Willoughby Brewing, Willoughby, Ohio - Sept. 8

Finally, ready to ship our GABF judged beers. We are entering eight products: Wheat, Pale, Razz, Scottish, Bitter, Imperial IPA, Trippel, and Dortmunder Export. Each box is lined with old newspaper and bubble-wrap, then each bottle is painstakingly wrapped in bubble-wrap to ensure that they will reach their destination intact. After an inspired packing job, I comment to Jason, our other brewer, that, "You could drop these out of an airplane without breaking a bottle!" As if to prove a point, in my hurry to get to the shipper before they close, I drop a box — not out of an airplane, just about two feet — and watch as rivers of beer flow out! So much for that. By the time I repack the box and race out to the shipper, they have closed. Just as well, when I unload the boxes from my car I find that a bottle has exploded and more beer is flowing. Back to the proverbial drawing board.