From Highland Brewing:
ASHEVILLE, NC – On Thursday, November 14, a cask bar in a shipping container, a David Bowie cover band and parking attendants armed with military-grade walkie talkies will make Highland’s biggest event of the year even better.
The annual Cold Mountain release party celebrates a spiced winter ale with a fantastic following. First named Holiday Ale in 1997, the mix of natural ingredients, including cinnamon and vanilla, changes each year. The ensuing discussion of the “best” Cold Mountain provides endless commentary as fans compare vintages from year’s past. The Cold Mountain release party is the first taste of this precious brew.
This year, the brewery plans to serve up to 2,000 guests from four bars located around the property, inside and outside. With double the bars and double the staff, they’re ready for the crowds. Grant DaSantos, Hospitality Manager, says, “For me, it’s dialing in the event and seeing how to make it more streamlined and more fun each year. This is the party for me that starts the holiday season!” Pam Wellman, bartender and tour guide adds, “I think we’re staffed up enough so that nobody behind the bar except Jamie is nervous. But nervous Jamie is normal.” Jamie was too nervous to comment.
One-of-a-kind casks, served at the outdoor bar, which is a retrofitted shipping container, will be a highlight. The cask line-up: 4pm Cold Mountain with Coconut, 5pm Cold Mountain with Molasses, 6pm Cold Mountain with Ghost Peppers. The peppers were grown in the office windowsill of Distribution Manager, Kevin Lowe. A painful pepper tasting proved the ghost peppers are… hot.
Cold Mountain mixes new with old. The new recipe is most coveted in a beautiful blue liter bottle, packaged the old way, by hand. It takes eight people in close proximity to unpack, wash, fill, cap, rinse, dry, add the swingtop, and repack. An eight-hour shift makes for a long, repetitive day. Deservedly so, each employee gets a bottle. And every employee will be at the party.
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