The Belmar Arts Council has a history of organizing Sunset Photo Walks, an event where members and guests can wander to parts of town with their cameras and find interesting things to shoot. Tonight our busy photo instructor Michael Miller arranged a special tour of BeachHaus Brewery, a brand new business which just officially opened last weekend. They brew several varieties of beer and ale on the premises, all of which are for sale in various formats.
The crowd, a total of 29 people, gathered in the lobby on the ground floor, where Michael introduced Matt, a brewery manager who would be our tour guide and bartender for the evening. We were surrounded by racks of official apparel, and there were coolers of bottled beer. In the corner was a device (below) that refills the "growlers", large jugs that can be taken to go, and can be refilled at a later date.
Our next stop was the bottling room, also on the first floor. We saw a large chilling room, and workers moving around cases packed with bottles.
From there we went up a flight of stairs and visited the production room.
In these large metal tanks, the grain mash is mixed with more water, hops, and whatever else the recipe calls for and cooked as needed. Eventually the contents are drained and strained and sent on to the next tank.
Of course, the most important part of any brewery tour is the tap room. They've got a pretty big one there, ready to hold quite a crowd.
Most people opted to try the "flights", four small glasses filled with the customer's choice of the different styles of beer. Above, Matt fills another set. Below, happy customers.
Still a little cool this time of year, so few ventured out to the open balcony/deck, but we all could still enjoy the great view of downtown Belmar through the tall windows. Eventually it was time to go and everyone made the block long journey to the Boatworks, where there was a spirited discussion on the topic of the journalistic approach to photography.
Over pizza from nearby Federico's (and courtesy of Visions Photographic Workshops), we discussed and debated what level of editing and modification to photos is acceptable to the standards of journalism. (in the interests of full disclosure, the photos in this blog post make use of cropping and adjustments of the tone curve, but nothing else) Another sunset photo walk is being planned for this summer, likely down by the marina. Check the website for updates.
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