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Thanksgiving Thankful Notes, 2021

12/1/2021

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Here's our annual installment of November's Thanksgiving Thankful notes.  Thank you so much to all y'all who left these uplifting little leaves to read and for putting such good energy out in the universe.  I can't tell you how much fun we had reading them throughout the month, and again now in typing them up.  

Great beer to look forward to at the end of the day!
Tomatoes (and then another pen added:  “X2”)
im thank foel for happyneesc (*see the pic below, and a special thanks to whoever left this!)Friends
My Mom (heart)
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and sad panda!
Horse & Dragon
Family, fun times, and beer!
Friends, Family, Health
My kids!  & the teachers & school staff!
Thankful to see a middle school friend
Our tasting room team.  They are A-1!
Nature’s beauty & loved ones’ kindness.
BEERS BIKES BOARDS BROS
Cute butts <3
My son Evan!
There are no words to convey how fantastic H&D is – truly exceptional!!!
I’m thankful for beer J
What he said.
Welcoming people who care about others.
Thankful for everything.
Everything.
Sad Panda.
Meester Paul <3
Mellow days, friends who love to eat, & beer.
Simba
Thumbs!
Thankful!  Amazing friends!
Carol & Tim
I’m thankful for the white shaman who blessed our house with his “authentic” native American cyrstals … thanks Todd!
Free beer from my good buddy Keith.
I am thankful for my friends and family in Colorado <3
Great beer and loving, kind, community-minded people with whom I can enjoy it!
I am thankful for Paul… Paul the beertender.  Sincerely – Tony B.
I’m thankful for my daughter <3
Beer & Friends <3
The U.S. Military
Thankful for my boys Jack & Liam booster rockets w/o fins! J
Alex Cash’s attitude + smile J
My pregnant wife.
Pam!  J <3
My family & new job.
Brewery friends!  Cheers!  <3<3<3<3
Lost a good friend.  Leyla Walters.
My family H&D & the community they’ve created.
The hew cad I got.
Patricia and Duncan AKA Big Chunky Hippo J
My family (they are awesome!)
Animals riding on Roombas
I’m grateful for great beer, time with my family, & the season of gratitude in general.  I’m fortunate to live close to H&D & Funkwerks & everyone has just welcomed us & become our extended family.  Thanks for all you do!  <3 Leighanne A.
Hooch
PHISH <3
Good health, a job, living in FoCo, good beer!
Paul deserves all the raises!
Thankful for the H&D team!
Good people with good intentions!  J
This is frickin good beer.
Days where I can stay home & do absolutely nothing!
People who gather over beer with friends & family!
I love “Karens”
Alison!  She is the best!  (and then another pen added:  X@)
Perspective
God bless this beautiful day… (signed but I can’t discern the letters, sorry!)
I love you J Jada
TimCo & CarolCo
I’m thankful for my family and their good health!  <3
Awesome kiddos
My friend Hilson coming to visit <3
Friends & family, including H&D!  Cheers <3
#FRESHTASTYCOWORKERS
So thankful for good health, great friends, and the promise of a new year!
Thankful for the Friday Night Crew…. They Rock!
Family Friends Food Home Imagination Health Dogs Travel
Best tour I have ever had.  Thanks!  [And on the reverse in a different hand:  “Luke gave this tour.”
PTO.  FRIENDSHIP.  NATURE.
Thankful for great co-workers
Pam J
My H&D family!  <3Mar
I am thankful for water – to drink, to play in, to view & to shower in.
Thankful for good beer.
Garth Brooks, Toby Keith, Gwen Stefani
Thankful 4 family & friends AND FURBIES
I’m thankful for blankets that don't have anthrax small pox.
Friends who are family.
I’m thankful for being 1/16 Navajo and feeling their pain.
Delicious craft beer!
Elise’s attitude (with a smile) to the mask fighters.
I am thankful for my mostest favoritest Beer Babe Queen of the World Elise!  <3
I am thankful for Horse & Dragon beer!  <3
My parents
MARIO
I am thankful for (yo) JIMBO
Living my dream w/ my lovely hubby <3
People who still have critical thinking skills
#LADYGAGA Gucci <3
Great friendships <3
I am grateful for the “help”
We are thankful for H and D! <3
My bestie Christine <3
A supportive group of friends and family.  And good beer.  And mountains.
Friends who do Beersgiving J
Thankful for good beer & beautiful weather at a wonderful place!
MY CUTE HUSBAND!
Good beer and amazing friends to drink it with <3 Kalli
Family, friends, pets, and beer!  J
SUNNY CO DAYS
Alison!
My family
Friends who run
Family & the chance to visit H&D
I AM THANKFUL FOR GREAT BEER!
BEER!
Blevins co-workers <3<3<3<3
Alison’s expertise [in another pen:  “X2”]
I’m so very thankful for the H&D fam and the fresh tasty beer!!!!
Thankful for Winter Lights
People that you can be real with – no judgement!  J
Michele <3 (who doesn’t?)
The health of my family.
I am thankful for your delicious beer & friends that are like family.  J
Sad Panda is great!
Horse & Dragon beer!  But please bring back H&D stout!
Good beer & kind hearts & Newells from Austin.
BEER PPL DISC GOLF SNOW LEAVES
FATHER, SON & HOUSE OF GUCCI
Thankful to be living in such a fun place w/ good people + great beer.
THE BETTER, STRONGER, MORE HONORABLE CHRIS.
My awesome parents, who support me and our community so much – and still have time to listen, laugh, and enjoy life (and beer!).
Beer, homecookin’, pajamas, someone to wind down with <3
Tanner’s beer recipes.
I’m thankful for my food <3
Beer
Thankful for smiling H&D faces!!
Great neighbors
Alex’s positive attitude
Best friends that you haven’t seen in awhile
Sunny Colorado days – year ‘round!
Friends, pups, choices, family love, security.
That laugh.  I mean you TimCo.  [another that got a X2]
FRIENDS
I am thankful for wife and beer!  (in no set order)
Baby Logan <3  <3 Andrea & Court
Shrek
Family <3 chosen + given
Pam & Marleyna for being such awesome Sunday peeps!
What our kids add to our biz!
SCRIMPS!  (X2)
Enjoying the outdoors with friends!
Our awesome team!
DOUG
I am thankful for my freedoms ‘merica.
My mom
The kind soulds that make the H&D taproom feel like a home away from home.  – Savannah M.
Thankful for my sisters and momma who is 94!!
Thankful for Tim + Carol, H&D, family, + Fort Collins!  <3 N+T Meis
Thank you Paul for teaching us Farkel (back in 2019, before the world change). 
Sad Panda!
Every moment of every day!
The blessed of the world who simplify instead of complicate!  J  Kudos!
Thankful for your beer!  J
FRESH TASTY BEER
Family Friends + BEER!
My friends!  Beer brings people together.
My amazing husband, Jason!  -- Katie
My family <3
Alexa <3
Meeting friendly people
Good toilet paper

