Earning My Beer in Eola

Mark Cannon, owner of Eola School and Bright Brewing, has been asking me to stop by for some beer. I think I've only been twice this year. We changed our schedule at work, so I don't have the long weekends I used to to visit Satan in Midland, consequently, fewer stops in Eola.

Last week, I finally decided that I needed to go to Eola and visit with Mark. There was still a little snow on the ground from the previous week's storm, and even though it would get up to 40°, I knew it would be chilly in the old school. Mark told me about how hard it was to get his beer to sell in other locations. He didn't think the staff was doing enough to sell the beer.

I had a few beers. His Farmhouse Ale is good. It has a little spice to it. He also had a Belgian Quad on tap. It was a bit thin, but had a nice, complex flavor with some fruitiness.  He poured me a cup of stout. That was the best beer of the lot, with lots of roast in the aroma and flavor.

Then he showed me his in-progress expansion.  Mark's brew house is in the old science class room, on the north side of the building. He is building a fermentation chamber across the hall. He bought some 4'x12' insulated panels that are used to make walk in coolers. He had already assembled three panels to make a back wall, and attached one panel perpendicularly at each end, like a large "C". There was a 3 foot space behind the box that he could get into and clean. He asked me to help him move a sixth panel into the budding fermentation chamber, to make two fermentation chamber. It was a little too tall, so Mark decided the grind down the metal couplings at the top.

Then Mark decided to push the chamber against the wall, and we walked the thing back to wall an inch at a time. Finally a couple of guys stopped by to help Mark do exactly what we'd been doing all afternoon. Naturally, being lazy, I watched as the three of them got that middle panel in, turning the "C" into an "E".

Since I only had the one day off, I decided to leave at a quarter to three and head back home. This morning, I discovered a splinter in my thumb. It's in just the perfect spot that hurts when I write with a pen.

Mental note: bring work gloves the next time I go to Eola.

Malting Symposium at Eola School September 29

Mark Cannon is planning a malting symposium on September 29 at the Eola School Restaurant and Brew Pub. (It looks like the site is down at the moment.) He's hoping to have a couple of speakers on base malt and specialty malt. Everyone can take barley home to malt. Mike from Horny Toad microbrew in Rowena is bringing kegs for the participants. (Horny Toad hopes to be up and running this month sometime.) Give Mark a call if you're interested in participating. (325) 469-3314. He's also looking for speakers, if you want to show off your knowledge. I'll probably be there. Mark told me that he has a Super Citra Single Hop Pale Ale and a robust porter on tap.

Eola School - Eola - Beer Day Trip

A couple of weeks ago, late on a Friday night, I decided that I needed to head to Eola and see what was going on at Eola School Brewery. I hadn't seen Mark since February, and was wondering what he had on tap.

He had what he described as an all-malt blonde ale, a black IPA, a light beer with flaked corn and a stout. He started me off with the all-malt blonde.  It was nice and crisp. The black IPA was almost gone, he poured me a pint from a growler, and the familiar flavor he had shared with me a month earlier had mellowed.  Next, Mark poured me his Double IPA, Big Prick.

Mark tends to back off on his flavors when he brews. He's concerned that his customers won't appreciate what he's trying. I can see it, since he'd poured me his black IPA six weeks ago.

Mark showed of the last of his Big Prick DIPA t-shirts, complete with a saguero cactus in the logo. It was a nice looking shirt. Now, I haven't been able to buy a t-shirt from Mark for a couple of years. He normally only buys L and XL and XXL. So I asked if he had the XXL Big Prick shirt.  He said he hadn't bought a XXL in a while.  "Mark! I've been on a diet for six months so I can buy a shirt from you!" (I was XXXL and Mark never, ever bought that size.)

Mark doubled over in laughter, but never said he would buy an XXL shirt.

Crap! Another 50 pounds to go!

Suddenly, I got a text from my friend KC, who is one of Satan's friends. She was upset that I hadn't let her know I would be heading to Eola. I apologized. Frankly, I hadn't thought about anyone by me. Sorry, KC!

Mark was already busy when I arrived, and more people filed in as I ate my pizza. Mark, the sole employee of Eola School restaurant, spent most of the time I was there waiting on thirteen people (besides me). And as another group came in I decided I should head to San Angelo and visit Joe's Brewhouse in downtown San Angelo.

More to come. . .

Eola School Brewery

Stopped by to visit Mark and see what he's been up to. He was prepping for a band playing tonight and needed help running extension cords. He has a nice black IPA on tap.