Happy New Year: The Highs and Lows of 2017 and New Possibilities for 2018

Another year has come and gone and with that, here's a bit of an annual review of what worked, what didn't, and some of the activities being planned for 2018. And yeah, while this may be a bit strange coming from a pub, it can be helpful in the process of continued evolvement, change (not always a bad thing), and making things better.

2017, The Highs or What Went Well
It's always not a bad idea to reflect on what's actually been accomplished, especially so when times are slower or don't seem to be moving quite as quickly as you'd like. Patience and baby steps.

• Brewery Launched: After a year and a half of infrastructure building, remodeling, and getting all the appropriate licenses and permits, the brewery was finally launched in April.
• Outstanding Beers: In total, eleven beers were released including the Amaizing Cream Ale, Flying Squirrel Amber Ale, Gold Portage Blonde Ale, Voyageur Pale Ale, Lost Bay IPA, Hoppy Folly Strong IPA, Valhalla Strong Blonde Ale, Drunken Loon Strong Dark Belgian Ale, Sand Bay Wheat, Stubborn Moose Dry Stout, and the Black Swan American Stout. All of these had at least one batch that was truly phenomenal and I have no doubt would have cleaned up if compared to the competition.
• Back Room Expansion: Call it a case of cabin fever, but last January/February we went nuts, remodeled the middle room, tore down the wall and moved the stage. Some people thought we were crazy for doing so, especially as we were still in the final stages of getting the Brewery approved.
• New Pub Activities: This includes adding Bumper Pool, Darts and as of yesterday, TVs. A nice expansion providing other activities for people to socialize with and enjoy over a pint or two.
• Growler Six-Packs: Has been a huge hit, a great option to try and share six different beers.
• Live Music: As the brewery was launched, we've received much more interest from different bands and musicians wanting to play and being supportive of our relatively small size and compensation range.
• Group Events: The back room expansion made it possible for many different group events, from 1-4 per month.
• Complimentary Peanuts: A perfect snack to compliment the craft beers.
• New Clothing Designs: Thanks to J2M, had released several new designs that were big hits.
• Ice Box Days Canoe Races: Was a big hit to kick off the year, this year we'll be adding a bonfire.
• First Wedding: Thanks again to Candy and John for deciding to have their special event at Loony's Brew, will always be remembered and appreciated. Couldn't imagine a better way to cap off the first summer operating as a brewery.
• Pints in the Park: From Voyageur National Park, moving their annual or semi-annual event back to the local area, thanks for their support and can't wait for the next.
• Weekly Poetry Get Togethers: A relatively new event helping to bring more of an artistic/creative energy to the area.
• Added a Second Bathroom: Part of the back room expansion, helpful for busy times, no more waiting in line.
• Loony's Brew Billboard on Highway 53: Bringing in more people into Ranier to show and highlight all the great things Ranier has to offer.
• Tents on the Deck: Helpful to stay outside when raining or a bit of extra protection from the sun.
• Speakers in the back room: Providing music, open mic, live bands, and karaoke throughout the bar.
• Zombie Crawl: First ever zombie crawl to include Ranier, thanks for including us and happy to support such a great cause.
• Winter Craft Beer Specials: Including as low as $3 pints and $6 64 ounce growler refills, has been extremely helpful for keeping the beer moving and with that, more brewing and learning curves being climbed to help make the beers even better.
• Happy Hours: Starting this fall we've had 2-1 happy hours M-F from 5-6:30 and on Saturday and Sunday, from 2-3pm and 6-7pm.
• Thirsty Thursdays: With $1 pints, $2 liters, and $3 pitchers, has been a great event so far to help introduce new beer options and socializing for kicking off the weekend.
• Monthly Homebrewing Meeting/New Menu Option at the Rainy Lake Grill: This monthly event has been a great success and the different food options created have been simply amazing. Can't wait to taste what's next.

2017, The Lows or What Didn't Work so Much
The learning lessons, things we tried but didn't work out so well and hopefully will never be repeated.

• Brewing Process Mistakes: As described in an earlier post, not all batches went as planned. With some deep introspection, process reviews, and dumping anything that wasn't considered the highest quality, things got fixed (mostly a temperature, a tiny oxygen issue, and carbonation) and we've had outstanding batches ever since, knock on wood. 
• Summer BBQ/Grill Food Options: Having the deck on the lake and everything, we thought it'd be a great idea to go nuts with all sorts of grilling options on different days of the week. And while some of these went well, we went a bit overboard with many items taking too long to prep, too labor intensive to make on-demand, and too much waste from planning for too much and it not working out (rain). This year while some basic food items will still be tried, are collaborating with the Rainy Lake Grill for the heavy lifting menu options.
• Initial Growler Suppliers: Our first supplier took two months to fulfill an order, the second a month, and we finally got it fixed with the third, taking only 1-2 weeks. This was a killer not having any growlers for the month of June.
• Not Getting Piano Tuned: For all the piano maestro's, we apologize and will be getting it properly tuned very soon.
• No Outdoor Firepit: Something we've received many requests for, has been planned but not yet implemented. Will be getting this fixed starting with the Ice Box days bonfire.
• No Outdoor Games: This summer will be kicking this off with a vengeance, providing some fun activities to enjoy in the sun with a pint or two.
• The Stephen King Movie: Was a ton of hype from Spring through Summer only to fall flat at the moment of truth due to lack of financing. All local contributions have been refunded and lesson learned being if and when something like this happens again, to make sure funding is in place before encouraging others to be involved. We deeply apologize for any deflated expectations.
• Fishing and getting out more: While I originally thought I'd be able to do a ton of this and other local outdoor activities, have been unable to break away too much from the business responsibilities, with this year only making it out twice and would have been zero if not for Johnny. With the brewery launched and other activities more or less stabilized, hoping to make up for it this year in a big way.

2018, New Possibilities and Growth
While we firmly believe in the Sun Tzu strategy of planning in darkness and strike like a thunderbolt, as well as being able to adapt and change as appropriate, here are a few items being planned for:

• More Craft Beer Options: This includes going a bit further with taking advantage of having our own brewing system, such as more beers with unique spices/herbs, fruits, gruits, and hopefully lagers.
• More Remodeling: Driven by the need for more beers on tap and making the entire bar flow a bit better, will be making a few changes to extend the bar and hopefully a walk-in cooler to support lagers.
• More Activities/Events: Hoping to build on the current momentum with even more events/activities in 2018.
• New Clothing Designs: Will continue to try out new designs and colors for t-shirts, long sleeves, hoodies, hats and more.
• More Cooperation/Synergy with Canada/Fort Francis: With being so close, should be lots of ways we can work together more, will be exploring different options whenever possible.
• Monthly Historical Meetings: From the Koochiching County Museum, this will be kick-started on January 11th with a review/discussion of the historical bootlegging activities in the area.
• Cooperation with the New Distillery: Looking forward to the new distillery being launched across the street in the fall of 2018 and any/all collaboration we can do to help promote Ranier being a premier Northern Minnesota destination.
• A Ranier Mural: Yeah, the sides of the building desperately need a paint job and with that, will be working with local artists in creating an out-of-this-world mural.

​In summary, thanks to everyone for helping to make 2017 a great year and looking forward to an even better 2018!

Cheers,
The Big Picture Loony