Beer Releases and Approximate Dates

Some have asked what we're coming out with in the future.  While I still want to keep some tricks under my sleeve (mostly just in case plans change), this will be what we're seriously planning to release.  

Seasonals:

Saison De Lente-- Mid-February

Trade Winds Tripel-- Late April

Autumn Maple-- Late August

Two Turtle Doves-- Late October

Special Releases (Small, brewery only releases):

- Cuvee Jeune: A young blended sour beer, release sometime in Spring/Summer when ready

- Papier: Our 1st anniversary beer, tentative release date of May 9th, brewery only release in 2009 (Approx. 16%)

- White Oak: Early summer, this barrel aged wheat wine is coming out very nicely (12% ABV)

Special Draft Releases:

For those in Southern California, Hottenroth Berliner Weisse is coming back in late January!  We brewed this batch a bit differently this time around, so it's a bit more tart and a bit less grainy.  Same ABV of 3.1%, this is a great session beer.  I think we nailed it.

Around the same time we release Hottenroth Berliner Weisse, we'll be releasing Humulus Ambre.  It's a continuation of our hoppy Belgian-influenced beers, this time a moderate 6% and loaded with American hops.

Cask Releases:

We don't plan these ones so much, but I can tell you about what we'll be putting on this weekend and next month.  For the first Friday in January, we'll have Humulus Gold, loaded with extra hops.  Which ones?  I forget, so you'll have to come by and try it out.

In February, we'll have Orchard Mole Poblano, Black Orchard aged with roasted cocoa nibs, roasted poblano peppers (with seeds removed), and cinnamon.  Think Black Orchard meets the delicious mole poblano sauce.

We have some other beers on the horizon, but I know they won't be ready for some time.  We have an Imperial Stout aging in rye and bourbon barrels that's approximately 18% ABV.  It's coming along nicely but still needs quite a bit of age until it reaches what I'd consider it's peak.  Our Flemish Red is coming along well but the funk is still developing in this one.  We brewed a beer with about 30% Zinfandel grapes and a base blonde strong ale which is aging in barrels. My best guess is we'll release this around August or September.  I'd forget about these releases for awhile if you want to save your sanity, I certainly have.

For a few festivals and at the brewery, we'll soon have Melange #3.  This is a blend of White Oak, Imperial Stout and Papier.  I'm excited about this one-- I'm too impatient to try these barrel aged beers when they're good and ready to be released, so this release is totally self serving.

What should I be posting about?

When I was in the initial phases of starting The Bruery, this blog was a great way for me to bitch and complain.  Today, I don't have much to bitch and complain about.  Well... I always have things to complain about, but the blog isn't the greatest medium for my bitching these days.

Many people discovered The Bruery from this blog, and I want to keep it a source of information about beer and share how I started a brewery.  I'd like to gather some comments on this and see what you'd like me or anyone at The Bruery to write about.  Post away and let me know what you'd like to know.

Potential topics I was thinking about because they are relevant to what I'm currently doing (some may be interesting to a general audience, some are extremely dry but useful to aspiring brewery owners):

-- Choosing Distributors

-- Expansion (Space, capacity, and employees)

-- Barrel aging / approach to flavor

-- Merchandise

-- Guide to getting a job in a brewery

-- A Checklist to State and Federal Regulations

-- Taxes

-- A Guide to Successful Delegation (I wish I could find a good source on this right now!)

-- Importance of tasting rooms / tours in production breweries

-- The Bruery in 10 Years: How Big is Too Big?

Gifts Under $20 for Girls

Best Gifts Under $20 for Girls
Stuck for a good gift for daughter, granddaughter, goddaughter, niece or gift exchanges? Here is a gift guide for tween (or preteen) and teen girls. Each gift in this list is available at Family Dollar, Walmart and sometimes Target for $20 or less.
View more »

And the winner is...

Our friends at Durham Region Baby announced the winner of our Jungle Safari gift basket and its Racheal of Port Perry!

Congratulations Racheal and wishing you the best of luck with the new baby due in 3 weeks!

Movie Gift Choices for Women

Top Ten Chick Flicks of All Time
Need a few chick flicks to share with your best pals on a girls night in? These are the 'piece de resistance'. Laugh and cry together with these films. These films remind us why it's great to be a girl!
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Surprises

God, thank you for surprises from loving people, but thank you more for the surprises you grant to me each and every day. Surprises like pennies on the sidewalk, beautiful pink and orange sunrises, your voice at unexpected moments, the blooming of a flower, the beauty in a child's eyes, a hug from someone special, a door held open by a stranger, kind words from friends and colleagues, the feeling of your presence that makes my heart want to burst wide open, laughing with friends until I cry, having your voice leap off the pages of your WORD, wild leaps of faith where I think I just might fly, the taste of chocolate, the feel of swimming in water, and a million other secrets and surprises just between us. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Gift Basket Give-Away

Durham Region Baby is a blog and resource site for parents of young children. They have useful information about the local community, product reviews and of course wonderful give-aways.

