Happy New Year!

Well, the holidays have kept me a little more blog-free than I care to admit, but I'm back! I enjoyed some time away with my family and friends in the Chicagoland area over Christmas and now we're back to work, digging into 2006. It's frightening when its the second day of the year and you already feel a month behind. We've got so many fresh ideas and plans for the coming months it can feel a little dizzying.

While January is a quiet month for sales it's very busy for planning. This week does not feel quiet however.

A number of us from the brewery are headed to Grand Rapids for the Michigan Brewers Guild and Master Brewers Joint Conference. Brett and I currently serve on the board, so we're relatively busy in preparation for it. Wednesday, we'll have the 1st Michigan Brewers Poker Tournament in GP Sports of the Amway Grand, followed by a pub crawl throughout downtown GR. You're welcome to join in, buttons that get you on the shuttle between pubs are only $2. I hope I have two bucks left after poker.

Thursday is a day full of presentations, our annual meeting and then a Gala Dinner featuring Charlie Papazian. It'll be good to see everyone and get 2006 started with a sizeable dose of camaraderie and shop-talk.

Tonight, however, Brett and I head to Chicago for a too-quick trip dealing with less pleasant legal wranglings.