And here are a few late-adds to the online form we used last year.  Love that folks added what they're thankful for throughout December last year online!  (Sorry I missed them last year!)
My friends, being able to socialize.
My daughters and beautiful wife
Sunshine and good beer, friends and health
My health!
My boopers and beautiful girlfriend
Rachael
My family, my health, sunshine & beer:)
Beer
beer and family
My family, my health, sunshine & beer:)
Beer
Health!
[NB:  we did leave a few off for the first time this year, as we worried they were aimed at stirring up anger rather than putting good energy out in the universe.  If we left yours off and you feel it was left in good faith, feel free to take that up with CarolCo and explain!]
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Bless this human!  This one pumpkin counteracts anything negative a few folks might have been trying to stir up.  :-) 
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PRETZELS & BEER!

9/8/2021

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They take 22 seconds to make (see video; it must be true), and they're a near-perfect pairing with every single beer style.  Plus, they're fun.  You gotta'!

If you're here because you saw a post about pretzels and beer on The Gram, here you go.  This'll make about 6 biggish pretzels so double it if you've got a crowd or like to eat a bunch of pretzels.  They're best fresh, though, so you don't really want leftovers.  Just make another batch when you want more.

We can't overemphasize the importance of having #freshtastycraftbeer to hand while you make and ingest these.

Put all this in a bowl of a food processor*:
3/4 C warm water
1 t sugar
1/2 t salt
1 t yeast
1 T melted butter
2.5 C flour
Whip it around for about 2-4 minutes until it forms a dough ball and gets kind of smooth.  When you touch or pinch some off if  it's sticky/icky (or if it's not, but if you prefer a more dense pretzel rather than a puffy one), add some more flour.  If it's holding together well, you're good to go.

*If you don't have a food processor, you're going to need more beer.  After you drink some more of it, mix all that stuff listed above up and start kneading it and keep going until it forms a smooth, silky ball of dough.  This will take more like 10+ minutes.*  We are not fans of straws in beer but you might need one during this period.

Put a little oil in the bottom of a bowl, put the dough ball in that, turn it over so the oil side is up and now there's a little oil all over it.  (That'll keep it from getting crusty and crack-y while the yeast does its thing.  Obligatory pause here to ruminate about the amazing power of yeast.)  Cover the bowl with a clean dishtowel (or clean tshirt, or whatever).  Let it sit somewhere hopefully warm -- or at least not cold -- for 30 mins.  Or an hour if you get all into drinking Helleses and Festbiers and Märzens.

When you're ready, heat your oven or grill to 400°.  (If you have a pizza stone for the grill, great -- otherwise, use a baking sheet that'll fit in the grill and allow the top to close).

Have everyone you've been drinking #freshtastycraftbeers with pull off a hunk of dough and shape it into whatever shape they like (see examples below from our team dinner in August for inspiration).  This part is pretty fun and possibly therapeutic [I am not a doctor, but...].  The more distinctive theirs is, the more likely it'll come back to the right person once it's out of the oven or grill.  

Dunk each pretzel into a bath made of:
2 C hot water mixed with
1/4 C baking soda

And then put it on a greased baking sheet (or slap it straight on the pizza stone) and sprinkle it with whatever the heck you like. [Recommended:  crumbled dried hops.  But salt also is tasty.  Or cinnamon sugar.  And etc.]  Then put that sheet in the oven (if you've put it on a stone in the grill, close the lid).

Bake 4-7 minutes depending on how thick your pretzel shapes are.

Eat immediately, if not sooner.  Put whatever you want on it -- mustard, sauerkraut, cheese dip, whatnot.

Oddball notes: 
  • We have discovered if you put a couple of tablespoons of nonfat plain yogurt in to pretzel dough before you turn the food processor on, it makes for a more-awesome pretzel, IOOs.  This was inspired by adventures with some Indian naan bread making.  
  • We bear no ill-will to anyone who doesn't want to make your own.  You want a bag of store-bought pretzels with great German-style beer, you go for it.

