tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81627790607099974082024-02-07T21:54:02.575-08:00Zuckfoltzfus Brewing Co.Zuckfoltzfus Brewing Co. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-23483222710309588612013-11-16T06:27:00.002-08:002013-11-16T06:40:52.737-08:00The Truth About Yelp (It Sucks!)One of the most difficult aspects of running any type of business is the multi-tasking and constantly having to decide what takes priority. The modern day version of running a business includes managing your online image. ??? That means keeping all your online reviews and postings accurate and honest. <br />
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So in the midst of our two month rise to new records, we noticed our "friends" over at Yelp weren't being so friendly. We had so many guests tell us they enjoyed their experience and would be leaving 4 and 5 star reviews on the site, known for providing reviews and ratings for just about any type of business. In our routine check one day, we noticed we had gone from 5 stars one day to 1 the next.<br />
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Ummmm....<br />
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A little more investigation revealed that all these wonderful reviews our customers had kindly taken the time to write were not there. Scrolling down to some tiny print, we found the line "other reviews we do not recommend." Nearly every single review that was about 2 stars had been moved to this obscure page, leaving us with a home page of 1 and 2 star reviews, including some from people, we don't believe were ever in our restaurant.<br />
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It was obvious we needed to do our homework on Yelp. Well, they aren't exactly an ethical company - understatement. What we found was that they are on the receiving end of multiple lawsuits for businesses who have been run into the ground as a result of Yelp "screening" positive reviews when they turned down Yelp's "offer" for paid advertising.<br />
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Translation: if you don't pony up $$$ every month to Yelp, you run a high risk of them taking your stars and positive reviews away.<br />
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So what to do? We're not exactly in the position to file a suit against Yelp, although we'd certainly love to. We went back to the social media expert we'd hired for another business and she suggested the strategy of approaching this with humor, citing another business who had been Yelp-ized and put an A-frame sign in front of their business reading "Come In For Yelp's Most Bland Food." <br />
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Humor helps, although some people don't understand subtle humor and sarcasm. Clearly.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-12906849901357019202013-10-22T05:47:00.001-07:002013-10-22T05:47:21.941-07:00Website, Menu and Hours<a href="http://www.zuckfoltzfus.com/">Zuckfoltzfus Website</a> For the Facebook challenged set, we've developed a home page only site. It links directly to our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Zuckfoltzfus-Brewing/335349446557006">FB page</a>, which includes our menu. It also links directly to <a href="http://openmenu.com/restaurant/ef003bfe-dd91-11e2-b6cf-00163eeae34c">Openmenu</a> which has our weekly menu offerings. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-69987110569588844662013-10-10T05:22:00.001-07:002013-10-10T05:22:39.803-07:00Coming Soon ...Well, folks. its been three busy months since we got our license and had a moment to blog. In the next few days, we'll be transforming the blog to talk about our menu, including both food and beers. Until its done, you can find our menu on our Facebook page by clicking the little green icon under the cover photo to the right, or by searching us on Openmenu.com <br />
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See you soon!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-48073576745557760222013-06-19T07:31:00.000-07:002013-06-19T07:31:00.048-07:00The One We've Been Waiting To WriteAlmost one month ago today, we found out there were not one but two petitions filed against the issuance of our brewpub license, the one that allows us to fill your pint glass and you to drink it at Zuck's. The past month has been one of the most stressful of both our lives, as we fought to open our doors after eight months of pouring every moment and penny into our business. There were serious doubts we'd financially make it through the hearing the PLCB anticipated being in about four months.<br />
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Also during this past month, nearly 1,000 of you came out to support us by commenting, liking, sharing, signing our petition and contacting anyone you could think of who could help us. You came out in droves to buy and fill growlers, to stay and have a meal with a stinkin' "mocktail." So many of you came in and said "we heard about your story and we're hear to support you." Before anything else is said, we have to say "thank you." You gave us hope in some very dark times and we'll never forget the active, vocal supporters who have rushed to our side.<br />
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As of this morning, the only remaining obstacle in our way, the remaining petition filed by a neighbor, has been withdrawn. The PLCB is in receipt of his letter and has stated there are no other outstanding issues preventing the issuance of our brewpub license. From this point, the letter goes to a chain of command through three supervisors and to a final board for stamping because of the proximity of the church to us. This is the policy the PLCB has in place for any establishment opening within 300 ft of a church. We're lucky our church neighbors are kind, reasonable people who have already provided statements they do not oppose our licensing.<br />
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According to PLCB, we are talking a matter of days, not weeks or the forecasted months, to have our license. We have asked our connections within to keep us informed and to receive a copy via email immediately. And the moment we know, you sure will, too.<br />
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What can we say to you after an experience like this?? Perhaps the best thing would be that we chose our town for all the right reasons, something you've really shown us in full force this past month. So let's get together in a week or so, fill a pint glass and toast to new friendships, good people and the future of our little brewpub. <br />
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Zuckin' Right!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-11832002434864741832013-06-13T09:13:00.001-07:002013-06-13T09:13:47.582-07:00Yes, It Can Really Happen Like ThisWell folks, we've held off in updating our blog for the past couple weeks, hoping to write something with an ending paragraph along the lines of "so we should have our tap license in our inbox within the next 72 hours." Unfortunately, that is not the case. <br />
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Last Friday, during what has become our routine of calling PLCB, we were informed one petition against us was withdrawn and was being "entered into the system" as we spoke. We were also informed that because that one petition mentioned the word "church" we would still be going to a hearing on the one church within the 300ft radius of us, in addition to the remaining petition unless it was also withdrawn. <br />
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The church folks, who seem to be good and level headed folks, had already talked to our PLCB investigator face to face and given a statement that they were not opposing our license. Since this still appeared to be an issue on the PLCB end, they quickly gave yet another one. "Church" seems to no longer be an issue. Why create a state level fight between two amicable neighbors?? <br />
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Unfortunately (we realize how many times that word has been used in this post), we still have one remaining petition against us. Nobody seems to have a connection to the one remaining petitioner to talk him down off the ledge, other than of course the one petitioner who already withdrew. In today's not so happy phone call, this time with Senator Brubaker's office, it was confirmed there is no withdrawal on record for the remaining petition. <br />
