One of the things I have wanted to do for a while but haven't had the time nor opportunity is helping at a brewery. While brewing a batch of beer is the more glamorous job when Big Boss offered the chance to spend a day helping on bottling I leaped at the chance.

It was as much as I expected about six of the staff worked at various points on their bottling line and I helped along the way. Two guys made sure a constant stream of bottles were being feed to the system and kept an eye on the washing system. Another two made sure the bottles were being filled and capped properly. One person quality checked the bottles fill level and ensured the labeling machine did it's job. Last another person and myself grabbed the bottles and put them into cases as quickly as possible.

There would be runs as long as an hour of constant bottling until a minor adjustment issue would slow activity to a crawl and give us a chance to make sure we had all the equipment we needed close at hand. Because I was new to the process I was slower at boxing than the person I was working with but it didn't seem I was so slow to get in anyone's way. Occasionally someone would help us at the end of the process making sure the full boxes got on the pallet, but otherwise I think I held my own.

What was the work like? It was hard work, the room was warm and humid and we had the repetitive motion of moving around four bottles into a box until full then moving the box down to the pallets. Four bottles of beer don't sound like much to move, but when you do it a few thousand times it is quite a workout.

I walked away tired, sweaty, and thirsty for a beer or two. But it also provided me an insight into how much hard work goes into those bottles of craft beer in our refrigerators. That craft beers are very much a labor intensive work place for a smaller craft brewer and not just that but they are ultimately a labor of love.

Last, now that Big Boss has announced it's on tap I got to sample the Black Diamond Express before it went to tavern. This new beer is a light Belgian ale brewed with lemon and orange peel, and aged on blackberries. It had a light berry aroma and the flavor was light on the palette too not overwhelming as some fruit beers can be. As my sample warmed I noticed a bit of clove character become apparent as well which was a great counter point to the berry character. So head down to Horniblows Tavern if you are in the Raleigh area and check it out, you won't be disappointed.