401 DIY-ing, #BIF-ing, and More! 

In the spirit of Motif‘s DIY issue, we asked 401 beer pros to share the most DIY aspects of their jobs. It seems most of them were too busy D-ing brewery stuff to play along, but we did get two (2) responses to our query.

Morgan Snyder of Buttonwoods Brewery kept it short and sweet: “I built 90% of the tasting room myself. I’m also a draft tech of 2+ years, so that’s something I’m specialized in.” (And ICYMI in the last issue, Snyder got his license from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to operate his new Cranston home; follow his progress at buttonwoodsbrewery.com.)

Mat, the PR guru at Revival Brewing Co., told us, “Something unique about us is our beer names for the specialty barrel-aged, sours and casks the brewers come up with for the one-off brews only available in our tasting room. The brewers have a fun time coming up with flavors to age and condition the beers while making up fun pun names like Brunette, a sour ale blend of natural blonde and dark cherry. One brewer adds the ingredients and comes up with the name. And when the public likes it, it sometimes becomes a regular brew for us. That’s basically how Pinky Swear, a Berliner Weisse with blueberries and raspberries, was born (which might join our canning list soon).” And a gentle reminder: Get your tickets (facebook.com/revivalbrewing) for the Donuts & Drafts bash at the Revival tasting room (505 Atwood Ave, Cranston) on May 27 from 3 – 5pm. Matos Bakery in Pawtucket is pairing five beer-inspired doughnut flavors with five brews. Go gorge!

• American Craft Beer Week kicked off on the 15th and runs through the 21st. It’s the 12th annual celebration, and is the brainchild of the Brewers Association, the org that reps most of the small breweries in the US. This year’s theme is “Beer It Forward,” and the folks at craftbeer.com, the BA’s spread-the-love-of-brew website, offered some inspirational words re: the splendor of beer: “There truly is no more social of a beverage than beer. It is because of this that craft beer is the perfect way to spread positivity in celebration of American Craft Beer Week. Beer has a simple ability to unite and get people talking. Not only will you feel good when you #beeritforward, but the person on the receiving end will appreciate it and in turn want to share that feeling with someone else. As beer fans, we do this all the time when we share a few beers with pals or offer a suggestion or beer knowledge.” BIFing is a delightful way of DIYing, which you can D year-round. And you can still take in a few ACBW tap takeovers and pint nights, which are happening at outstanding watering holes on the 18th and 19th; check my blog (address below) for details.
• Quick Sips: Ragged Island Brewing Company has added growlers-to-go at their thriving Portsmouth HQ. The limit (for now) is one-per-customer of selected styles (while supplies last). Grey Sail will celebrate the first anniversary of its Tap Room on Friday, May 26, from 3 – 8pm. Head to Westerly for a special birthday brew and other rare releases, a staff-pick tap takeover and pizza. Hit facebook.com/GreySail for more encouragement. And Tilted Barn Brewery is upping its can game every week; scores of TB devotees have been lining up for tallboys of Chosen One, Peeptoad, Milo’s Phoenix and other superb TB creations. But the four-packs fly outta the barn in Exeter, so you should follow @TiltedBarnBrew to get the latest word on availability.

For more beer news, check Lou’s blog, bottlescansclaphands.wordpress.com, or follow @BottlesCansRI.