If you have a better/more favorite pretzel recipe, please send it our way.  We will try it.  Because we firmly believe in the power of water, yeast, and grain.  And hops.
 Scotty & Liz(ard).  Guess which pretzel is Liz's?
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Make a curly-cue if you want.  And be a good person.
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Like people....
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I forgot to take a pic of the pretzels on the grill.  So here's one of TimCo and brats.
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These two -- Alex & Pat --  got engaged the night before this dinner.  (Note Pat can make an engagement-ring-shaped pretzel.)
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Cheers to that!
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HOW CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) IS AFFECTING H&D

3/14/2020

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A (long!) message to Horse & Dragon community written with a very heavy & worried heart:
We have been monitoring the evolving situation that is the COVID-19 pandemic over the past 10 days or so with increasing concern. Several of our team met last night, and we have made some decisions regarding how we will move forward as a business in the coming weeks.  We know we are not alone when we say this has been a very tumultuous and difficult time for us. We are trying to balance our desire to contribute to the public good while also being concerned about supporting our people and being extremely worried about how Horse & Dragon can survive this as a business.
Firstly, we have made the decision that at least until March 27, we will move to to-go beer only in the tasting room, with the very restricted hours of 4-6pm daily, and we will continue to put into practice our stringent cleaning and disinfecting processes. We may have to extend this based on how this pandemic progresses; we will be continually evaluating moving forward.  If you have booked a small-group private tour or meeting during these weeks, we are happy to accommodate you, but fully understand that you may wish or need to reschedule.
Secondly, at this stage Horse & Dragon will continue brewing and will be supplying beer to our bar, restaurant and liquor store partners, many of whom will continue to stay open and also provide delivery services of beer and food.  If you need some fresh tasty beer and are displaying no signs of illness, please visit them or use their delivery services. Many of our small business partners will continue to serve you during this time and are operating under health authorities’ current recommendations regarding small gatherings and social distancing.  If you aren’t able to visit one of them or come by the brewery between 4-6 please call or text us at 970-980-1231 and we will do our best to accommodate you. We firmly believe (and have had it proven several times during our lives) that craft beer is conducive -- and sometimes pivotal -- to helping people navigate both celebratory and traumatic times, and we are hopeful that H&D can continue to help bring some joy, salve, and connectivity to you during these stressful times. 
The main reason we are making these drastic changes is to contribute to the effort to limit the high initial rate of the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus by means of increased social distancing. We realize you have been hearing about this from all sides lately, but we hope you bear with us through our reasoning as well. Though we are a small gathering space, we feel that by taking these measures we will contribute in a small way to the overall public health benefit of delaying the onset of the virus for some people. Many of us will get infected with COVID-19 and come out fine.  But the goal in shut-downs and social distancing measures is to try to space out the infections of people who are likely to get seriously ill and will end up needing intensive medical care so that there is no overwhelming spike at our health care facilities. Hopefully as the epidemic progresses across Colorado, hospitals (and everyone who works at them) and resources are not overwhelmed by having to treat too many people at once. As you likely all have heard many times in the past few days, social distancing, or putting enough space between ourselves and other people that their airborne droplets from coughs or sneezes can’t reach us, is one proven effective method of limiting the spread of this virus, and hopefully reducing the rate of its spread (the fewer people each of us interacts with, the less likely it is for this transmission to occur, thus slowing the rate of the spread). It is one thing that we as members of our society and community can work toward and contribute to.  We understand that not everyone will or can choose to take this path and we fully support our community partners who choose a different path. They are all good people trying to do the best for their people and our community.

Thirdly, we are searching for ways in which we can continue to help people come together and support each other, which is more important than ever in times that can feel frightening and isolating. We are working today on some ideas for ways folks can virtually “gather” and enjoy each other’s company over a fresh, tasty craft beer even now.  We hope, for example, to virtually invite you into a living room tomorrow night (Sunday, March 15) for a story-telling session with Phil Murphy, starting at 5pm. Please join that event on our Facebook page to get details on how to tune in when we figure out specific logistics. If you have other ideas for this type of get-together, bring ‘em on!
We are hopeful that we as a community are able to come out the other end of this intact and more closely-knit than ever.
Read more and stay up to date on the COVID-19 pandemic: 
http://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html
http://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/2019-novel-coronavirus
http://www.larimer.org/health/communicable-disease/coronavirus-covid-19
Cheers to you and thanks for your support of each other and H&D!
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November Thankful Notes

12/2/2019

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photo of handwritten notes of what people are thankful for
Spawned by a family tradition in the Cos' household when Tatum & Trina were growing up, we leave a basket and blank notes on the bar in the tasting room during the month of November.  Throughout the month many of you all who visited the tasting room left a note of thanks for someone or some thing(s) in your life.  We loved reading them.  Here they are, for all of y’all to enjoy as well.  Happy Thanksgiving, happy holidays, and happy life!
 