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Our case has yet to even be sent to the "legal department" to be assigned a hearing date. It appears that original timeline of four months will be true. Financially, things do not look good for us hanging on to our little brewery for that length of time. We have been told that everything else for our license is in place, and if there were to be a withdrawal, we would swiftly be in receipt of our license. <br />
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We hate to end posts on a downer note, so on the positive note ... we're reminded daily of what an incredible community we live in. Had none of this happened, we likely would have never met so many wonderful people. The brewery, during its extremely limited hours open, has been packed with not only beer drinkers but also those who have said they don't really drink beer but heard of our plight and wanted to come in to support us. There are moments in the brewery talking to these kind people that its hard to fight back the tears. We know that had this happened to us in many other communities, the outpouring of support might not have been as generous. Thank you, Mount Joy. This is why we chose here for our little brewery, and our home. <br />
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We're not giving up hope, although it is getting much harder to hang onto as the weeks pass by. We'll keep pressing on every day, for as long as we can hold on. We're good people, supported by good people.<br />
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Keep on Zuckin' .....Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-24211044782532184422013-05-29T07:30:00.002-07:002013-05-29T08:53:11.584-07:00The Beer That Could Have Been Tomorrow Our last post was May 17th, the day we found out our two neighbors seagulled us by filing petitions with PLCB to keep us from opening our door for tap sales. If we thought life was a whirlwind before, well, it hasn't slowed down one bit ...<br />
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We've tried to quickly regroup, get our feet back under us and make lemonade, also known as the swill you peddle when your neighbors block the brew pub from selling its brew. The Sunday following the petition bombshell, we opened for brunch and growler sales. Empty growler sales. All 72 growlers were sold within days, but we really only make about $1/each on growler sales. We sold plenty of brunches and our profit was good, but not what it would be with the tap sales. Not even close. We opened Fourth Friday to sell the remainder of the growlers, which went. We did some pretty strong food sales, too. (People like chicken pies). We opened during the parade and saw a couple hand fulls of people. We opened Memorial Day to actually fill those growlers for the first time, and serve brunch. Brunch sales were beyond light. Growler fills were plentiful. But Zucks can't live on growler sales alone ...<br />
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The financial ramifications of those two petitions are deep. The beer that was to be sold on tap for $6/pint, is now at $4/pint to carry out in a growler. The food sales, well, not many people will linger and eat when they can't drink. The chef we wanted to hire, he won't be hired for months. The daughter home to earn her food money for the entire upcoming year of college, that money no longer exists. Wait staff, they won't be hired. Amos has become a part time growler filler. Sarah has become a cook, waitress, bus boy and dishwasher. And then there are the fees to the lawyers. That's all up front in order to get back some of the financial losses while we sit and wait. (That ones worth it in our minds ....)<br />
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Over the past two weeks, our business plan has turned more into a "survival strategy." The PLCB has been clear that these two petitions will cost us four months of time, sitting and waiting to get our tap license while we entertain parking speculations from the neighbors. We have bills. Lots of them. If you think YOU have bills, add on the cost of opening a business to all the normal stuff. The licensing process demands us to put all the money out up front, as if we were ready to open our doors today, and then be subject to "protests." It makes no sense, we agree. But it is what it is. So for these four months, we've had to very humbly say "we need you to not only fill your growler and run, but sit and eat." It isn't easy to put yourself out there like this when you're already being attacked from across the driveway, but people have been exceptionally kind and supportive.<br />
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We've found that our honesty and openness about our "situation" has brought out the best in folks, well, most folks. Some incredibly interesting, bright people have shown up at our door or inbox, willing to eating chicken pies until they explode, and wash them down with that lousy lemonade. Its what keeps us going right now, okay that and a healthy dose of financial desperation. When that "everyone in town is against you" flashes through our minds, we look at our Facebook likes and petition signatures, growing by the minute now. We think back to the kind inbox messages and diners who have come out. And we know the truth. You want us here. <br />
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Neither Sarah nor Amos is one to back down when they're wronged. Not even a little. In fact, it fuels our fire to keep going. We don't bake cookies and deliver them to our enemies, nor do pack up our bags and go home. We hunker down, prepare our case, and lunge forward. So in addition to brewing beer, planning menus, filling meat pies, our days are spent fighting the good fight. We'll get there, eventually. And when we do, we know who was there the entire time supporting us. And we know who the tiny handful of people fighting for our failure is. (They'll be proven wrong)<br />
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<b><i>Today should have been the day our brewpub license was approved, had it not been for the two petitioners. </i></b>Tomorrow we would have all been sitting down together at the beautiful copper bar Amos built, sharing a pint, toasting to our success and new found friendship. (This is the part that finally chokes Sarah as she types.) Instead, we'll be sharing a "Prohibition Pomegranate Cocktail" aka seltzer and juice,and a meat pie with the handful of loyal supporters. We'll greet plenty of other people for growler fills as they rightfully head out the door to enjoy meals where they can actually enjoy their Zuckfoltzfus brew WITH it. <br />
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All the while, we'll keep fighting to get that license. We hope this process will end up being worth it to those couple folks who unfairly judged us, gossiped about us in another local shop, unsuccessfully rallied against us behind our backs. We're good people, with good people supporting us. 800+ of them. At the end of the bitter battle, there will be a sweet victory, with some fabulous beer and amazing people we can call our friends.<br />
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PS - We know these posts tend to get shared and printed, delivered around town. Always happy to give you something to chat about.<br />
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Keep on Zuckin'<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-4280865169699309582013-05-17T13:19:00.001-07:002013-05-17T13:25:06.384-07:00Got Beer?If we had a $1, wait, if we actually had $6 for every one of those questions ...
Since our last posting, it might as well have been about a year that has blown by us. We've submitted the last of our applications: PA agriculture to manufacture beer, health department and PA state brewpub. We've had all our inspections and passed each and every one of them. We became licensed as a restaurant. We've spent thousands of dollars, completed and stocked the interior of the brewery. Our days, weeks, months have been pretty exhausting to bring us to this point. And while there have been a few points that in exhaustion, we thought "we'll never make it," the support from our ever-growing fan base has helped carry us through. Okay, desperation is also a good motivator!
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We've had several people contact us and say "I want to do this, too. Tell me how." Well folks, its just not that simple. Don't do this alone, have a partner. And if you have a partner, make sure its a rock steady relationship because you are in for some stress. Real stress. Make sure you like ramen noodles, because there's some of that in your future, too. And make sure you're ready to hear opinions. They're like asses. Everyone has them and the ones you don't want to have thrust up on you, well, those are EXACTLY the ones who will.