Their recent give-away prize is our beautiful Jungle Safari Gift basket. It includes:

• one hooded towels
• two bibs
• two soft toys
• three washcloths

Retail Price: $55

Entries will be accepted until Tuesday, Dec. 16 and the winner will announced on Dec. 17. Check out the Durham Region Baby blog for give-away details.

Breathing

"Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD." -- Psalm 150:6

If you're breathing then you are qualified to praise and worship the Lord. How many times have I used my words carelessly? How many times have I prophesied my own trouble? How many times have I eaten the fruit of my own mouth? Oh, to let my words be few; let them be choice words; selected just for you!

Today's prayer: "God, I praise you today for everything you are and everything you've done. I praise you today because I'm breathing in oxygen you created with lungs so wonderfully made. I purpose this day to be selective and choosy when spending my words. I shall value them as gold coins. Help me not to waste a single one. Today, I choose PRAISE!"

Bad Hair Day

"What are you looking at? You've heard, "If you hang out at the Barber Shop long enough you are going to get a haircut." If you allow your eyes to see things they shouldn't, you will eventually wind up doing it. Satan gives a very bad haircut, and in the long run it will turn out to be an expensive one (see Proverbs 13:15; Judges 2:13-15). Don't have a bad hair day." (from the Elijah List, 12/7/08)


Today,'s prayer: "Abba, keep my eyes on you. Don't let them stray for a moment. Keep my eyes in the WORD and away from advertisements and commercialism; two things that run rampant this time of year. I purpose this day to give honor to you and not to the god of mammon. Forgive me in the areas where I've already blown it and set my path aright. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Welcoming Out-Of-Towner Guests

What we love about the holidays is how it brings families and friends together in celebration. Many of us have out-of-towners visiting and some might be your house guests for a night or two. It’s a thoughtful gesture to put together a welcome gift basket for them to make their stay with you more comfortable and memorable. It’s really easy and doesn’t have to be too extravagant.

You can use a traditional wicker basket or choose a more interesting container such as a trendy gift box or tote bag. Use your guest room setting as an inspiration, for example coordinate the colours of the basket with the guest bed linen.

Items you can include in the gift basket could be face towels, shower caps, frangrance candle, bath crystals, sample size lotions, creams and shower gel. Practical items would include city maps, local attractions information, and a list of important phone numbers. You can also add bottle of water and house slippers.

A welcome basket could also be given to guests that are staying in a hotel or even out-of-towner wedding guests.

Gift with Style

We really love this classy and sassy Giftalicious gift wrapping collection! Gift bags are much easier to present your gifts in for the holidays instead of wrapping them up. They come in the following gorgeous designs:

Dreamy Demask (Ivory & Green)
Devine Demask (Plum & Cranberry)
Precious Metal (Gold & Silver)
Soiree (Lilac & White)
Silent Snow Fall (White & with pearlised Red snow flakes)

The collection includes two sizes of gift bags, gift pop-up boxes and gift card boxes*. Contact us for more details and order your Giftalicious collection today!


*Tip: Insert your gift card in one of these high-quality boxes and include them with the table setting for each guest. They will add a beautiful touch to your set-up and will be a wonderful surprise for your guests.

We are on Baby Lifestyles!

Baby Lifestyles is a resourceful online baby magazine that publishes articles on baby showers, baby shopping trends and so much more. Their December issue has a very interesting article on Diaper Cakes and Finest Expressions' co-founder, Zakia Omer was interviewed for it! The article also includes our beautiful diaper cakes pictures so do stop by to take a look.

Now shipping to the Continental United States!

Finest Expressions is now shipping to the Continental United States! Orders will be shipped via Canada Post and will vary in delivery times depending on the destinations. Please contact us with your order details and we will send you an online invoice to make your purchase payment. Delivery rates will also vary depending on the destination chosen.

We are committed to providing all our customers with superior customer service, so if you would like rush orders, custom designs or sibling gifts, do let us know and we will arrange it for you. (Additional charges will apply)

Please be sure to check out our Holiday delivery deadlines to make sure you place your orders ahead of time.

Holiday Gifts Are Now Available!

Check out our holiday gifts under the Seasonal Section of our website!

Distribution in Oregon, Northern California, and Better Looking Website!

Lots of good things have been happening at The Bruery.  Our beers are now distributed in Oregon, and are making their way around Portland as we speak. In a few weeks, our beers will also be available in San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Solano Counties.  I'm very excited to have my beers in such beery destinations.

