April 1st, 8am AEST
Hawkers HQ, Reservoir. So it begins… again!
Mik and Hamish roll into the brewery, bags semi packed.
Hops get squeezed in, 4 cases of various Barrel aged releases, wrapped in socks and t-shirts, a quick prayer to Saint Bartholomew, the patron saint of airport baggage handlers, that these cases of goodness reach the intended recipients.
An hour or so later, the Mazen graces us with his presence.
A few fired off emails, random banter and fond farewells to various staff members, and we start the long trip to Denver.
VA23 to LAX departs on time, movies, bad red wine and some airline food, 15 hours later has us lining up at Customs and Immigration.
42 liters of beer and 15 kg of hops in bag, a few moments of unease... customs wave us through and operation transport beer/hops is successful.
April 1st10.30am PDT
An introduction by Ryan from Yakima Chief, allows us to off load two 10L key kegs of “Tom needs more friends” our three-day old experimental hop IPA collaboration with Bale Breaker, Cryermalt, and Yakima Chief
Theses plastic domes of joy can now head safely to Denver.
Reed, Jared and brewer Chris, take time out of their day, to share some beers, stories of life in Inglewood, and brewing in California. Superb Kolsch, tasty Westcoast IPA and Mik’s new favourite Rye IPA are enjoyed as we tour the facility.
Great hospitality and new mates made. Thanks for having us, we look forward to hosting you in Ressa.
The boss man ensures no one goes hungry, with a visit to the local “In and Out” burger joint, then back to LAX for a flight to Detroit.
The view from In-N-Out Burger
Quick visit to Three Weavers with Chris.
Mazen’s new and temp truck.
Despite Hamish’s navigation, we made it.
April 1st9.30pm CGT
Detroit.
The world’s longest straight-line shopping mall, posing as an airport. A bus to the hire car desk, and shortly after, Mazen is the proud temporary owner of his very own “Truck”.
Two and a half hours of highway driving, getting what looks like two miles to the gallon, with McArthur’s dodgy navigational skills and we arrive at our first night’s lodgings.
Grand Rapids, Michigan.
