As has become the custom on the 2nd Friday night of each month, my husband and I went downtown this past weekend to Food Truck Friday. As one would guess, food trucks line Carroll and Washington Streets as a local band plays and residents engage in a fair-like atmosphere of standing in lines and/or visiting with family and friends. There’s even snow cones and a bouncy house for the kids.
On this particular evening, Eagle Creek out of Statesboro was having a tap takeover at our local Bodega Brew — a hot spot for coffee, wine and beer along with a short list of menu items. Ever since our oldest son Charles became a brewmaster a couple of years ago, we have tried to support the local industry of craft brewers. We met the young brewmaster named Zack and tried his Tea Party Red Amber. It smelled of herbal sweet tea, but with a medium feel, it tasted of rich, malty caramel, finishing dry with a subtle tea note. And I liked it. [I know my son is quite pleased that I actually know what all that meant. He has taught me well.]
We also made the connection that Zack and our son had met earlier this year at the Macon Beer Festival. But before we left, he said, “Tell Charles if he’s interested, let’s do a collaborative.” Now a collaborative is when two breweries meet and “collaborate” on a new beer. In other words, they create a recipe, get together and brew. Makes sense, huh.
My husband and I moved back out into the street, leaving the air-conditioning for what had become a very pleasant 88 degrees, thanks to the earlier rain, and found our way to the Piedmont Brewery “food” truck. There we met the owner/brewer Brian Whitley, a friend of our son. What a treat to engage with him and hear again the camaraderie that exists between brewers. They had already collaborated on a delicious hibiscus and mango Belgium Wit, appropriately called, “Syncopated Strangers.” Great for a hot summer afternoon. As we parted company, Brian headed to Bodega to greet Zack ... and to buy one of his beers.
But even before all of this, I had already begun to notice the fellowship between brewers. When one has a tap takeover at a particular brew pub or taproom, the others show up in support — and often help out. Or when one brewer runs into a problem with a particular brewing process, he will call another for advice, and it is given liberally.
Yes, I walked back to my vehicle Friday night marveling again at this fraternity — this sodality. When I was able, I texted Charles and told him I had just met Zack and Brian, and his response was, “Awesome guys! It still amazes me how much community there is in this industry.”
You might be interested to know that before our son became a brewmaster, he was a youth pastor — for 13 years. When he tells people that, their eyes often get wide. But he follows it with, “I do the same thing I used to do ... just in a different arena: I still try to create an experience of oneness.”
Maybe these guys have discovered something that the church is still trying to figure out.
“And I ask not only for these disciples,
but also for all those who will one day believe in Me through their message.
I pray for them all to be joined together as one
even as you and I, Father, are joined together as one.
I pray for them to become one with Us
so that the world will recognize that You sent Me.
For the very glory You have given to Me I have given them
so that they will be joined together as one
and experience the same unity that We enjoy.
John 17:20-22
Just an ordinary moment...
Cheers!
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