But along the way, you'll also meet some fine folks who will dilute the asses. For Sarah, yesterday was a real low point dealing with them. But at one point, a fan and neighbor wrote on our wall "I'm glad my business is in your neighborhood." Hey, I'm glad you took a moment to write that. Good, positive people should speak up. We have a list of those folks to tell you about, but with little time, we'll only share one in this post. He is perhaps the nicest man we've met in a long time, good, honest and a man of his word.
When the Z's first entertained the idea of 12 South Market Street, we weren't so sure how the contractor and building owner, Brian Ebersole, would receive us. Brian has been at points for us the guiding light. His unique head down, tilt to the side and eyes over the bifocals has become a welcome sight in our life. From day one, he has been exceptionally gracious and helpful. He's been with us every step of the way and we are forever thankful. If you ever have the opportunity to meet him, do.
After a lot of stress, disappointment, tears, screaming and pushing,(Amos has been a wreck) today we finally received our PA state brewery license. This is tremendous news we've been waiting to hear and share with you all. What that means is we can now legally brew. We can also sell kegs, sixtels and fill growlers. We'll be opening some limited hours for food sales and growler fills and encourage you to PLEASE come in. The food sales and growler fills will be the only thing that keeps the roof over our heads until our PA brewpub license comes through. Our bad news is that some exceptionally unkind neighbor has decided to try to prevent that from happening, likely costing us several months and tens of thousands of dollars until we can open those taps. But we're counting on you, and we know we can.
Mixed into this week's chaos was also an order for growlers. Minimum order was 72 of them. Up front. "Can I just fill someone elses growler?" Umm, yes, you can. You can also support our new business, struggling to stay open until a hearing allows our taps to open, and just buy a growler from us and fill it. Ultimately, we just want to see your smiling faces. Okay, and some of your smiling presidents on cash, too.
We'll be open for brunch this Sunday. Quiche, bacon, muffins and jam. We make great coffee, too. Come in and see us and pre-order your growler. Your $20 when you purchase breakfast really does help us. And after all these months of rather anonymous following, won't it be nice to share a cup and finally get to meet each other.
We thank you, tremendously, from the bottom of our hearts, for being good, open minded, gracious and welcoming folks.
The Zucks!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-49226267607301413202013-04-29T06:49:00.000-07:002013-04-29T07:22:04.719-07:00Are We Too Old To Do This??Let's just start with saying "oof!" There's a reason we haven't updated in a couple weeks,and busy would be an understatement.
Since our last post, the race to open has been on.
We currently hold our federal license and the four state licenses, count them, FOUR, are well underway. What it has taken to get to that point is a lot of paperwork, planning, paying and building. Our kitchen is completely done, our dining space is waiting on the delivery of a couple glass table tops and our bar is nearly complete, waiting for a delivery of cork for the bar front later this week. Sinks, we've got plenty. Want to open any type of food establishment? Get ready to buy sinks ... in bulk.
"When are you going to open??" If we had a dollar for every .... Here's how it works, folks. We have to get cleared to brew for sales, which is different than brewing for personal consumption. Once that happens, we begin stockpiling beer which needs to sit for a bit before its ready. We anticipate being open for growler fills and sixtel sales for a short period before serving on tap. It's one of the many little licensing hoops. So back to the when, we're still guesstimating by mid-May - pushing, shoving and scrambling in every way we possibly can The beer will be young, but there will be beer.
Still get questions on whether or not we will have food, yes, that's the "pub" part of "brewpub." We're actually required by PA law to have "food available." That can mean a lot of things, but to the Zucks its going to mean GOOD. We're still sourcing some amazing local cheeses, cured meats and honey and of course have our spent grain pretzels and meat pies lined up. We figure on offering 5-6 different foods each day, always changing based of fresh and available. The menu will strive to be a balance of "updated local classics" and "out-o-towners," introducing some foods that aren't yet on too many menus out here, but should be.
Lastly, many thanks to our new friends and brew neighbors. We've been fortunate to have the enthusiasm and kindness of so many people coaching us to the finish line. This isn't a process for the faint of heart. It's a lot of long days, big bills, blisters and headaches. We looking forward to the now IMMINENT opening day to give a face to face thank you to all of you for cheering us on these past several months.
PS For those of you who continue to ask about Porter and keep him in your thoughts, he's doing well, getting over his PTSD slowly. Having his young brother Otis to run around the yard with in the good spring weather is serving him well. He actually went right up to our neighbor and said hello, just like he did before he was attacked. We were quite encouraged to see that.
Zuck on!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-34821582959100451702013-04-03T11:48:00.001-07:002013-04-03T11:48:32.160-07:00Doing The Right Thing, Getting The Wrong Results Amidst all the license applications being completed this week, I think we thought there were two but maybe there are now five, there was the underlying stress of this morning’s court date against our beautiful dog Porter’s attacker, Dale Burns. Until today, we had not released his name wanting to give the judicial system its fair shake first. I was not actually feeling stressed about the event, more looking forward to staring this beast in the eye and listening to his account of that day’s events.
The details of that day are still exceptionally fresh in my mind. Closing my eyes, or looking into Porter’s, I can see the brutally of what was probably only just a few minutes, and still hear his screams. I’ve been clear about the facts of the story, consistent. And exceptionally clear that Porter in no way provoked this man into grabbing him by the neck and slamming him to the floor. But still, there was that lingering feeling I’ve had since a college economics exam when I walked out feeling like I had aced it, and instead failed with a 38. I’ve experienced this same feeling during several points of my life and learned the unfortunate lesson of there being no sure thing, even when there should be.
In court, we saw the “cleaned up” version of Dale. Maybe there were a few less inches of beard. There was some sort of button-down shirt, button at the top and bottom only, with the grungy farm garb clearly visible underneath. But there we finally were, face to face. There was his “attorney,” equally disheveled in an attempt to clean up and present for the day. And there was our “prosecutor.” In this tiny town, your reporting police officer is often your prosecutor. Officer Cook from Mount Joy PD was by my side. He’s a fine young officer who seems not only sharp and eager to learn, but also has a strong sense of compassion and knows when to slow down and take his time when working with crimes such as this.
