Well, another day has passed and even though I officially turned 30 last week, it was celebrated yesterday with an amazing party that included a caterer, India Joze, and many of the most important people in my life. India Joze, aka Joe, has a couple of huge woks on burners that he made from old kegs and he just kept making sauces and stir fries, breads and even a rich chocolate cake. He created dishes inspired by what was in season and infused them with his take and experience in ethnic cooking. There was a plum sauce made from his own plums, tamarind sauces, salsas, mushroom pate, platters of dates, walnuts and melon drizzled in honey, breads, fresh keffir yogurt, a meditterranean style pizza with lamb, stir fried chicken, a large plate of clams, salads, fish sautes, and even guavas from my brother’s tree, and I am sure that I missed many dishes too. The smells and activities kept you engaged in the whole experience. You had to keep visiting the table of food because every few minutes a completely new dish would appear. It was both the food and entertainment for the event. It was very cool. It is always inspiring to see people doing what they love.

Of course, Chad was serving his beer - a brown ale and a lager - to rave reviews, as well. The chefs of India Joze liked the brown ale and asked for the recipe. The lager was a first for Chad ~ while not his best creation, a very drinkable beer. Lagers are tough. The cold temperature fermenting and lack of light organic malt pose an extra challenge.

In other news, Q and R aren’t likely to be moving from San Diego any time soon. I guess we really were dreaming with that one. Heck, I wouldn’t pick up and move away from family and my home on a whim that a brewery might be in my future. I completely understand. Q has offered to come up and help whenever we need and isn’t intimidated by the drive. He used to drive straight through from Portland to San Diego to be with his girlfriend (who later became his wife) for the weekend. If I remember correctly, it was Q who introduced me to books on tape.

My brother Nick is excited to be part of the business and has been brewing with Chad on many occasions. He called tonight with the numbers for some people that might have warehouse space to rent. He is just the boost of morale that we needed.

We still have partnership agreements, money and the uglier side of business relationships to sort out, but the main thing to remember is that beneath all of it, we are all friends and it is most important to keep those friendships healthy. Many people advise against going into business with friends or family and I can understand why. At the same time, there are no people like our friends and family to challenge, support and motivate us and in times of success and failure no one better to share it with. It probably sounds naive. That accurately describes our knowledge of starting a business.

Wednesday Chad is going to be brewing up his finest IPA and refining his lager for a family reunion in Oregon. Nothing like a dry hop of Cascade to bring out the love. Tonight he grilled tri-tip and then smothered it in smashed avocado. For all of those Ruth Chris lovers out there – if you like butter on your steak try kicking it up a notch with avocado. Goes great with Mirror Pond Pale.