Oliver
The Magical Triangle
My beautiful and loving friends
Family, friends who have become family, and freshtastycraftbeer!
Game of Thrones
Awesome daughters who are old enough to be friends.
Thankful for my incredible husband!  (psst… it’s Luke)
Be grateful for each step.
That dogs exist
Therapists
Thankful for my husband Cory!  + friends!
Sundays with Christian and Marleyna
My wife!
Happy puppy and jailbird lover
Thankful for opportunities and new adventures
I love Derek!  + my son!
John & Paul are super awesome Saturday co-workers.  J
Friends with beer and beer with friends.
The owner, thanks for the drinks!  -- UNK
Thankful for time with my daughters and son-in-law
Thanks Tim & Carol!
My husband
My Tolmar peeps!
MarJane and how she always makes me feel important.  She constantly shows me I matter to her.
ELE – Everyone Love Everyone
Working with Koz!
My family, great craft beer, & the Grateful Dead
Each day
My friends
Kind people
Yuuuuuuuuuuge cans!
Liz and how she understands people.
Beer
Colorado Sunshine & great beer!
Having a loving family
Cochran family
My husband, who handles my special brand of crazy so sweetly.
Katherine
Support form H&D towards Uplift: FoCo and The Matthews House
I’m thankful for Sabra.  A-H.
TimCo’s joyful boyishness
Friends who have become family.
Doges [sic]
Thankful for my family
Everything except for bad stuff
Being a Clemson Tiger!!
Luke seeing the forest and the trees.
Having a fantastic girlfriend!
Consultants
Savannah
Daughters who are willing to cook with us on the holidays!
Thankful for positive energy people
Television!  Love that stuff.
My amazing, wonderful, inspiring mother
Family home ash
Having the best job in the world
Sunshine & happy beertenders!
Sarah’s cheerfulness, even when cleaning up!
Growlers
For you my friend
Karl son
Surgically corrected eyesight & family & beer
Thankful for our FoCo Tribe
Hot doctors
Still, and again, the support of my friends
The way Paul tells people we really do appreciate them coming in!
Marleyna & Christian!  Great service
Sarah S’s cheerful nature
I am grateful or thankful that I can help others in my community!
To travel  the world!!  So thankful
Phish
My cat & beer
Trina
Jessie + Sierra
Great friends and neighbors
Leggings
Joe & Lily & my bro Josh
My health, mom, friends
Me!
I’m thankful that Warren Zeron died before he had to hear the Kid Rock song “All Summer Long”  which bastardized his immortal classic, “Werewolves of London.”
Friends and family
My grandma and my family
My family & friends
Great ideas and careful attention to beers coming from Josh, Doug, and Rob
My friends, family & dogs
Megan Lettenberger + family
The Spencers
I’m thankful for the beautiful wife I have, 3 fantastic girls, & family.  Darrell
Cans!
Friends and phamily
Finding my person
TimCo, CarolCo, & the H&D crew
Sunday beers
Being a Buckeye!
May amazing family and the love of the Lord
Family, friends, Fort Collins, and craft beer brewers!
Michele’s generous spirit and reliability
For a great day with the love of my life.
Odin
Friends Abbi & Logan!
All my friends and their support this hard fall you ALL ROCK!
The Tasting Room (awesome) Team!
Family and friends
Great brews & friends
Buttz
My dog Guinness and Jon
Thankful for my loving, patient husband and my dog.  Always my health.
Shameless
That John is all smiles after a hard day of delivering kegs and cases.
Horse & Dragon
Scotty being adventuresome.
Thanks for the common sense to fend for myself in a world that’s becoming more impossible & thanks Dad for the sperm.  Thanks mom for the wisdom!
Our incredible community
I am thankful for food, and family.  – Karter
Sad Panda (my favorite!)
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Jordan's Sad Panda Brownies

3/13/2019

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One of the cool things about the Tasting Room (as with many tasting rooms, I think) is that good folks walk in with all sorts of delicious things for us to try -- their own brews, veggies they grew, chili, ice cream [we see you, Chris & Eowyn!], jalapeño jam [we see you, Alabama John!], elk sausage [we see you, Pete!].  Last week, Jordan walked in with a plate of Sad Panda Brownies, like so:
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They were a little bit unbelievably delicious.  You should make some right now.  As we hunker down* for #bombapocalypse weather here in NoCO, it occurs to me there's not too much better an activity for a day of cancelled work/school/activities than baking Sad Panda Brownies.  Hopefully y'all have these ingredients at hand & still have power (or are living outside of NoCO and aren't having the same meteorological event we are and can slog your way to a grocery store and a liquor store).

​If you're short some Sad Panda, our Tasting Room is opening at noon....  We'll be open 'til 6, the power goes out, or everyone else has left to hunker down*, whichever comes first.

​Cheers!
*Some happy soul recently mocked us on social media for using this term for what she considered mild winter biking weather when we posted the awesome bike tracks of an early-bird rider through 6" of snow at 24 degrees a couple of weeks ago.   True, we're not at -60 like you Midwesterners were; we just like that folks here get their bikes out no matter the season, even when the weather peeps are predicting a big storm [yes, it did turn out that this wasn't the big storm they predicted -- well researched and observed, hardy Midwesterner!].  Regardless, in many, many places, this would not be considered biking weather.

For the record, at the moment, we're keeping up on the extreme weather events tally here.  We didn't realize it was a competition, and we'd be happy to withdraw if anyone has some meteorological, environmental, or cosmic influence out there!
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Spirit of Giving

