A good thing happened after we launched our website...people noticed it! We were happy to start seeing traffic on the website (thanks, Google Analytics!) but even happier to receive our first emails in the info@arlbrew.com inbox. One of the first ones we got was from a fellow female homebrewer named Melissa. She reached out to offer support and encouragement about our little shop (aww, thanks), but also to ask us for support as well. Melissa is doing the Avon 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer, and as a homebrewer and beer lover, she decided to do her fundraising with a beer theme. So today (April 1) at Jimmy's Old Town Tavern in Herndon, Melissa is hosting a fundraising raffle, using items donated from local businesses. The sponsor list has great local beer representation and includes the likes of Port City, Bluejacket, Lost Rhino, Dogfish Head Alehouse and Right Proper.

Being a part of the community and finding ways to give back are things we want to prioritize. So of course, we wanted to help. But without a store yet, we weren't sure what to do. Giving a gift certificate to a not-yet-open store felt just a touch disingenuous, so we knew we were going to have to think outside the box. A quick brainstorming session with Melissa had us settled in on assembling a small first-timer's homebrewing kit. We decided to go with a one-gallon equipment and ingredients kit, and man did we have fun putting this thing together.

At the end of the day we had a nice equipment kit, including two glass fermenters (because when you brew one gallon, another fermenter is what you use for a bottling bucket!), an auto siphon, airlock, bottle filler, thermometer, capper, empty bottles and Brew Shop caps, and more! We also put together an ingredients kit and accompanying instructions manual. For the brew, we went with a dry hopped Belgian extract recipe that was based on a brew my husband once did called The Belgian Julie, which included a hilarious picture of my "indignant face" on the label.

All in all, a great experience for us to have a cool response to the website and a fun way for us to give back. We'll be at Jimmy's tonight starting at 6pm and we hope to see you there!

Saving Second Base One Beer at a Time: A Breast Cancer Fundraiser