I told my side of the story. Clear, concise and factual. He told his story, which at points read more like a fairytale. Officer Cook asked his questions. Dale’s “lawyer” asked his, hinting at how absurd the entire story sounded – a deliveryman coming into my home and playing with one dog, then mentally snapping and slamming another to the ground. The judge, a local Mount Joy attorney, took it all in before calling Officer Cook and the lawyer back into his quarters. When they returned, the judge explained how all four charges were being dismissed. He first explained that the animal cruelty charge was being dismissed because according to PA state statutes, Dale had to have a “duty to care” for Porter, which he did not. I heard next something about the disorderly conduct charge being dropped, my elderly neighbor not being there to testify about the screaming she heard from Porter that day. And then I just didn’t hear anymore. We had lost. For the second time, I had failed to protect my dog. There was no justice for Porter in that court.
Our son, Little Zeke, all of a fresh 13 years old, was there with us in that courtroom. What did this experience teach him about handling things the “right” way rather than taking matters into his own? Other than that it doesn’t always produce the right result, I don’t know. No more than I know what lesson I’m supposed to learn from what has happened to our dog, who at many points seems changed forever. If there is any good at all to be gleaned from this experience, perhaps it was meeting some very kind people who care about our Porter as much as they would a member of their own family. As for Dale, well, there’s a special place in karma hell for that shit bag.
Walking into the house after court, mascara and tears still on my face, we discovered that while we were at court defending Porter’s honor, he and his young brother Otis had shredded seven rolls of toilet paper and dragged the remains all over the house from second to first floor. Looking at those two, I thought to myself “even with this, I still prefer your company to that of most humans.”
Some folks Zuck. Some others just suck ….
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-91039874557140586072013-04-02T05:50:00.000-07:002013-04-02T05:50:24.478-07:00Justice for PorterFor the last two plus months since the Zuckfoltzfus dog Porter was attacked inside our our home by a deliveryman, many of you have been kind enough to continue asking how he is recovering. Every day,every encounter with someone outside the immediate family, has been a test for Porter. One month ago, there was a ray of hope when someone came to the door and he suddenly ran right up to him. A few nights later, he was back to cowering in a corner and shaking, despite efforts to get him to come over to get his head scratched or belly rubbed. Nearly three months after being attacked, we'd have to say that it looks like our boy is changed forever.
Porter is no ordinary dog. In fact, he's more human than dog. Porter, a gorgeous red aussie shepherd, is extremely smart and sensitive. He's chock full of emotion and unlike his brother Otis, a chocolate lab mix, nothing is a simple command but more like a lengthy discussion and explanation. The downside of Porter's intelligence in light of this attack is that he has learned not to trust everyone as he used to do. He now knows humans can be capable of some very ugly behavior. He knows this first hand. Porter was a rescue dog. He was part of a litter dumped on the side of the road in North Carolina. We adopted him hours after his arrival in Philly after he was saved by some pretty incredible people, only to find out the next day he had parvo virus and a host of other potentially lethal bugs. He has cheated death twice already - and certainly deserves to live a life of nothing but happiness at this point.
After what has felt like a very long time waiting, tomorrow is our day in court. His attacker will have to face the charges resulting from that horrible day in our home: harassment, disorderly conduct and animal cruelty. The officer who filed these charges, Cook from Mount Joy PD, understood the seriousness of what happened. And spending more than one hour at the house, he saw Porter poses no threat to anyone. We're hoping our judge tomorrow also sees the absurdity of what happened and finds this monster guilty. Still, there is no legal punishment that will be enough for what he's done, or that will return Porter to the happy go lucky dog he was before he was slammed to the floor by a stranger.
Tomorrow is going to be tough, looking at that monster square in the eye, saying the details of my horrible memories out loud. There's the uncertainty of if he'll even show, if he'll come up with some crazy defense, or show up clean shaven and showered, unlike the filthy piece of crap who came to our house that day. It's hard to fight tears back writing about this, and I know I'll spend the day dwelling and likely not sleep much. But this is our one shot to fight for our dog, and for "justice" for him.
The Zucks want to thank all of you for your support through this. Sometimes people who don't say much at all or appear to generally be in their own little worlds surprise you when something like this happens to a pet. We'll keep you updated on what happens. And when you walk by our place and see our little maniac, running in circles, tail wagging and trying to get your attention, say "hey, Porter, you're a good boy." No dog deserves what happened to him.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-36740408273239894472013-03-25T06:47:00.001-07:002013-03-25T09:00:51.393-07:00They Came, They Saw, They Drank....Ever think of opening a brewery? Here's what a week in the life looks like:
Starting on Sunday, the rush was on. It was St Patrick's Day and we hosted a sit down dinner for ten lucky guests. This time,
we were thankfully assisted by Chef Steve Painter. Okay, he did more than "assist." He made five fabulous courses that were
out of this world good (even to a "food snob). While Chef Steve cooked, Sarah and Amos ran frantically, serving, clearing and pouring, and pouring, and pouring. And then there was some more pouring. Red ale, oatmeal stout, and peanut butter oatmeal stout were washed down with a little sample of our now famous Whiney Sarah IPA (more on the fame later)
Monday was clean up, clean up, clean up. Do we really own that many glasses??
Tuesday, work at the brewery hanging things and starting the massive cleanup. Looking forward to some much needed Zeke-free quiet time, we hit the couch and started a movie. The doorbell rings. We have thirsty guests and are sampling until 10pm!
Wednesday morning starts off early, Amos out the door by 6:30am to milk the chickens and feed the goats. Okay, he was picking Zeke up from Morgantown. We're tired, really tired, but the big push is really just starting ....
Thursday brings us a full day of assembling, hanging and building over at the brewery, followed by our spectacular host, Sharon Prudhomme over at Prudhomme's lost Cajun in Columbia. It's their Hoppin' Good Time IPA event and they've asked us to join. Load up the Whiney Sarah (hey, I was a little tired by then) and head over to the event. Mobs, throngs, the masses, have all joined us there and sampled, leading to the vote in which Zuckfoltzfus Whiney Sarah IPA beats brews from Lancaster Brewing and Troeg's. Yes, you read that correctly!
And as if that weren't enough .... Friday it's back to work at the brewery to put the final touches on the place for our very first 4th Friday. Silver City Rodeo played some amazing music in the background as yet another mob of thirsty Zuckers filled our place to indulge in some samples of amazing beer and spent grain pretzels. With the event ending at 8pm, naturally people still arrived as late as 9pm. Dinner?? Nah, that was a mere handful of pretzel nuggets.
