In early March of last year, before the pandemic truly took hold, we all sat around a table after work brainstorming how the curbside pick-up would work. Owner Zack Adams and his brother Dave listened to our ideas and assured us we would all have jobs and that they would take care of us. We were all worried about production and money, and although Zack and Dave looked nervous, they were prepared to adapt like any small business.

We were lucky that beer drinkers kept showing up and were generous with buying beer and tipping. We switched to canning or bottling everything, continued to sell cans as singles, and only kegged for select restaurants. It’s weird to think there are some of our beers out there on tap that I’ve never had on draft – our dark Mild, new Double IPAs, our first ever spontaneous beer.

What’s it like to work curbside at a brewery in Salem, Connecticut, for almost a year? We’ve had to endure the elements until recently, when the brewery installed a sliding window in back to keep the cold air out, and we have worked through thunderstorms, rain, freak snowstorms, and heat waves. My clothing has varied from long underwear and a wonderful investment in fleece-lined Carhartt pants to bringing two or three t-shirts with me because the heat and humidity could be unbearable.

One of our biggest draws is Burst, our much loved IPA. I wouldn’t call it a flagship beer necessarily, although it is the one we brew most often, a 7% New England IPA with lovely tangerine peel notes. I’ve never asked for Burst’s hop profile, mostly because I’m terrible at keeping secrets and would tell someone, but when I’m choosing beer for someone I know if partial to IPAs, it’s usually Burst I’ll bring.

I feel very lucky to work at a brewery where Zack and brewers Dan and Al maintain wonderful attention to detail in every beer they make. It makes me very proud to be a part of this small team.

“When will you open the tasting room again?” someone asks from their car. This is hardly an uncommon question, and while we used to answer with a date, that date has long since passed. I look forward to returning to the bar to serve Burst on draft sometime in the future, but for now I’m content to sit at my little window in the back of the barn and make people happy by sending them home with fresh cans of Burst.