Friday, August 28, 2009

Preparation Kills The Hunt


In an effort to pass a grand inspection on Tuesday we have all hands on deck working round the clock to get this place done.  That's right, done.  If all goes as planned, which it usually never does, we will have 99% of all construction done by Tuesday.  

As a result, the hunt loses and won't be held today.  

Next week, next week...

Half Acre
Chicago, IL


Monday, August 24, 2009

A record hunt comes to a close...

The capsule has been found after a one week and three day long hunt.  Congrats to Bill.  This was a good hunt, I think.  There were a lot of people emailing, texting and posting on the blog about where they had been, their travels and what their concept in finding it was.  This hunt was an exercise in persistence and bizarre travels.  

The capsule was found on the western bank of the Chicago River where Agatite dead ends into it.  It was hidden under a bunch of leaves on the slope.  

The street, Agatite, doesn't seem to have an explanation for its name.  Donald Hayner wrote a book about street names in Chicago called Streetwise, but he was unable to come up with the reasoning behind this name.  There are some theories about its connection to the Acme Tap Line and it's hauling routes from Agatite to Acme, maybe a connection to the Worlds Fair buildings being made with large quantities of Agatite, but there doesn't seem to be anything  definitive.  Maybe one of you know the truth.

Thanks to all you who took the time to run around the city.  Our hope is that you have fun and one day find the capsule.  This week it will be out there again, waiting for you.

Cheers, 

Half Acre Beer Co
Chicago, IL



Tuesday, August 18, 2009

This Week

This marks a record for the Hunt.  The capsule still sits where I hid it.  I imagine that people have given it their mental and/or physical effort and have moved on with their summer, as I'm sure I would have done.  Maybe this puts the ball back into our court.  Do we send out a hint, go get it ourselves......??  The answer is no.  It stays put, right where we hid it until someone else brings it back to us. 

In other news, Project Heifer is working out great, except we still produce more grain than Farmer Ben can feed to his animals.  He has a "gentleman's farm," so all that he raises is for personal consumption or some small sales to locals.  His needs are growing, but our production is also increasing, so we continue to stay ahead of his needs.  So if you know someone locally that could use some spent grain, let us know. And before you leave a comment saying "I use it in my garden," or "I make dog biscuits with it," remember that even after we hook up Farmer Ben we have an excess of thousands of pounds each week.  Maybe one of you guys wants to start a secondary business based on spent grain.  It could be great.  All the free spent grain one could want.

We've been working on some new beers that will come out soon, as well as overall strategy to continue pushing things at Half Acre.  You can expect a 22oz / draft beer to be released in Sept. called Magnus.  Magnus will be a jacked up Schwartz beer for your imbibing pleasure.  We also just brewed a honey beer in collaboration with a downtown hotel that have three, large beehives on their roof. That will be done in a couple of weeks.  Looking forward to that.  We're also working on getting our first shipment of cans so that we can begin using our canning line in time for the store to open.

Which brings me to the store.  Construction is only days from being finished.  Obviously we're going to sell our own beer, but we're also going to sell products from other brewers and distillers.  If you guys have any ideas on what you'd like to see in the store, then let us know.

Cheers, 

Half Acre Beer Co
Chicago, IL








Friday, August 14, 2009

Anniversary Hunt


This August we acknowledge our second anniversary of selling beer in Chicago.
A lot has changed, but we’ve steadily focused on having a lot of fun being part of this experiment.

The capsule is out there so maybe take a trip and find it. We'll give you free beer if you bring it back to us.

Remember to call, text or email to announce that you’ve found it so we can call off the folks running around the city in hopes of doing the same.
773 351 5709
Gabriel@halfacrebeer.com

Your clue:

"Why did they name it so, no one seems to know. The asphalt gives way and the earth slopes down into the current. Leaves hide the capsule. Watch your step."

Good Luck.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

The Great Taste Conquers All

This weekend is the Great Taste of the Midwest. If you’re not familiar, it’s one of our country’s grandest beer affairs, which takes place every year in Madison, WI. We’ll be heading off Friday morning for a number of brewers parties then gearing up for the big event on Saturday. The event itself is sold-out, but you can still find tickets in all the secondary places one would look.

This means that all that is Half Acre will be tossing back frothy beverages in another state when the Hunt would normally take place. As a result there will be no Hunt. However, if you come to the Taste and find us we will pour you as much beer as you like: a different type of Hunt.  Don’t be shy.

Cheers,

Half Acre Beer Co
Chicago, IL