Rise and shine at 4-something a.m. as the Zuck-dogs are just a wee bit off schedule, Amos, Sarah and Zeke being gone for the bulk of three straight days. Back to sleep after fertilizing the yard, Amos and Sarah are unconscious until 9:15am - a true rarity. Zeke, well he sleeps until 11am all the time. The day is spent scouring for three bay sinks and dishwashers, hanging more stuff and unclogging a brew toilet before heading off to the PIAA state basketball championship games. Dinner??? Yeh, we can tell you where to go if you want to sit waiting for it for 45 minutes, only to run out the door and eat salty, chicken jerky "tenders" on the fly.
Sunday, Amos kegs and kegs and kegs. Sarah spends four hours trying to clean up the much neglected Zuck yard. Exhausted, we hit the couch "early" at 7:30pm, the three of us plus the two Zuck dogs ... all spent.
Sprinkle in the usual paperwork, communications from the feds, insurance panics and messages from people who don't drink beer about people who do.... and you have a week of "So You Want to Open A Brewery?"
This week, the park will be closed folks... Its time to "rest," as much as we ever do, and spend a little alone time. Next free samples??? Hmmmm.... most likely Prudhomme's Craft Beer Fest in about one month.
Keep on Zuckin'
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-68938846601408114412013-03-18T10:40:00.001-07:002013-03-18T11:11:25.057-07:00A "Heads Up," A Head BuriedLast night after cleaning up the last of the Zuckfoltzfus St Pat's dinner, I was thinking it was time to update the blog. It's been a while and a lot has happened. My intention last night was to update on the progress of the brewery and talk about what a fabulous night we had with our guests.
And then this morning, we awoke to a "lovely" inbox message from someone giving us a "heads up." It seems this person who we don't even know has decided to be some type of townie vigilante. We were informed that its not nice for us to speak ill of those speaking ill of us, because we are not from here. Apparently only those five generations deep in the county can say bad things about people who they don't know. This was all in reference to an earlier blog post he apparently doesn't like. We should be careful what we write and how we write things because people might be reading this. We sure as hell hope they are! He was "just giving (us) a heads up." Just a suggestion, if you don't like what we write, don't read it. Especially if you don't drink beer. Why would you be following us online other than being some cyber stalker, or just plain damn weird?
Of the 7,472 residents of Mount Joy borough, 7,439 of them have been pretty damn nice to us. They're enthusiastic, supportive and excited about the idea of something "different" coming to town. We're really only talking about three people, plus the vigilante, who actually no longer even lives in Mount Joy. At many points during this process, people have mentioned how there are some folks who are fighting "progress." I don't think this is even a fight against progress, but a fight against "different," against doing things differently than they personally do. "I don't like beer." Hey guess what?? GOOD FOR YOU! I don't like old sheds. I don't like beige cars. I don't like a lot of things, but I really don't care if you do - nor would I try to stop you from enjoying them. "Different" is simply not embraced by some folks. Again, they're merely a glaring minority.
Not to be bogged down by the three asskateers, things have been going well. We are completely done with the interior painting and even have some things hung on the walls. The mens room is now CLEAN, which actually is worth mentioning considering what it had been. The brew system has been moved in(for those of you neighbors who haven't had your noses pressed against the glass to already know that) and we have our federal application rolling right along. While working on all that, we've had a lot of really nice visitors who always ask when we expect to be open. Our answer is still May.
We've also been working hard at promotional events. Last night for St Pat's, ten lucky guests enjoyed five exceptional courses by Chef Steve Painter from Bent Creek Country Club. (The food was enough to make us want to join!) This Thursday we've been asked to participate in an IPA event at Prudhomme's Cajun in Columbia. And then for Main Street Mount Joy's 4th Friday, we'll be having a couple free samples and hopefully t-shirts, should they be delivered by then! There's talk of even having some very nice music in the brewery that night, too. After that, we're going on lock-down for all events and visitors in order to prepare for our opening, now just around the corner.
A number of people have been kind enough to ask about our dog Porter. If its a story you're following, I'll be posting an update next week on the boy. And until then.... keep on Zuckin'!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-24852179818258841972013-02-19T10:26:00.000-08:002013-02-19T10:26:01.822-08:00Smooth Seas Never Make Skilled Sailors...even of a tiny canoe. Are you getting this common theme?
Since our last writing, we've been becoming more deeply entrenched in "How to Build A Brewery," mostly in the literal sense. There's been a mad hunt for additional matching bar stools we'll be needing, but are suddenly nowhere to be found in any store. Pieces for the back wall have been pulled together, despite some near throw downs in the aisles of the local Lowe's (Sarah decided to just roam the aisles rather than squabble.) And while Amos has been threatening to dismantle garden beds to build the base of the bar, he's cracked the whip on Sarah "paint faster, woman!" Several walls are near completion, yet several walls remain to be done.
Visitors, we've had many. Some have come for the first time, some for the second. Everyone is enthusiastic "we're so excited you're opening this place." Good thing, we need you to be excited! Despite the slowdown on painting that comes with visitors, its what keeps us going on some difficult days. Why would we build this place if nobody cared it was there? For Sarah, that's never been a concern. Amos, he takes some convincing. But with 400+ Facebook likes and dozens of enthusiastic visitors on workdays, even he is coming around.
Then there is paper. This seems to be a sticky point for the Zucks. Currently we sit waiting for our brewer's bond which was said to be arriving last Wednesday or Thursday. Until we have that piece of paper in hand, we are on hold for our federal and state licenses. Those are the little things that allow us to actually SELL beer. Giving it away is fun. But hey, we've got two kid's tuitions to pay and unfortunately neither schools accept our good looks, charm - or beer as forms of currency.
More paper... time to earn some cash while waiting for those licenses. Preparing to move the system over and install all the plumbing, a requirement for inspection for licensing, we attempt to open our doors for homebrew classes, building our network and sharing our knowledge. It seems simple, to us anyway. But more paper muddles our idea. There's confusion, uncertainty. It hasn't been done before. To Sarah, this makes it even more appealing.
<i>Leaders go first. </i>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-12475207748819627632013-02-08T06:10:00.001-08:002013-02-08T06:10:37.427-08:00Porter: Favorite Beer, Favorite PuppyIt's been a few weeks now since our dog Porter was attacked in our kitchen by a deliveryman from a local farm. (See earlier post if you missed this surreal story) Since then, we've had maybe four dozen people in the house many of whom knew Porter before the attack and plenty who are just meeting him for the first time. The familiar friends have seen the change, every one of them remarking how shy he is now and that before the attack he would have been right in the mix of people, smiling and banging his tail into them - or tapping away at their leg with that red ball he carries around, "play with me, play with me!" Now, he sits up on the landing of our staircase and just watches. At points, we can see him physically shaking. This monster broke our dog.
