For some people, life is about work and family. For others, it’s about beer.
Life should not revolve around beer, you might say, but it can be a part of a happy life, especially when it brings more friends into your life.
I’ve watched Jay and Lori Wince stumble around the world, trying new beers and meeting new people and they somehow seem to be better for it.
Their whole journey into the world of craft beers started because of friends. One friend took them to their first microbrewery, Red Rock Brewing Co., in Salt Lake City, Utah. Another friend introduced Jay to the world of homebrewing, which led to where he is now, a professional brewer able to share his beer with old friends, new friends and those who soon will be friends.
Once the taste of craft brewed beer was in their systems, the two traveled far and wide, always looking for another taste of - you guessed it - beer. They’ve been to more than 100 microbreweries in the United States, then carrying their search for more beer overseas. They went to India in 2004, and were somewhat disappointed to find none of the country’s namesake, the India Pale Ale. But their friend was there and he, a homebrewer, had plenty of yummy homebrew to keep the couple happy. They found loads of stout on their trip to Ireland in 2005. And, in between sips of stout, they met some new friends and found at least three microbreweries in Dublin that provided their palettes with some strange new flavors, including an oyster stout, which sounds particularly yummy to a weasel like me.
They traveled to Munich, Germany in 2001 to see and experience Oktoberfest, one of the best internationally-known beer festivals, and, while there they visited a friend, of course.
Many other festivals have tempted them. All, of course, are related to beer, and all have brought new friends into their lives.
They’ve been to the Great American Beer Festival held in late September or October each year in Denver, Colorado,; the former Real Ale Fest, which was held in the winter in Chicago, the Mini Real Ale Fest, held in the spring at Barley’s Smokehouse in Grandview, Ohio, and the National Homebrew Conference, held annually in June at different locations.
As they are now entering a new stint in their journey, by opening Weasel Boy Brewing Co. in Zanesville, beer continues to be a large part of their happy lives, as are all of the friends they have met along the way.
Weasel Boy Brewing opened July 15, 2007, on a small scale providing kegs of craft beers to local bars. Jay and Lori also will be able to sell kegs and growlers (half-gallon jugs) of beer to anyone else interested from the brewery, at 126 Muskingum Avenue, right on the Muskingum River. Tours of the brewery will be available by appointment and anyone lucky enough to be around just after a day of brewing will be greeted by not only friendly faces, but also by the malty sweet scent of fresh wort, which is what humans call unfermented beer.
They are now working to open a tap room at the brewery, where people will be able to come in, sit down on a crazy couch, in a comfy chair or out on the patio and order a pint of freshly-brewed craft beer to enjoy.
It will definitely be worth visiting, partly to meet Jay and Lori and partly to meet some of those crazy friends they’ve been hanging out with all these years.
Who knows, maybe you’ll even see me there when I’m not hiding in my hole.
All three of us are looking forward to meeting you and calling you friend. Remember friends, “When you find good beer, drink it!”