12/9/2018

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We often post with the hashtag #LoveFoCo.  We love this community.  One of the biggest reasons for that is that there is a spirit of giving year-'round here.  It can be seen in many craft breweries (including our own) throughout the year, but it's particularly prevalent in the season between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.  Here's what we've currently got going on in the Tasting Room:
WRAPPING FOR BOOK TRUST
Woman showing gift tags
Man & woman at gift wrapping table
Woman wrapping gifts
If you bring in your gifts that need wrapping, our volunteers'll wrap 'em for you while you enjoy a fresh, tasty craft beer, visit with friends, or simply relax.  Tips (optional) will be donated to Book Trust, an organization that started here in Fort Collins, now serves >55,000 students in 22 states, and enables kids to choose, celebrate receiving, and own their own books from the Scholastic Book Order Form each month through their classrooms.  
Women wrapping gifts
Woman wrapping gifts
DECORATE THE TREE
for FOOD BANK FOR LARIMER COUNTY!
On Dec. 1 every year we put up a tree in the Tasting Room.  There are ornaments on the counter at the bar, and anyone who contributes a donation toward the Food Bank for Larimer County is encouraged to write or decorate a tag, put it on an ornament, and hang it on the tree.  We love the messages that end up decorating the tree by Dec. 31, and we love even more that the Food Bank is able to multiply your contributions X5 (TIMES FIVE, PEOPLE!) to provide food for folks and families who need it.  
Holiday ornaments on a wire tree.
We need all of these ^
Christmas tree
To get moved on over to this ^!
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SOCK IT TO US.
The Sister Mary Alice Murphy Center for Hope and Homeward Alliance are doing a "sock it to me" drive for new socks to give out to folks who need them.  This is a pivotal issue and one that is within the reach of many to address.  We are hugely grateful that these FoCo organizations have included the breweries in town.  [Officially this was a Dec. 5 & 6 "competition" -- but we're leaving our basket out as long as they allow us to keep it!  It's A-1 to see this filling up.  Keep 'em coming, peeps!] 
**Big Ups to Christian, who works for us every other Sunday -- because he loves and knows craft beer -- when he's away from his real job as a dad and a kindergarten teacher.  He chose this as his area of charitable interest when we asked.  Thanks for introducing us to The Murphy Center and Homeward Alliance!
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And then there's always this at the Tasting Room to make our month! 
This was Nick's elegant solution to Lewis's (legit) concern about having a pic with the Man in Red.
Sharp observers may note that Santa bears a passing resemblance to our founder, TimCo, the Horse of Horse & Dragon.
Father holding young son upside-down near Santa.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
We hope they are filled with great communion.
(If you need some more, please come see us!) 
Thank you for including Horse & Dragon in your gatherings.  
Peace to all y'all!
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Thanksgiving Thankful Notes 2018

12/9/2018

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Every November we have a cornucopia-shaped basket out on the bar with some slips of paper and pens.  Folks who come in are welcome to write down things for which they're thankful, and fill the basket with leaves of gratitude by Nov. 30.  Here're this year's leaves:

Love this brewery!  All the way from Orlando, FL!
For family (blood), family (by choice), & family (who love unconditionally).  Luvs.
Family – the good, bad & ugly – all of it.  Love family.
My family <3
Family happy people good life smiles NATURE beer herbal refreshments!
Tim.
Gratitude for all of you at Horse & Dragon!  Thank you!
Thanks for H&D.
McKenzie’s sense of humor –
I am thankful for my amazing wife!
The loving people who surround & support me!  I feel so thankful & lucky!
I am thankful for the beautiful mountains!
Thanks for Sad Panda!
I’m thankful for…  my rock, my wife, my companion.l  My joy, my daughter, my reason to be better.
Dogs, friends, and a job I <3.
So thankful to live in a safe town with kind people  JW
Fresh and tasty beer.
Zane!
I’m thankful for my lady tribe (M,U, R, L)
I love Claire.
My husband.
I can still survive & live a happy life regardless of my degenerate gambling habits!
Thankful for the genuine smiles and beautiful energy of this local gem.  <3 Gobble gobble.
I’m thankful for Dat Ass (KB’s) and her ability to bridge the gap.
We are all blessed in more ways than we know…. Thankful.  <3
I’m thankful for great beer and great friends.  You guys rock!!  <3
Sam
I’m thankful for dat ass.  à
Thankful for family & love.  Free!  Taco!!  (not sure about that last, but I think it says Taco!)
Everyone’s individual stories and lessons.
Happy shay thanksing.  Love Aylo. [lovely childhood script here]
So thankful to live 1.5 miles from H&D!  -- The F’s
Thankful for wool socks and cold weather and friends made here!  -- S
For my amazing friends who are so supportive & keep me happy.
Thankful for Ashleigh’s Zoolander
I am thankful for Animal House events!
Eddie, beer, sunshine, friends, health, and loose women.  J
Rob is thankful that Claire is awesome!
I love love love Claire
Our family + our H&D family + also baseball.  [We suspect a certain H&D-er on this one!]
I am thankful for Titus.
Thankful for the last (almost)  yrs in Colorado!  2 births, one marriage, and an amazing life!
Happy Thanksgiving<3 You Rock!
The 800 things Trina does.
Thankful for a great place like FoCo
I’m thankful for my wife being home!  OXOXOXO
To be on this side of the dirt.
I am ever so thankful for my friends Nancy & Forrest.  <3
Fime!  For friends & family.
I’m thankful for my family and friends.
Thankful for [drawing that looks possibly like breasts?]
Thankful for Jesus, Hope, Zoe & Kathy.
I am thankful for BMX
Feed me!
Claire & all the lovely folks at H&D!  My family <3  My buttercup <3  Turtles & wine!
I am thankful for the very pretty umbrellas here.  – A, 7 yrs.
Grateful for Claire’s sunny welcome to all.
I am thankful for friends.
Thankful for Claire’s smile!
Me toooo…. I love Claire.
Scott’s energy and positive attitude about whatever needs to be done and life in general.
Life – with all its weirdness.
Luke’s going the extra mile for H&D.
I’m thankful that people are thankful for my ass.  XOXO  Gossip Girl
For Carol’s passion & dedication.
For the chance to visit great friends & drink great beer!
Family!  Fun beer joints!
I’m thankful to spend Thanksgiving in FoCo for the 1st time since 1996  <3
Nov. ’18 We’re thankful for our family, for our friends, for good food, good beer and a place to live.
I luv Claire.
50 wonderful years on the planet.  Experiencing all that life brings my way.
My babies.  My dogs.  Being a foster mama.
Thankful for:  dads who sacrifice everything.  Moms who have midnight conversations.  Brothers who take huge, scary risks.  Husband who reminds me who I am when I forget. 
I’m thankful for my daughter and my health!  Cheers!
So grateful for great daughters who do their best in life, treat others with dignity, support so many friends and family members, and make us laugh out loud.
I am thankful for such a wonderful place to grab a beer.  Cheers.
Those who planted trees many years ago, and those who plant and protect them today!
Great friends and fun memories.  <3
 
 Cheers to you all!
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The rollercoaster that is installing a bottling line.