 Also, we have a new, redesigned website.  Soon we'll also have food pairings and recipes from The Homebrew Chef Sean Paxton.

Cheers,

Patrick

Holiday Baby Diaper Cakes & Baby Gift Baskets

Coming Soon!!
Stay tuned for our Holiday Baby Diaper Cakes and Baby Gifts!

Tasting Room Update- 11/20/08

Thanksgiving is a week away, so let us give you some reasons to be thankful-

Autumn Maple- as important to Thanksgiving as the bird itself. Come by and pick up a few bottles for the big dinner, it will knock the socks off your crazy aunt/friend/grandma, etc. Why? You can use it in the actual cooking of your meal (stay tuned for recipe ideas). The bottle matches the autumn table decorations, so as the empties pile up, it just adds to the ambiance. Most importantly- the 10% abv ensures no conversation lull!

Tradewinds Tripel & Imperial Orchard White (IOW)- $5 a bottle
For to-go purchases only. This special deal is for THIS weekend only (11/21-22) so don't miss out!

Holiday Weekend Hours
Thanksgiving (11/27)- closed
Friday (11/28)- 2-8pm
Saturday (11/29)- closed
As you can see, we will be open on that Friday, so plan your weekend accordingly!

Cheers!

Rachel
Chief Style Officer / Owner

BeerAdvocate Magazine: November and December

I've been very lucky to have some sort of content in three consecutive issues of BeerAdvocate Magazine.  

The first was in October, when Orchard White, Black Orchard and Saison Rue were given "A" Ratings.  

The second was in this month's issue (November 2008) where I write about "Why I'm a Brewer" on the Last Call article.  Thanks to Sean Paxton for the photo featured in this article.

The third will happen in next month's issue in Sean Paxton's excellent food article where he uses Orchard White and Black Orchard in creme brulee.  Thanks Sean for experimenting with my beers and making this delicious dish!

Both Photos: Sean Paxton

Holiday Blossom - A Perfect New Baby Gift!

Our Holiday Blossom makes a perfect gift for that special little one in your life. It comes with tonnes of baby goodness and is arranged to look like a charming flower bouquet. We have accented it with red holly and flowers to give it that festive touch.

Contents include:

-One Body Suit
-One Sleeper
-One Cap
-Two Pairs Of Socks
-One Burp Cloth
-Three Wash Cloths
-One Plush Toy

Holiday Candy Bouquet

A delicious treat custom made for the holidays! Our holiday candy bouquets come with a Lindor, Ferrero Rocher or a delectable blend of both. They are designed to look like real flower petal with leaves and all. You get to choose the type of chocolate and number of flower stems you'd like and we design a beautiful holiday candy bouquets just for you!

LA Times Article: A craft beer revolution is brewing in Southern California

Pat Saperstein wrote an article highlighting Los Angeles' emerging beer scene, and thankfully included The Bruery!  Check it out if you haven't seen it yet:

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-beer5-2008nov05,0,3246874.story

Black Friday Shopping 2008

Black Friday Shopping in the Muskegon-Grand Haven Area
Detailed strategy for the Black Friday shopping circuit with as little hassle, back-tracking and waiting in line. Provides a 'time-line', store and merchandise overview and general shopping tips.
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Vintage Gifts for Women

Last Minute Valentine's Day Guaranteed to Impress
Vintage jewelry, clothing, linens, decor and accessories make excellent gifts for any occasion. Originally written for Valentine's Day, this article lists numerous suggestions for antique gifts! Perfect for any gift-giving holiday!
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25+ Easy Christmas Holiday Gift Crafts

Easy Holiday Gifts to Make
25+ quick,easy,cheap gift crafts you can make with anyone of any age! Great holiday gifts! Make with students, scout troop, senior care center, Sunday school, grandkids, day care! We've been doing this for 16 years with our family!
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Patrick on The Brewing Network

Our own Patrick is up in No. Cal and is on the internet radio station The Brewing Network well, right now... 5-10pm. Listen in to hear that sexy voice! It will also be available post hoc via podcast.

-Rachel

Finest Expressions – How a dream become a beautiful reality

A month after my son was born, my sister and I opened our online store called Finest Expressions – Designer Gifts & Gift Baskets. It seemed like I had given birth to one baby but ended up with twins! We wanted to design gifts that were not only beautiful to look at but were practical for the recipients. It was then that we set out to channel our creativity through designing unique baby and wedding gifts for the North American market.

We started by offering beautiful and trendy gifts such as our baby diaper cakes, clothing bouquets, sock bouquets and gift baskets. We initially started with three designs of diaper cakes and a lot of the other items. However, within a couple of months we realized that our diaper cakes were our bestsellers. We were also getting quite a few requests for custom designs. So we started focusing more on our diaper cakes and adding to the category on regular basis.