Last week we received notice that Porter's attacker sought some type of "medical treatment" for some type of bogus injury no doubt self-inflicted to substantiate his insanity. It was infuriating, our gentle little dog being painted to be on the attack. But a little justice came in the mail yesterday. Pardon our French, but Fucktard has plead not guilty to four charges Mount Joy Police Department filed against him. We wanted this (not the wasting the court's time part but the opportunity to make him face us. Writing a check for a fine was too simple.
On April 3rd we have our opportunity to speak on Porter's behalf. He's our dog, no different than our two-legged son. Court here is a little different than the court's Sarah has seen before. In little Mount Joy, it's common for the responding officer to act as the prosecutor. You read correctly. We're good with this - very good. Our Officer Cook has proven to be not only an outstanding officer but an outstanding person, as well. He could have come here and said "it's just a dog" but he was patient, compassionate and extremely thorough.
As I'm sitting in our kitchen writing, a few feet from the attack, Porter looks at me and I say "I ruv you!" His tail wags and he gives me that goofy smile and his trademark Porter-speak "hur hur hur." We're going to have your day in court, little guy.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-61857283917162747692013-02-05T06:07:00.000-08:002013-05-21T04:41:41.985-07:00Meeting Our Friends, and NeighborSaturday was one of those days the Zucks will remember for a long time. It was our first day really working in the brewery, Amos assembling bar stools while Sarah painted walls. Mount Joy was being gently covered with snowflakes and we had our first opportunity to see from the inside out what a winter day would look like from inside our cozy little brewery - and it was spectacular. One of the things we fell in love with when we found our brewhome was the abundance of windows. There are more windows than there are walls (Sarah likes this for painting). From the front, we have a great view of the future home of the Mount Joy train station and a slice of the intersection at Main Street. From the bar side, hedges. Big hedges. Those need to come down some so the mommies at Paula's Baton School know we're there. And the other side, a glimpse of the alley actually named Henry Street and a sliver of Amtrak property some folks use as their private property for parking and such.
Work was pleasantly interrupted every few minutes or so by new friends who popped over to introduce themselves and see what was going on. One man brought some of his own home brewed beer. One woman offered the suggestion of a beer version of bloody marys which we'll definitely be doing. And there were a couple familiar faces, too, like our adopted son Rufus and our friend Ed who both bee keeps AND is making a homemade canoe. It was all puppies, butterflies and rainbows, sprinkled with lots of "I can't wait for you guys to open."
And there was a visit by a neighbor.
Amos and Sarah are no strangers to adversity. We're no silver spoon brats who've never struggled and over the course of both our lives we've had our share of "bad juju" and heard our share of personal insults. But you don't insult Amos' beer. What started as a reasonable curiosity about what we're doing in there (and thanks for finally asking us directly rather than gossiping) turned to a list of don'ts. "I don't do ____" and "I don't____" and "I DON'T LIKE BEER." B.A. (before Amos), Sarah wasn't much of a beer drinker other than the occasional PBR during lawn care. So there was the reasonable response of "you probably just haven't found the right beer." The neighbor took a sniff of one of Amos' prize brews he was enjoying a pint of while working. "EWWWWW!!!! It stinks!! EWWWWW!!!!" So we likely haven't made a new customer, nor were we even able to make a new friend to name a beer after. No need to be bitter, just keep on zuckin'Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-66915436307032910242013-01-31T10:15:00.000-08:002013-01-31T10:15:41.098-08:00Red Tape, Blue TapeOof, what a week. Believe us, the brewing is the fun part - and then there's the rest. The week started, or maybe it was last week ending with, notification that someone somewhere owed the borough $6,000 for what basically amounts to water use. Lucky for us, that someone ended up not being us directly but unfortunately that weight fell on our building owner, a local contractor we've grown very fond of through this process. Seeing how in the future there could be more coming down the pipe, pun intended, we've started to look at ways to reduce water use in the brewery. Hint: pee before you come over and hold it until you leave. And back in the world of paper temporary signs, we heard a bit of gossip that the paperwork for the approval to be approved to have the sign had been approved. Yes, we can now hang our temporary sign. It's very exciting.
NIMBY gossip continued to spread through the sprawling borough of Mount Joy this week, once again. We find it rather odd, and amusing in a sick and annoying sort of way,that people don't come directly to us with their questions, concerns, comments and complaints yet flap their gums around town. The complaint about the Zuckfoltzfus name was replaced this week by a gentleman with a parking concern, who also is concerned that the body of the woman who previously lived in what is now our brewery is "rolling in her grave." We're sure there are several ordinances, laws, rules and regulations that forbid grave rolling, especially within the borough.
Don't get us wrong, it wasn't an entirely bad week. We managed to get quite a bit of painting done, including one of the two ADA bathrooms and a good portion of the brew room. We had the painting done for our handicapped parking space, one of the two spaces we have. We even passed muster other than a couple roll bars in the bathroom being 1/16th of an inch or so off, allowing us to officially occupy the premises. And we chose the official PA wine of Zuckfoltzfus Brewing Co., Grandview Winery of our very own Mount Joy. Who would have thought this place was chic enough to have a winery?!