1/14/2018

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3 Sad Panda Bottles clinking.
CHEERS!
​We expected some bumps in the road, and the road has not disappointed. 


What good news!

Our bottling line, Piper, arrived!
Bottling line (not in use).






​And the engineer (Nicola) who understands it also arrived and spent the week with us to get it up and running!
Engineer analyzing bottling line performance.


​What bad news!

They didn't send the proper fittings to get beer in there!


What good news!

Josh & Nicola are inventive, resourceful souls.  They wangled a fix and we managed to get some beer in there! 
Engineer and brewer analyzing bottling line use.

What bad news!

The labeler (that date stamps and applies labels to bottles) hates our labels.  It thinks the label stops before the label actually does.  This causes all manner of havoc. 

​

What good news!

#CRAFTBEERFOLKISGOODFOLK!!!!!

Proving yet again that craft beer folk is good folk, at about 4pm on Friday (of a 3-day weekend, no less), we gave up on the labeler for the moment but still wanted to test the filler for a full batch of beer before Nicola flew out if we could.  We texted a few folks.  On a moment's notice, a dozen of them showed up to hand-label bottles so that we could run the filler.  This is where all the fun comes in, so here's a basic pictorial view of the haps:
People applying bottle labels by hand.
Man applying bottle labels by hand.
Man applying bottle labels by hand.
Women placing bomber bottles on bottling line intake table.
Woman applying bottle labels by hand.
People applying bottle labels by hand.
People applying bottle labels by hand.
Man applying bottle labels by hand.
Full pallet of boxed bottles of beer.
Bottles on towel awaiting labels.
People applying bottle labels by hand.
Bottling line in action.
Pile of empty boxes awaiting bottles.
Woman loading bottles on intake table for bottling line.
Woman loading bottles on intake table for bottling line.
Full team working on bottling line.
These fine folk hand-labeled 2 full pallets of bottles (>2500 bottles total).  ROCKIN'! 
[There's a joke in there about how many people it takes to do the job of one labeler --]

​
Here's how it went.  Only a lot slower.  [Thanks Liz of 363 Photography for the time-lapse videos!]
First full bottle off the line!

​
Attitude makes all the difference.
"But how will I know if I buy one of these first-run, TLC-infused-hand-applied-label Sad Pandas?" you ask.
None of these bottles have a date stamp on them.  The "BOTTLED JUST FOR YOU ON:" box is sadly devoid of all print.  Y'all just have to know that if you find a bottle like this out in the wild (or more likely, in the tasting room), it was bottled on 1/12/18.   Also, unless you get one labeled by Trina, you'll find a bubble or two in that there hand-applied label.  [See the video above to see why Trina's have zero bubbles.]  Next round should have the date stamp.
​
We're all about fresh beer, so when we get up and running, please let us know if you ever find an H&D out there that doesn't merit the #freshtastycraftbeer hashtag.
Picture
Here we all were right before we broke for pizza.

​

What bad news!

The filler quit on us after about half the bottles were filled.  A day-long diagnostic session on Saturday indicates that the wrong-sized motor was installed and it just plumb wore out after 3 hours (hey hey!  That's what a test run is all about!).  This means, sadly, that no more bottling will take place for a few weeks.

​

What good news!

There's a new motor on the way!  It'll be installed, we hope, within a month (along with a labeler that senses our fun and colorful labels better, all of us who spent Friday evening here fervently hope).  In the meantime, we will continue to serve up #freshtastycraftbeer to a bar or restaurant near you and continue raising our glasses to small, independent craft!

Thank you mucho for hanging with us through this next step of our
Horse & Dragon adventure. 
​Hopefully by sometime in 2018 you'll be able to enjoy a bottle of H&D from your local bottle shop
in addition to a great fresh pint at your local pub!



​Stay tuned....
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Thanksgiving 2017

11/24/2017

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Looking back through here it's pretty clear we don't blog nearly as often as SEO experts say we should, since we've only posted twice since last Thanksgiving.  [Mad media skillz here.]  

In 2014, the year we opened, we were taken by complete surprise when people came in the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to fill 102 growlers.  Though this is a small number by some breweries’ standards, we couldn’t believe how busy it was here, and how wonderful it felt to think of all these people sharing some Horse & Dragon as a part of their Thanksgiving celebrations.  Since then, Thanksgiving weekend has been one of our very favorite times in the taproom, with people sharing their tables with friends and family in for the holiday and strangers they just met over a tasty beer.  Last Wednesday we overheard a young girl saying, “Whoever’s staying in my bedroom is going to have to deal with that.  I don’t know who that is.  Who’s staying in my bedroom?”  SO COOL to think of family crowding in to spend the weekend with each other (and we’re so glad so many of you make craft beer a part of that!).
 
