The brewery is shut down today and tomorrow we will be picking up our new jet-packs, flying cars, robotic servants and making preparations to visit the moon colony we were promised in the 70′s.

But before we get distracted we wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for your support over the year(s).

This is a tough business.

Each one of the employees here has spent long hours and seemingly endless days working to produce a quality product and spread the word about it, but at the end of the day its you, our growing base of loyal customers that we have to thank for your support, feedback and evangelizing.

We are up against entities with more money, more legislative power and in some cases – shady practices. We stand by our commitment to be an ethically sound business and a good steward of our community.

In the coming year we will continue our promise to you to create award-winning beer and root beer, to support local organizations and businesses.

Even though this has been a tough year for a lot of people we have seen our sales numbers increase. Yes, in part that is due to the efforts of our team, but there is no mistaking that our brand is growing as people like you spread the word. For that we thank you.

By “we” I mean the 5 families that make up Devil’s Canyon Brewery. We are your neighbors. We are your customers. Our children go to school together. We are families just like yours – trying to make this crazy dream work.

There is a paragraph of text we put on the laminates we place in various bars and restaurants we are on tap at. I don’t know if you have had a chance to read it so let me share it with you now:

In the 1800’s, the United States had over 1,500 breweries.

By the time the 21st amendment was ratified, only half of the facilities had survived prohibition. Even worse, due to consolidation, by 1978 the number dropped to 42.

Imagine, only 42 breweries country-wide. Little diversity, few options, fizzy, yellow, watered-down pilsners reigned supreme.

Thankfully, people just like you have begun to rediscover real craft beer. Neighborhood locales are carrying more selections from their neighborhood breweries.

Local economies and local jobs are being directly benefited, and thanks to the growing appreciation for locally brewed beers – today there are over 1,400 breweries operating in the US.

That’s a powerful testament to the will of the people not to bow down and accept what is pushed on them by corporations and the media. We are still about 100 breweries shy of what we had in this country over 110 years ago – but every time you decide to support your local craft brewery you send a message, you vote with your dollars, you make an impact.

This posting has no sales pitch. This message is from the heart.

Thank You – Here’s wishing you a prosperous and rewarding 2010.

Now where’s my damn two-way wrist TV?

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