Celebrating the 15th at Thomas Creek Brewery

Saturday was actually the 13th, but we were joining the 15th Anniversary Party at Thomas Creek in Greenville:

Casting a leery eye at the clouds overhead, we arrived early and headed for the wrist band station.

When the first opportunity to snag a Class Five IPA presented itself, I took it.... at one of three pouring stations (plus the cask tasting table).

Inside, there was beer, live music and camaraderie and I have the pics to prove it:

Soul Stew was the first band to play.

Beer and Music Fans

Pouring station #2, with eager beer lovers

Beer buds: Weston, Whit (TC staff) and Nick, blogger at Blog.Write.Repeat

Ladies who love beer and music

Soul Stew with a familiar face on drums

Isn't Josh McGee supposed to be making beer?

Thomas Creek co-founder Bill Davis enjoys hearing from fans.

Brewmaster Tom Davis listens gentlemanly to an appreciative beer lover.

"Do you think this beer makes my eyes blue?"

Enforcing new laws about the amount of beer the brewery can now sell to one person

Pouring the cask samples. Hooded cask is the mango infused IPA, waiting for more settling.

 

Meanwhile, outside the crowd is growing and so is the rumbling in my tummy, so it's time to explore the food options:

One of two trucks that braved the forecast rain.

Roast beef sammich sounds good and, what's that, a Blueberry Beer Cupcake?

Do I spot a pretzel necklace? Nice touch.

Ken, Glenda, and Jennifer toast the occasion with silos looking on.

Rare sight: Beer blogger taking a break. Red Ale and beef sammich is a tasty pairing.

Meanwhile, back at the cask table....

Waiting continues for the yeast to settle down so the cask can be tapped.

Success! The pouring begins!

I'm having a chat about the mango infusion with Bill (who admits that the Doppelbock is his favorite).

The rain held off while I was there and allowed the celebrants plenty of time to sit, sip and relax (tho I think chairs would have helped this couple:

Before I end this post, I want to take the opportunity to offer my personal congratulations to Tom and Bill and all the other great people at Thomas Creek for surviving 15 years and for making my task of writing about the craft beer world so much fun and rewarding.

Cheers!!