So when things are looking to be a little more difficult than you have the time, patience, money and energy to deal with, look at those who made it through this before you, and keep on Zuckin'.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-34150807732325409392013-01-25T09:03:00.004-08:002013-01-25T09:06:57.484-08:00Happy Snowy Friday!!!!As we prepare for another weekend of brewing (we do occasionally do that between our day jobs, shuttling Zeke across the county to learn his "R's", monitoring the construction process, brushing up on our Borough code, researching the federal licensing process.......well you get the idea) we thought it would be a good time to share with our friends and followers why we're doing this. I mean, of course we'd like to make a little money from it, who doesn't? And I'd be lying if I told you I haven't already done the math.....Honestly though, it really is about the beer.....Good beer....and we aspire to provide that to our customers, along with some "different" fare, be it spent grain pretzels, interesting meat pies (perfect with a stout on a snowy January Friday),or cheeses that smell like Zeke's socks and have names almost as unique as ours.<br />
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When Sarah and I were married in December of 2011, we had a local brewer from York make us an Oatmeal Stout for the wedding. We had pint glasses made as well and created a logo centered around our much-discussed last name and my favorite beer. (Sarah, btw, is the artist, so any of the creativity you see in the decor, the logo, t-shirts, etc, comes from her. I just build stuff and brew) That's really how it began. Over the past year, during which we sold a home, lost a job, planted a ton of tomatoes (not recommended), moved a family, shed a daughter to college (Esther), got another job (ick!) and covered easily 25,000 miles on the PA turnpike, we decided it was time to get serious about our half-assed attempts at putting something together that included some of our favorite things; beer, food, and more beer and food. While sitting in another fine brewpub in Manheim, we began a discussion that all too often starts with Sarah saying, "How hard can this be?". Unfortunately, or fortunately, if you like the IPA, the owner of the brewpub joined the conversation and offered to show us his brewing system. The same version now sits in our basement, awaiting the trip to it's final destination down the street from our home. Our first batch was an Oatmeal Stout, with much help from our friends at Lancaster Homebrew. Some say that batch came out perfectly. My favorite compliment was "This isn't horrible at all, it's actually quite delicious." I made another two batches of it to follow that up, each one of them with their own unique unexpected variation. Those were received as well as the first. We've been brewing in earnest since the first week of October, and have brewed all but two weekends since. One thing you will find out about us: Sarah will always compliment the beer and I will always tell you why it's not perfect. And both are totally accurate.<br />
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Fittingly, we are out of Oatmeal Stout, which tells me I know what's going into the mash tun this weekend, right after a trip to The Country Store (Buy Local! Brew Local!) for some more organic rolled oats.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14813967964783747193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-68485338490922728172013-01-21T11:03:00.002-08:002013-01-21T11:03:36.865-08:00Zuckin' Great T-Shirts For Sale!Both t-shirts have our logo on the back! We assume you are local and can pick up your shirt. If you're an out of towner, just inbox us and let us know you'll need it shipped. The shirts are currently in production. We'll let you know as soon as they arrive.
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-39007612006087873462013-01-21T10:23:00.000-08:002013-01-21T10:23:03.145-08:00Guess Who Is Coming To Dinner ...In true Zuck fashion, the moment the first of our guests started arriving for our popup dinner so did our favorite Mount Joy police officer. I'm sure the appearance of us having hired security impressed the guests, as did a line of complete strangers introducing themselves coming through the door impress the officer. (He very politely did not ask what was going on) In any event, he came to deliver very good news that set the night off on a very positive tone for us. Charges have been filed against Porter's attacker. It had been a very difficult week to say the least. Maybe having a huge dinner party and unveiling of the beer was a good distraction, but I know at several points during the week long prep, Porter's incident distracted from what needed to be done.<br />
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And then there was a house full of people! It was fascinating finally putting all the faces with the names we've been collecting on our Facebook page for these last six weeks or so. Getting to know some of the personalities as we worked our way around from person to person was quite interesting. Amos remarked that he spoke to one man a few times before realizing he had a British accent! And there were the volunteers, those guys who pitched in handing out meat pies or washing pint glasses so the next beer could be sampled.<br />
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Our vendors, glorious to say the least. The lovely couple from Pies Galore & More showed up with these giant trays filled with meat pies and chocolate lava cakes that could send anyone into a diabetic coma. Green Market delivered three different appetizers, all spectacular but we fell in love particularly with these lox rolls filled with florentine cream cheese. And then there was Breakaway Farms who dazzled us with delicate lamb, chicken and beautifully smoked sausage. But for me the real wow was when they broke out bacon ice cream. (We're lucky enough to be hoarding some in our freezer still) <br />
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For me the best part of the evening was towards the end when I walked into the dining room to find my beautiful husband Amos chatting away about his beer and the group listening very attentively. To me, Amos is the most wonderful man in the world and can do anything, and well. That moment brought a little peace in our extremely hectic and stressful life. For those who don't know, Amos suffers a day job - emphasis on "suffers." But that moment was a sign of wonderful things to come for the Zuckfoltzfus family, but most importantly for Amos. We should all be appreciated, treated with respect and do something we love.<br />
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Speaking of Amos, today marks the anniversary of our first date. Amos' preparation for the date mostly included what to not wear and what to not drive, but he couldn't hide his charm and his brilliance. We met precisely at 7pm for a blind date and at 7:01pm precisely, I was madly in love with the greatest man on earth.<br />
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Thank you, new friends, for coming to our home and sharing a little bit of our craziness and a lot of our food and beer. We put ourselves in a position of opening our lives up to complete strangers. There was that moment last week that we regretted it, but you certainly restored our faith in what we're doing. <br />
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Keep on Zuckin' Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-8596855200824761292013-01-15T07:23:00.001-08:002013-01-15T07:23:38.587-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Best damn dog, ever......</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14813967964783747193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-80209203903529600722013-01-15T05:14:00.000-08:002013-01-15T05:14:00.855-08:00Hug Your Dog, Kick His EnemyWhat a day it was yesterday. I was in the kitchen, eagerly awaiting the delivery of a stash of organic meats from a local farm to start prepping for a dinner we're hosting Saturday evening with some of our new friends. Great food, friends and Zuckfoltzfus beer. What could put you in a better mood? As usual, our dogs Porter and Otis were at my feet - just in case some scraps happened to hit the floor.<br />
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A bit about our dogs, since this is all about them ... Porter is about 15 months old. By our best guess, he's a red aussie shepherd. He came to us through Wags Rescue in December 2011, exactly one week after our wedding. Some people get married and have a human baby. We got married and had a dog baby. The day after his adoption, Porter nearly died from parvo virus and a host of other bad bugs living in his belly. He recovered nicely and there hasn't been a day that we've regretted our choice to max out a credit card to save him. He beat being dumped on the side of the road in North Carolina with his litter. He beat the all too common animal gas chambers of the south. And he beat parvo. Through this he remained probably the sweetest most docile little dog ever. Otis came to us through the same rescue shortly after Christmas this year. He's brown and round! We seem to have gotten lucky with this one, too. The boys love the , companionship and are either rolling around together, having eating races or laid out asleep. <br />
