Well, we have landed. We achieved the business metric that all businesses are measured by, right? 5 years. We made it to 5 years. I thought I would take a moment of your time to have a look back, say thanks, and give a look to the future.

April 21, 2017, a relatively calm Friday morning. We were set, the team was assembled, the beers were in kegs, the floors were shined, and we had absolutely no idea what to expect.

We popped that door open at 11 am, and there was an absolute rush of people, community members, neighbors, friends, and beer-centric nerds, ready to take that first taste of what this new brewery in town had to offer.

We launched with just two flagship beers on tap, Three Deep American Blonde and Back Porch Pale Ale. We had a small space, smashed with people, and several beers to go.

Our goal was to launch with our original 5 flagship beers - and we had succeeded. Fought with our canning line to get beer in cans, fought with our labeler to get those cans wrapped with this design we had become proud of.

There were tears of joy, endless smiles, and laughter. All the things we had envisioned it would be, and more. And, as a big moment for us, some money came into the business, instead of just out of the business. The satisfaction that we received enjoying the company of our friends, and the satisfaction of seeing our craft being enjoyed by those around us is something that we will forever be grateful for.

Fast forward a year or two, and we had expanded our offering, dropped our new Fire Fighter collaboration in the market, Maltese Cross Red Ale. This beer took off for us, it was the first beer that went into big chain accounts and sold like crazy. This beer rounded out our 5% offerings with that darker malty base.

This trio of beers seemed like such a great combo, by our third year we decided to put these into a 12-pack, and really blow them up. The Explorer Pack was born, and it was popular. You guys were drinking a lot of beer, and we were constantly running low - struggling to keep up with the popularity of this new package.

Keep moving forward, then all of a sudden, March 16, 2020. BZZZZZRRRRRPPPPTTTT. And we are closed down. Are we essential workers, how do we avoid this crazy bug, how much bleach should we add to the water when we are cleaning - all these things started coming at us faster than we could sort out. Our doors were locked, our team was uneasy, and frankly so were we. A business based on bringing people together to enjoy the world's most fun liquid, was suddenly told that we cannot bring people together.

As we looked out the community for answers, we found a niche that saved us. Beer to-go. We extended our map with the DABC, which allowed us to provide beer to-go in a safe, contactless way. And again, our community of beer lovers came out - flocked to the brewery for our new “honk and go” service. Looking back, two things seem crazy about this arrangement, 1) why did we have to do it this way, and 2) why had we not thought of this before!!!!!

As the shutdown continued, we built a temporary fence (two years later is is still very temporary, and broken) - and threw together some picnic tables - outdoor seating was born at RoHa. Through some hard work and dumb luck, we were able to refinish the interior of our space as well, expanding our taproom in April, 2021. One big space, and a bigger party. We were starting to get a handle on how to social distance, wear a mask, and still be social and see our friends.

And now, here we are, on the eve of our 5 year anniversary. We have so many new beers, we have 12 beers on tap now, that's only an increase of 10 since we opened…and we are looking forward to seeing our beer friends come out, say hello, and sip a pint with us.

We anticipate live music, great food, and a fun weekend of celebrations. As we set our sites to the future, we are excited to see where we land.

We are focused on bringing people back together in a warm and welcoming taproom. We have some exterior projects that are in the works to make our taproom space fit our lifestyles even better. Bringing the outside in, and bringing more beers to more people in 2022. We will continue to develop new beers, some of our old brands will slowly disappear and make guest appearances throughout the year.

Thank you to all of you that read this each month, thank you to all of you that have supported us throughout these 5 years. We are grateful for the relationships that we have built and maintained. We are amazed at the friendships that have been developed in our space over a beer - lasting friendships that have built a community of strength around us. We hope to sip a pint with you, to keep our heart full of gratitude. Our glasses are raised.