For the month of November, we put out slips of paper on the bar for people to write “Thanksgiving Thankful Notes” on if they wish to do so.  Here, so far and in no particular order, are this year's:

  • For sunny November days!
  • CHEESE CURDS! (yummy!!)
  • I am thankful for good friends, good weather, + good beer!
  • I’m thankful for veterans and Veteran’s Day off!
  • H&D STAFF ENERGY
  • TimCo
  • Sunny Colorado
  • Thankful for my husband’s fur baby Phoebe dog and our health.  Beer is good for you!
  • Thankful for my amazing husband + our life together.
  • BEER!
  • I’m thankful for Claire and her beautiful smiling face J  Sum
  • I’m thankful for a still intact democracy.  I hope it thrives for another generation+.
  • Thankful for great beer – CCD
  • Thankful for a life I can share adventures with.
  • BEER GODDESS CLAIRE
  • Thankful for good friends & great weather.
  • Thankful for friends, football , & beer.
  • Thankful for this beautiful city, good friends, and delicious beer. <3
  • A happy & healthy baby boy!
  • I am thankful for Katy at Visit Fort Collins
  • MAX MARTIN KAI LUNA MAN RAY ATLAS ANDREW LYDIA RITA GARRET MAC KELLY Y ALICE  Thankful for the Good Times Palace Crew
  • My friends, family, and H&D
  • Thankful for clean air!
  • I’m thankful for Abby
  • Thankful for this town and the warmth of those who live here.
  • I’m thankful for an awesome beer community across the country SD-CO 11/6/17 <3 Becky
  • Thankful for all the special amazing people in my life.
  • Trina picking up all the slack
  • I’m thankful for my family and friends
  • Awesome strong & positive women!
  • I am thankful that I get to do what I love for a living.
  • Thankful for my Ramily!
  • Thank you Cochran Family.  Much love + thanks.
  • Thankful for Sad Panda & the Wyoming Cowboys!
  • Old friends, new friends, and experiences!
  • All the youngsters BEHIND the bar – Dragon Mother
  • Thankful for good beer & good love <3
  • Tim
  • I am thankful for my extremely messed up kid, my kind, loving husband and my very generous mother-in-law!
  • My friends & family & Jin Jitsu! Tommy
  • Jacob Lemirand
  • Thankful for Tim & Carol
  • I’m thankful for unicorns because they are awesome yay!
  • I am Chloe
  • CO sunshine!
  • Hops & babies!
  • 11/22/17 Happy holidays from Denver!
  • I’m thankful for Horse & Dragon!  And my kid!  J
  • Thankful for caffeine and cats.
  • Thankful for CLAIRE <3
  • I’m thankful for love
  • I’m thankful for a Broncos losing record!  #GoChiefs
  • I’m thankful for:  being single & new adventures #travellife
  • Thankful for spent grains!
  • I’m thankful for my family and dog.
  • Turtles
  • I’m thankful for Fort Collins and for the baby I made here
  • LARGE CANS of beer!
  • I’m thankful for the staff of H&D and the beautiful friendships I’ve made  APM 11-6-17
  • I am thankful my wife is home J
  • Carol Thanks for giving our large group the back room.
  • Chauncy + Scotty & all my family, my H&D & Polaris Family, my frines near & far & the Colorado Rockies.  And ALSO all of the people supporting my students.  <3 Lizard
  • Family, friends & pets.
  • I’m thankful for the Karlins.
  • I am thankful for TimCo & CarolCo!
  • I’m grateful for tasty beer, friendship, buttercup!
  • An almighty who loves us!  Sally
  • Legal weed and family.
  • My supportive ROCKSTAR boyfriend.
  • I am thankful for friends & Martin, Kai, Luna, Manray, & Max Face J
  • I’m thankful for my friends, family, & dog.
  • I’m thankful for my family because they cheer me up.
  • I’m thankful for all the wonderful beer community in this town!  Ryan
  • That I got to come home & see my friends after 3 months away.  And that my friend’s dream came true & she had a baby.  <3 Theresa
  • I’m thankful for happiness and all things happy!  Yay!
  • My wife
  • I’m thankful for Sad Panda and my husband to drink it with.
  • I’m thankful that Claire is a glowing beautiful, sunshine, unicorn.
  • The Crew that makes H&D possible – and awesome.
  • I’m thankful for my mom, dad, sister, and dog.
  • I’m thankful for SAD PANDA & Nixon
  • I’m thankful for my family & may loyal friends.
  • Thankful for my friend that came to visit!
  • I am thankful for my mom.  From:  Chloe
  • Thankful for friends (old ones!) and good beer!
  • Thankful for the community that CarolCo builds via H&D.
  • My owl.
  • I am thankful for my family and my dog!
  • Thankful for local beer!  <3 <3 <3
  • I am thankful for the nerds that I call my family!
  • Thankful for my BABE <3
 
As it’s still November, you’ve still got time to stop in, enjoy a #freshtastycraftbeer, and ruminate (and write) about what makes you thankful!  Thanks much to those of you who've shared these with us.

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GABF Week 2017

10/2/2017

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​If you're on our mailing list, you already got this info, so you can skip this post!

​GABF WEEK IS HERE!  
(So what does that mean?)
We LOVE the week surrounding the Great American Beer Festival.  See?
Picture
This yearly event, held in Denver, brings craft beer lovers from all over the world. (Seriously.  Our friends who started a brewery in Australia are coming.) For this week, Colorado is even more full than usual of folks who love craft and are focused on enjoying it all week long. There are events here in FoCo and all over Denver focusing on this craft to which we've devoted our hearts & lives -- how can that not be a great week?  

