'Well.... That's done!... (as I dust off my hands) ... or is it?'
2020, the year of clarity. Beginning with fear for our rural friends, wildlife and lungs. The country on fire. The skies were dark and in parts of the country it was hard to breathe let alone see. The year of clarity. We were thrown into isolation and some of us (mainly our friends over the border and abroad) spent most of the year at home, secluded, out of school, reliant on digital technology to keep in touch and maintain their sanity. In amongst it all, the fall of Trump, an insane explosion in Beirut, Harry flew the coop and countless new conspiracy theories.
On a personal, business and global scale there have been some huge pivots this year and some that we really didn't see coming. We have learnt a lot and in some ways had our eyes opened to new and alternate ways of thinking and living.
We have clarity of how fragile our way of living is, how important our social network is to our state of mind. Clarity of what is important to us as individuals and what we want from life. Clarity of supporting local and how crucial that is for the future of our country. And most importantly, clarity that when the shit hits the fan, all you need is a good supply of bog roll!
As a business, we have had by far the most eventful year in our short existence. We have been lucky enough to get through the pandemic so far, all be it with a few battle scars.
We have dreamt of a new gin brand, brainstormed, fought about names, logos and labels. Enjoyed many market research sessions, and created many recipes. Then on Halloween were over the big, bright, full moon to see it all come to fruition!
If you missed that chapter, visit www.soulbirddistilling.com for more info
During the year we saw a few amazing team members move on to new adventures. Haydo, Steph and Brice thank you! we will not forget the amazing work you guys have done for us over the year. However, as many as we said goodbye too, we have gained more and are set to take on 2021 with some crucial pieces of the future puzzle! We have seen the arrival of Elliot, our Taphouse manager. Passionate is the word that comes to mind, a true gem of 2020 for the Shifty Lizard team. Craig, the man that gets it done, another gem, and as we march into the New Year we welcome Sally, our new Chef serving up the delights at the Taphouse. We are pretty excited to see what she does with the flavours! Georgia, one of the friendly faces in the Taphouse! And looking forward a few weeks, Brenna who will be looking after our extremely valued wholesale partners and customers for both Shifty Lizard and Soul Bird. To say we are excited about their arrival would be an understatement. Thank you is not sufficient enough to express our gratitude for seeing and believing in our vision.
On the Brewery side of things, there have been many changes. From shutting the doors of the Taphouse and converting it into a craft beer bottle shop during the lockdown, to dealing with ABAC enquiries into our labels and rebranding. Then came the incredible opportunity to partner up with the amazing team at Zonte's Footstep to bring in a canning machine and help us move into the next chapter.
We released four new beers in packaged form, three of which were brand spankers, with many more to come in 2020.
Four of our core range beers took home medals at the Royal Adelaide Beer and Cider awards.
Oh yeah, and our fourth birthday came and went just this month!
Then there was the Purchase of our shiny new brewing system! Set to land late January, it will almost triple our production capacity and help us keep those fresh new beers and flavours coming. We have been busy preparing for it's arrival and as you can see below, we are almost ready....
So all in all, it's been a pretty big year. We have taken many risks and look forward to working hard, brainstorming harder and making sure they all pay off and we are able to share some good fun times with you all in the years to come.
Most importantly, all of this doesn't happen without you, the reader, the drinker, the legend! Thank you for supporting us through what was one of the toughest years to date for most of us! We are grateful for your contribution most of all!
The clarity for us this year was, 'If not this, what else? F*$"K it, we are having fun, let's see how many people can have fun with us making good beer and delicious gin we love. Then, let's share it with some legends!'
Cheers (as I sanitise my hands) HNY
Danny
