Happy Holidays!

The game plan was to have about 40 holiday variety 4 packs this week to share with family and friends of Black Rock Brewing. Each 4 pk was going to consist of one can each of Dr's Island IPA, Hoffy's Hoppy Golden, Seal Rock Irish Stout and Red Shutters Amber Ale. We were fired up for the opportunity to give the gift of homemade brew tied up with a bow. Unfortunately we ran into some unexpected adversity late last week during our scheduled canning day.

The cans were sanitized and dried. The labels were scripted and stuck. The beer filling gun was locked and loaded. The Oktober can seamer was buzzing. We were ready for action. We filled the first can with Seal Rock Stout. A perfect fill! We transitioned to the can seamer to secure the lid and that's when we ran into problems. For some reason the can, despite repeated attempts, would not lock into place. We didn't know why this was happening and we didn't know what to do. At this point beer was flying from the can seamer and the beer gun and curse words were flying from our mouths.

After what felt like forever, but was probably in reality only a few minutes of chaos and frustration, we looked around at the beauty surrounding us, took a deep breath of the salty cold air and realized that this wasn't the end of the world.

With clear heads we took a closer look at the can and compared it to another 12 oz can of seltzer that we were drinking. Much to our surprise, the can we were trying to fill with beer was a little bit smaller than the 12 oz can. Turns out that by accident we ordered 300 ml and 550 ml aluminum cans instead of the 12 oz and 16 oz cans that we thought we were ordering. The Oktober can seamer is set up for 16 oz cans with an attachment that accommodates 12 oz and that is why we were having difficulty. With fingers crossed, we called Oktober customer support and to our delight they told us that they sell a 300 ml/550 ml metric adaptor. So, we ordered the new attachment (delivery tracking shows that it's currently hung up in some USPS

distribution center in Wallingford, CT probably mixed up with many of Santa's packages), cleaned up our mess and enjoyed a few sips of that 300ml of stout sitting in the uncapped can. It tasted delicious!!

As soon as we receive our precious package we will schedule a new canning day and get back on track. At this point, it probably won't be until after Christmas. Just a minor hiccup, a lesson learned and little adversity that required remaining calm, coming up with a new plan and staying positive no matter what the circumstances.

We can't wait to share our beer with you and ring in a new year full of hope, happiness and joy. Happy Holidays to you all.

Remember. Be kind. Drink local and do more of what makes you happy 😊

With much gratitude and love,

Greg and Michelle