The festival itself, which takes place Thursday - Saturday at the CO Convention Center, is a spectacle.  There are thousands of beers to sample (again, seriously -- last year there were close to 4000 different beers you could try).  Of course among these there are several you maybe would be better off skipping, but there are many, many more that are interesting, delicious, or divine.  And the people watching is unparalleled.  
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After our first year's feedback, we take the judging with a giant grain of salt. This year we entered only one of our beers for judging (Picnic Rock Pale Ale, if you're asking, because it was freshest when they needed samples to be dropped off a month ago and stored who-knows-how until judges sample it next week).  We submitted this so that we could participate and pour at the Great Hall for the festival and be a part of this awesome celebration full of people who have committed their futures to craft and full of people who support these small companies.   We also applied to enter Jon Schiller's "Atta Boy, Jon!" Märzen in the Pro-Am competition and got in off the waitlist when some folks couldn't get their beers here in time.

So for us, the festival is not about the competition and awards ceremony [though big ups to the folks who win medals, for sure!].  If we ever are on the receiving end of the crapshoot, we will celebrate and you'll no doubt hear about it.  But in the meantime, we'll be in the Meet the Brewers Hall, having a blast talking with folks who love craft beer, who are willing and eager to give ours a try, and who make the whole week a celebration.

If you live here or can make it to FoCo, starting tomorrow (Saturday) in the taproom we'll be serving a 4-pack flight with the option to rate the beers as to how well they fit the official GABF category in which they would be entered. We'll have make-your-own pretzel necklaces available (festival-goers wear fantastical ones.  e.g.: ​
Picture
The ones you make in the taproom will not look like this, unless you bring your own supplies.)  We'll also happily give tours on request, of course.

In Denver, we have several fun events at awesome craft accounts from Oct. 2-7.  Please join us at any/all if you are able!
Monday, 5pm -- GABF Week Kickoff Event @Falling Rock Taphouse (they'll be tapping the last keg of Temple's Grand Ale, along with many other amazing beers, and will continue with new tappings every day this week).
Tuesday, 6pm -- Highland Tap & Burger will be featuring beers from our DEN distributors (Colorado Craft Distributors), including H&D!
Tuesday, 7pm -- FreshCraft is having a "locals only" tap takeover.  We'll be there, trying ours and others' beers with FreshCraft's great, as the name suggests, fresh & crafty food. If you've been there, you know. If you haven't, get there!
Wednesday, 9 am, we're attending the CO Environmental Leadership Program Awards Event (and being "inducted" with a Bronze Level award -- woo-hoo!). Looking forward to hearing advice & stories from companies who've been in this program longer and have led the way in going above and beyond regulations to protect our environment!
Wednesday, 3pm -- @LoHi SteakBar, unofficial happy hour with H&D (because we love them & their place, and we want to have some Picnic Rock with their unbelievable food).
Wednesday, 5pm -- Canwood Derby @ Ale House @ Amato's.  Come root for our nth-level car (fashioned by our own #HopticalSolutionist, Jae Drouilhet) to win!  Or cheer for another brewery's vehicle.  We don't mind.  Just come cheer and enjoy a great craft beer or two!
Thursday, 3:30 p.m. -- it's Peanut Butter & Jelly Time @ Lucky Pie Lodo! We're bringing a Sad Panda + peanut butter firkin, and Odell's bringing something jelly-themed, so you'd best meet us before the first GABF session!
Friday, 11-3 -- We're heading to the Industry Brunch @ Southside Kitchen | Bar's Hidden Idol Tiki Bar (hello!  How can you not meet us there & hunt for said idol?)  Lotta' awesome beer on.
Friday, 12-4 -- Cheba Hut (Champa Street) is having a CO-brewery-only tap invasion, and we'll be there, pre-gaming for Friday's GABF session!
Saturday -- double session at GABF.  
Sunday -- we all return home and see y'all in the taproom, if you can come in to visit!

Cheers, all.  We hope you have a great week, and that there's some #freshtastycraftbeer in it!

Carol, TimCo, and the H&D Crew
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    This blog

    ...is the dragon's wanderings through the world of craft beer. It may be hard to follow. This is best read with a great microbrew at hand!

    Categories

    All
    Anniversary
    Barleywines
    Beer Pairing
    Belgians
    Big Beers
    Biking
    Blizzard
    Book Trust
    Brewers' Olympics
    Brewing
    Buildout/Planning/Tanks
    Cans Vs. Bottles
    Charities
    Colorado
    Community
    Construction
    Craft Beer
    Craft Beer & Community
    Craftbeerfolkisgoodfolk
    Craft Beer Folk Is Good Folk
    CSU
    Earth Day
    Festivals
    Fire Captain Irish Red Ale
    Firefighter Community Compassion Fund
    Fish Restaurant & Market
    FoCo
    FOCO Cafe
    Fort Collins
    Fort Love Brewers' Jamboree
    Freshtastycraftbeer
    GABF
    Half Marathon & Pint Run
    Homebrewing
    Horse & Dragon
    House That Beer Built
    Jax Fish House
    Local
    Local Artistry
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    Taproom Team
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Thank you to the ~200 web designers a year who spam us to let us know our website is "outdated" and "not up to par with our competitors'" -- we are happy with the DIY version and saving pennies to invest in our people.  No need to contact us.  Cheers!

​​Horse & Dragon Brewing Company   ••  124 Racquette Drive  ••  Fort Collins, CO  80524  ••  970-689-8848
For bar/restaurant/liquor store beer orders, please contact Luke Margheim, 970-980-6564; LukeM@hdbrew.com