Of Beer and Bikes

A few years back when my brother was getting hitched I phoned up a local brewery, Half Acre Beer Co., to give us and his buddies a tour.  They had just opened up in the neighborhood of North Center and didn't even have an official tour but they were happy to pour us some brews and give us a spiel.  Having been on a number of brew tours this one stands out as one of the best.  One of the owners led the tour and it was mostly about how they run a small business.  It was a nice break from the old standby of ingredients and process talk.  The beer was great and the dudes working there were super cool.   Immediately I knew that I wanted to live within walking distance and that this was going to be my new neighborhood.  When my lease was up later that year that's exactly what happened.  Breweries and churches used to be town anchors in fact North Center was originally called St. Ben's due to the huge church in town.  Prohibition put a stop to the brewery and it seems that only now the local brewery is coming back to communities.  I mean it when I say communities too.  When I fill up my growler I ride my bike though the bay door and rest it against a wall of the inside of the brewery and I might hang out for a while before pedaling off.  Much to my excitement I found out they sponsor a bicycle team.  With my bicycle crew no longer in Chicago I was in dyer need for people to ride with, so when my friend Laurie from work said she joined Half Acre Cycling, I asked her to put in a good word for me.  Much to my surprise she sponsored me to join.   Within a month I became a member.  I have raced in exactly one criterium and that is the extent of my competitive cycling.  I have now committed myself to 7 races this year.  I figured a few road, mountain, and possibly cyclo-cross too should make for a fun year.   Hitching my wagon to this brewery has been coming up aces for sure.