Ballyhoo: Roller Coaster

Based on my last post, you already know I tend to check what the “national day” happens to be. I get an email about it every day. We’ll do something fun with it, eventually. But as I write this, I see it’s it is Grief Awareness Day. Odd timing, but more on that in a minute.

Lots of highs this month. It started with finally being open about our branding, our location, and an opening day – even if just a guess right now. The article Libby Flood wrote for BusinessDen really made it real for all of us. I also violated my own rule by reading EVERY comment across the internet. It’s a whole bunch of positivity, but yeah… the negative comments hurt, too. I just need to work on getting that skin thicker. Right around the time of the article, we had utilities at the location confirmed. This was a huge relief. No major upgrades to water, electrical, etc. are needed to make it adequate for a brewery. So, what did we do? Ordered equipment! The awesome folks at American Beverage Equipment are in charge of the brewhouse and tanks for LUKI. We spent the second half of the month going back-and-forth reviewing drawings and brewery layout. We also recently decided to partner with SideKik Marketing. They’re going to help bring our off-the-wall event ideas to life, with some of the best photo and video content I’ve seen. Lastly, and most importantly, Arrow B Architecture has been diligently working on the brewery’s function and form. They have great experience with breweries and restaurants; I urge you to check out their portfolio and get a sense of the fantastic detail they bring to projects. So much excitement going on this month.

But then, the LUKI family was hit with loss. My father-in-law, Herm Schempp, passed away a week ago. I say this without hesitation: he was a live version of The Most Interesting Man in the World. One of my first experiences was walking through his garden. He picked a habanero pepper and popped it in his mouth like popcorn. I did the same, and then thought I was going to die. Little did I know, he was crossbreeding hot peppers to make them even hotter than necessary. That was Herm. I’ve watched this man slice up a whole pig at a roast with alarming speed and accuracy. He was a schoolteacher. A pilot. On the ski patrol. A soldier. First generation from Germany, he taught my wife to pour a proper beer from their home keg when she was 10. Too much head? Sorry kid, you get to drink off the foam.

Herm was a big inspiration for the brewery. When I first met him 25 years ago, he was already pushing business ownership. Herm started Boulder Sausage in the 1980’s and grew the brand to regional notoriety. So, anything I brought up ultimately turned into a response of, “you should start THAT as a business”. The entrepreneurial spirit was certainly infectious, but unfortunately it took 20-plus years to finally understand what that meant to us. Even in the failing health of the past year, asking about our progress was always one of his questions. It does hurt, knowing that we couldn’t get there quick enough so he could share in the joy of opening. But we’ll be there soon, and we’ll share that first beer in spirit. With the right head of foam.

Herman Schempp, 1935-2019

A toast to all who have lost,
-Jeff
August 30, 2019
Written while drinking a Buffalo Gold, by Boulder Beer Company.