The Universe IS Listening

This past Thursday, Laura and I embarked on our first attempt to distribute our beer outside the Methow Valley.  We loaded up the van with 9 cases of beer and headed to Lake Chelan which is a lakeside community a lot larger than Winthrop.  Our first stop was Bear Foods, a natural food store in downtown Chelan.  When I stuck my head into the office, Theresa, co-owner with her husband Nick, jumped out of her chair to greet me after I told her I was from Old Schoolhouse Brewery.  She said they have been wanting to get our beer in their store since they visited the pub a few months back.  I unloaded a case of Ruud Awakening IPA, Rendezvous Porter, and Blazing Amber.  Nick gave us a tour and we ate terrific crêpes for lunch in their small adjoining cafe.  It was the best crêpe I have ever had - hands down. 

Our next stop included the Red Apple Markets in Chelan and Manson.  Both store owners seemed delighted with the concept of carrying our beers - and they liked the free samples we left them.  We evenr met an Odom beer distributor who told us to try The Vogue, a wine/beer specialty store, and Local Myth Pizza, both in Chelan.

After leaving a couple samples with the nice bartender at Vogue, we went to Local Myth Pizza.  Clearly known for great pizza, they are becoming known for their quality beer selection.  The staff and friendly owner, Art, are beer connoisseurs.  Art loved that we are a small family-run business, like his, out selling our own product.  They bought the extra case of Ruud Awakening IPA we had and ordered the other beers as well.  Laura and I spent at least an hour chatting and getting to know our new friends we made there.

We then stopped at Lone Pine Fruit and Espresso on the way to Wenatchee and received another welcoming reception from Jim, the owner, and Jenny, the manager.  For a small, side of the road fruit stand, they had an amazing selection of 22 ounce premium beers.  We left samples and headed to Wenatchee.

We stopped at the restaurant McGlinn's and left samples there too.  Then we went to the large West Coast Hotel and The Roaster's Ale House, located on the 9th floor.  We met the bar manager who said he only deals with the two big distributors, Odom and Columbia.  I told him we were only interested, at this time, in self-distributing our beer in the Pacific Northwest.  I don't know why he softened and then said he could make an exception.  We went back to the van and brought him some samples which he gave to the bartender, David, who said he would like to buy some beer by the case for himself!  The bar manager (ironically named  Mr. Beers - no kidding), bought me a beer and gave us his business card with his personal cell phone number scribbled on the back.  The funniest part was when we looked at his card, his last name is "Beers" - Mr. Beers - no kidding.

Lastly, we stopped at Joe's Log Cabin in Wenatchee and left the happy crew there with samples.  Ironically, the only place we hit a solid wall was Safeway.  The clerk said all decisions on beer are made from headquarters in California.  When we checked the aisle titled with a large signed "Microbrew," we discovered that there wasn't a single microbrew in the cooler.  Everything was from large craft breweries - good beers but not microbrews.

Overall we were a little shocked with the response.  We got two new customers and probably 5 to 7 more after they taste the samples.  Now we're trying to figure out how to increase our beer production!  Be careful what you wish for - the Universe is always listening, even to mere thoughts.