I get by with a little help from my friends...

Walking my dog around the sleepy town of New Braunfels tonight, I got to thinking about how far I've come in life, especially lately. Getting to brew at a brand new production brewery is a dream and a huge honor. Getting there took a lot of patience, education, and hard work. It also took a lot of support from some really awesome people I am honored to know. So, thanks:

Chris, Jib, Shawn, and Josh at BeerTownAustin- These guys are huge supporters of craft beer, especially local beer, and homebrewing. Their passion and thirst for good beer has gotten them involved in many beer events, festivals, and breweries. They are always reporting on goings on, and getting the word out for local beer makers and drinkers alike. They have been a huge support to me, so follow them on Twitter and read their blog. They're good guys spreading the good word.

Aaron Chamberlain, who does a few blogs including Craft Austin and My Last Pint, is another Austinite who promotes, supports, and writes about craft beer, with a focus on local. Aaron has always been a friendly face and an avid supporter of things beer, and has been a great support to me. I was lucky enough to have the honor of doing a video interview for his My Last Pint blog, which is a very cool idea, and very fun to read and watch.

Kevin Brand and Nate Seale at (512) Brewing in Austin have always been welcoming to me as well. They have always had an open door for me, allowing me to come in and ask them questions about large scale brewing, where to find equipment, vendor suggestions, and even help with some DIY brewing spreadsheets. Nate let me come in and brew with him on several occasions, and often burned cd's of bitchin' new jams for me to listen to while making suds. These two guys are both great people and deserving of their success.

Amy and Rob Cartwright and their staff at Independence Brewing, also in Austin, have also been kind and welcoming to me as well. They let me come to their brewery, gave me suggestions for places to get bottles, print labels, and even let me help on bottling day to get to know the bottling line. (We purchased the same model that they have.) The Cartwrights have always been good friends, makers of fine beer, and completely supportive, encouraging, and working towards making Austin, and Texas, a beer community.

My good friend Chris Cherry at Live Oak always gives me great, detailed, and technical insight into the brewing industry, dealing with draft accounts, sales, and building business. He has let me come to the brewery to observe, go on deliveries with him, and even gave me my first lessons in driving a forklift. Chris is an awesome human, and another great person hoping for more of a community in Texas craft beer.

Scott and Jason over at Freetail Brewing in San Antonio are a great pair of guys. They have been nothing but supportive since we announced we were opening a brewery in the town they built, and I have to give them "mad props" (the kids still say that, right?) for what they have achieved. Scott and Jason have proved in the last 2 years that San Antonio is more than a Bud Light Lime type of place, as can be seen with their sell-out imperial stout and incredibly inventive specialty beers like a wheatgrass witbiere. These guys are good allies, and Scott is always making a big push to get legislation in Texas changed to make it easier to produce, sell, and buy beer. These are good guys working for good things, so please go drink their beer. I hope we can keep working together to make San Antonio more of a beer town, and work with all the other breweries in the state to get some legislation changed. (Write your lawmakers daily telling them to throw out their outdated laws and give us a break. Right now, brew pubs can only sell beer to people that come to them, and production breweries like Ranger Creek and (512) can only sell to bars, restaurants, and grocery-type stores to sell to people. We can't sell it if you come to our breweries. I know, pointless.)

There are TONS of other people who have been supportive  of me in my brewing endeavors, so don't be offended if you are not specifically named. I do want to thank the good folks I have worked with at the Flying Saucers in Austin and San Antonio, and all of the other beer writers who have been kind enough to reach out to me and write about us.

Lastly, if my wife were not a huge lover of beer (and an amazingly creative baker with beer), I would not be dong what I am doing. She is the most selfless and supportive lady I have ever known, and she makes awesome ice creams and baked treats with the beers I brew, and she's also done a good amount of homebrewing as well.

I also have to thank Assistant Pete, my brother and assistant brewer at Ranger Creek, for all of his hard work, dedication, thirst for knowledge, and support. He'll be the guy you see lifting those heavy ass kegs of beer that you'll be buying and drinking pretty damn soon. (He's also single and is into cycling and eating awesome natural foods.)

The lesson to learn here: We are not shit without the support of the people around us, and if we don't support them back then we have failed as a community. And strong community is what we need, suckas.