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Back to that scene yesterday ... so here we are in the kitchen with all this gorgeous chicken and lamb freshly delivered. And there was the deliveryman. Without getting into too much detail, it was perhaps the strangest thing I've seen in many years. And since it was happening in my own kitchen, it was quite surreal. Within a flash of a second, this man had our Porter pinned the kitchen floor, hands on his neck, full weight of his body on top of the 49lb dog. Porter screamed out for help, lost complete bowel control yet still did not bite this man (although he would have been welcome to at that point). The man picked Porter up, opened our back door - and threw him out. Porter stood quivering in the backyard, curled into a protective ball, tail tucked between his legs. He was covered in his own urine and feces. <br />
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In my rare stroke of good luck, I was able to be calm with the man. Did I want to gut him like a fish? Oh hell yes. But being able to maintain some calm in an otherwise insane scene, I knew what I had to do was be calm and get him out before he hurt Porter more, or turned on me. Once he left, my job became to first contact Amos and second tend to the dogs - both of whom were terrified. In the midst of the calamity, little Otis had hid under our bed.<br />
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In the hours that passed, Amos and I talked through how best to handle what had happened. I made a quick call to one of the business owners. I've done business with these folks before and I liked them. I expected nothing other than a very reasonable response. After that, we waited to hear from the other half of the ownership, and waited, and waited. We watched Porter's demeanor and could clearly see the effects of the assault. He was afraid to even go into his own kitchen. It was clear we needed to contact the police.<br />
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A call to the police doesn't always "pack the same" punch (no pun intended) of going Walking Tall on someone. But it was the right thing to do. People who so easily do things like this to an animal are capable of just as easily doing this to a human being. And animal abuse isn't something to glaze by "just because it's an animal." No. Not in this house, and not in yours either we're guessing. Hoping. This guy needs to be prosecuted.<br />
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We live in Mount Joy Borough, PA. I'm not sure how big, or maybe I should say how small this place is. It's tiny. Maybe we have two handfuls of police and fortunately our experience with them has been extremely limited. The two officers who arrived are to be commended. (And they keep getting younger and younger). Both with only six months on the job, MJPD is their first police appointment after serving in our military. Mount Joy is exceptionally lucky to have these two fine officers. They were extremely professional, thorough and compassionate. Compassion can be a hard thing to have as a police officer when all you tend to deal with is scum like the man who did this to our dog. (Sarah somehow magically has insight into this herself.) They promised to follow through, file charges and we trust them.<br />
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Hopefully what happened yesterday will be an isolated incident. It's an unfortunate part of doing what the Zuckfoltzfus' do: we open our lives to knew people giving them the benefit of the doubt that they'll be friends, customers and supporters. Yesterday we were gravely mistaken. Hopefully our faith in humanity is quickly restored and we'll go back to saying "hey, we've got xyz on tap today and we'd like you to come over and sample it." But for today, we'll be cocooning in the kitchen making lamb stew and chicken cassoulet. And our dogs will be safely by our side waiting for scraps. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-65426551214240430372013-01-13T18:41:00.004-08:002013-01-13T19:01:16.924-08:00So Far ...Well folks, we've come a long way since our last posting, sort of ...<br />
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We've managed to sign a lease at our first choice of locations here in Mount Joy and with the help of the building owner, we've been making changes to the space to accommodate our needs and the many rules and regulations imposed on us by various bureaucracies. All in all, things are looking quite good over at the new home of Zuckfoltzfus Brewing Co. <br />
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Since our last posting, we've been playing around with various recipes we hadn't tried before and perfecting ones we've tried and enjoyed. In the research and development phase, most things are going exceptionally well. But hey, we count of the feedback of friends and complete strangers to let us know how good the beer is ... and they say its good.<br />
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Red tape, red tape, red tape - we're chock full of it. At this point we are waiting for what we'll just refer to as "Level 1" to sign off so we can move forward to "Levels 2 and 3." This is not the fun part but to date we really haven't run into any problems, with minor exception of one or two NIMBYs - but we don't spend much time thinking about them.<br />
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Speaking of the reception we're receiving, its warm, enthusiastic and highly supportive of our endeavor. We've been inspired by the outpouring of support for the craft brew community, particularly those in Mount Joy who have reached out to us via Facebook or sometimes our doorbell. This is the fun part. We're enjoying getting to know quite a few new friends.<br />
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Last but not least, we're working this week to put together a fabulous dinner for next Saturday night. A handful, okay four handfuls, of new friends will be joining us for a private dinner with help of our neighbors at Green Market Co, Breakaway Farms and Pies Galore. In these early stages, opening our home and kitchen to our future clientele is the way we help spread the good word about Zuckfoltzfus Brewing Co. Good beer, good food and good company - it's how you spell Zuckfoltzfus. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-26572423929011651692012-12-19T05:42:00.001-08:002012-12-19T05:44:02.448-08:00Long Time, No Post<b>No, we haven't been slacking off, not when it comes to the brewing anyway. Since the system arrived, Amos has brewed every weekend with the exception of one. And all the beer has been fantastic including the oatmeal stout, whiny Sarah IPA, Squirrel Bait Nut Brown Ale and Christmas Ale. The Honey Zuck Buckwheat was great too, although Amos says he hates it (he hates Sarah's ideas.) </b><br />
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<b>Now, getting the beer out to the public .... we love giving it away but actually need to make a little money off this sometime soon. We've identified a commercial space in Mount Joy, PA and hope to soon be announcing an opening date and specifics on the location. What we can tell you is it will be in the near future and it will be unique! </b><br />
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<b>We're in the thick of licensing, leasing and all putting all the details together. At this point, progress will be happening almost daily, we hope, so stay tuned for updates ....</b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162779060709997408.post-85287667190218486622012-10-03T18:16:00.001-07:002012-10-03T18:30:03.469-07:00The System Is Coming! The System is Coming!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6jtQFvXEJxJXFFm7vJNxOjxd1icVq9XNHDs2sHZQW_8EFO8uD_X3mAhYofqLTjN4VmJ3oeng0fP-lSQrVmhm8K0pu3PUm6GmVeYJNlsH_gxiwlDOdugntDlWG09VFQLCyDGrTpoUGVE/s1600/sabco2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6jtQFvXEJxJXFFm7vJNxOjxd1icVq9XNHDs2sHZQW_8EFO8uD_X3mAhYofqLTjN4VmJ3oeng0fP-lSQrVmhm8K0pu3PUm6GmVeYJNlsH_gxiwlDOdugntDlWG09VFQLCyDGrTpoUGVE/s1600/sabco2.jpg" /></a></div>
<b>Amos and Sarah Zuckfoltzfus will have trouble sleeping tonight. After weeks of prepping the Zuck Brew Haus, the Sabco Brew Magic system is due to arrive first thing tomorrow morning. Get ready to watch the progress...</b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16498831038426952943noreply@blogger.com0