It was another great Friday at The Pirates House with an initiation and some beer tasting! RCSE initiated Philip Gillette to our club - welcome Philip! President Cindy Kelley reminded everyone of the RCSE Oyster Roast on Saturday, February 9th. After all business items were discussed, Laura Lane McKinnon introduced our speaker for the day - John Pinkerton with Moon River Brewing.
John spoke to the club about how he got into the brewing business. John was kind enough to bring three different beers for the members to sample while he was talking - Rosemary Swamp IPA, The Bomb, and Dixie Kristal. John had a thirst for knowledge about the brewing business and in the early 1990's, he started working at a small brewery where he learned a lot - both good and bad practices. He and his wife moved to Savannah and he wanted to start his own brewpub. He was introduced to Gene Beeco and together they opened Moon River Brewing in 1999.
Brewing is a combination of science and creativity. John found out quickly that he had an aptitude for the brewing process. He has a fire for what he does which allows him to stay excited. The brewing industry is known for its friendliness among brewers. John met many people by serving on the Board of the Brewing Association. He concluded by saying he was told "no" a lot However, he persevered and in the end, he did it his way and has a very successful business.