little chaos right when winter feels longest.
Most of all, we look forward to sunny days with warm light spilling across tables. Glasses clinking in that soft, satisfying way that says companionship. There’s a low hum of conversation—stories being traded, jokes landing, someone laughing so hard they have to put their drink down. Kids zigzag between chair legs. Connect Four pucks clunking into place. The air smelling like malt, citrusy hops, and friendship, community, and belonging.
We hope you can’t wait, either!
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