Good Brew: When a ‘beercation’ tour leads to a book

When Jason and I headed to Fort Collins, Colorado this summer neither of us had any idea that it would lead to a childhood dream coming to fruition.

We have a “deal” that formed years ago as we started taking “beercations.” For every brewery tour that Jason wants to go on, I get to shop a small downtown area. We have a beercation list like many have a bucket list. Fort Collins is a beer-mecca in Colorado; There are hundreds of breweries in a very small geographical zone. It also has one of the most amazing downtown areas, that goes on for blocks and blocks. The charm and history from the 1800s still remains intact. So it was a major win-win for both of us.

We toured one of the top four craft breweries in the nation, New Belgium. As part of the tour, you get to see their bottling line operation. On this particular day in June, they were actually running the bottling line. Jason asked the tour guide various brew questions. I was mesmerized watching the bottles dance and gyrate down the bottling line. I became so enthralled and fascinated to find that a lone bottle had become separated toward the end of the line and was quite a bit behind the mass of bottles in the process. My imagination just ran away with the thoughts and conversations this bottle must be experiencing! “Hey guys, wait up, I am coming!” At that moment, a story was inspired.

We came home to Texas a few days later and I started writing. I have always wanted to write a book. I used to sit with my dad on our outdoor patio in my hometown of Canton and sketch comic strips and short stories. Very special memories and cherished moments, especially with the anniversary of my dad’s passing coming up on 11 years this month.

When we created Beer Geeks, we worked with an amazingly talented branding artist, Brian Delaney, who created our logo and beer run character. For our one-year anniversary, we had our customers name the character. That is when Zippy McBubbles was born.

That brewery tour inspired me to envision and write about the brewing adventures that Zippy would have! The book, A Brave Little Bottle, launches on Thursday, Dec. 12 at Beer Geeks. Stop by for a signed copy. Stay tuned to the Zippy McBubbles Facebook page for all of his adventures!

Cheers!

Deidra
Boss Geek

Beer Geeks is a craft beer bottleshop located in downtown Rockwall. We have over 350 craft beers from all over the world. Everything is organized by style and priced as singles, so you can build a custom pack out of anything, everything in the store. Where it’s okay to geek out about beer! www.BeerGeeksShop.com This is a sponsored guest column.

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