We decided to start our wedding favours line when a stressed bride asked us to design distinctive favours for her wedding. We created our now signature product, the mini-chocolate bouquets. Since then we have designed a beautiful line of wedding favours along with DIY kits that make it fast and easy for brides to put together their own favours.

We understand that gift giving is an important and special part of life. Our goal is to create baby & wedding gifts that are not only useful today but also remembered for many years to come. We also custom design gifts to suit our clients’ theme selection and budget. We absolutely love what we do and enjoy everyday we spend creating exceptionally beautiful and useful gifts for our clients.

Last month was our first year anniversary and above is a picture of our very first baby gift basket. We wanted to share it with you and thank you for making our dream a reality. :)

Thank you,

Zakia

Co-founder, Finest Expressions – Designer Gifts & Gift Baskets

Bridal Shower Basics

Bridal showers have become an important part of wedding traditions. Initially the concept of bridal showers started when women chose to marry men who were for whatever reason deemed ‘unsuitable’ as partners by their families. For this reason the families decided to hold back their dowries. This is when the engaged couples’ friends got together to give them household items that helped to set-up their new home. What a wonderful way to support the new couple as they start their lives together!

Usually the bridesmaids throw the bridal shower with the maid of honour taking the lead in planning the event. Traditionally, it’s frowned upon for the bride’s immediate family to throw the bridal shower. However, in situations where the bride doesn’t have anyone else who can throw her the shower, family members can step in to be the host.

Bridal showers are usually held 1-2 months before the wedding. Besides the family and friends of the bride, some family members of the groom are also invited. Of course there is no one in particular that should not be invited to the shower. However, anyone who is invited should be invited to the wedding as well.

Bridal showers are usually an afternoon event. The menu can be snacks, finger foods and other simple appetizers. Light lunch menus could include small sandwiches, pastries or simple salads.

As a hostess of a bridal shower, you should keep the following tips in mind:

Set a budget: It is very easy to get carried away when organizing such a fun event but you have to keep a budget in mind. Setting the budget from the start will be incredible helpful in deciding who to invite, choosing the venue and selecting the menu items.

Involve the bride-to-be: If it is not a surprise shower, always involve the bride-to-be in finalizing the guest list and even choosing the theme. It is her special day, so you want to make sure that you have all the important people in her life present.

Keep a checklist: Prepare a checklist to plan the shower so you don’t miss any steps. There are loads of checklists on the web that you can use as a template and customize it according to your preference.

Get help: Involve the other bridesmaids and enlist their help. The honour of becoming bridesmaids comes with its set of responsibilities. Helping with the bridal shower is one of them!

Don’t forget the bridal shower favours to give to your guests as a thank you for being part of your event.

The most important rule is for the bride, the guests and yourself to enjoy this celebration of the upcoming wedding. So plan, be organized and have fun!

Halloween Trick-or-Treat Candy Alternatives

100+ Valentine Treat Alternatives
This article discusses alternative Valentine treats. These candy alternatives make excellent trick-or-treat prizes too. Over 100 ideas for inexpensive treats and candy alternatives.
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Finest Expressions Gift Tag

One-Up Design (our favorite design team!) have created these beautiful gift tags for us to include with our baby gifts. They are adorable and have ample space to include your loving messages to the recipients.

How cute!

Autumn Maple & Bourbon Barrel Aged Batch No. 1 - Levud's

Thank you all for being so patient with us on both Autumn Maple (in the bottles) and the rest of the Bourbon Barrel Aged Batch No. 1.  We're finally releasing both at the tasting room this weekend, and the Autumn Maple will be on store shelves and the finest of restaurants starting next week.  We anticipate high demand for the Bourbon Barrel Aged Batch No. 1 this weekend, so we're limiting each person to 4 bottles.  

We'll start selling both on Friday at 2 PM.  Autumn Maple will be $11 per bottle, and Bourbon Barrel Aged Batch No. 1 will be $20 per bottle.

Now that we have bottles of Autumn Maple, we won't be filling growlers of Autumn Maple anymore as we only have a few kegs left and want to keep it on tap for tastings.  Sorry for the inconvenience!

Also, don't forget about the Beer Geek Show-and-Tell on Saturday!  Sorry for those who get offended by the term beer geek.  I call myself one if it helps.

New Diaper Cakes Added!

We have added some beautiful designs to our diaper cakes selection so do check it out!

The selection includes different designs for single tier and 4 tier cakes as well as new designs for Jungle Safari and Princess diaper cakes.

There is also a new addition to the Baby Blossoms family – introducing Sweet Baby Blossom!

Photographs also available with tags detailing the contents on Flickr.com.

Polar Fleece Gift Crafts for Senior Citizens and Shut-ins

Polar Fleece Projects for Seniors and Children
Polar fleece is perfect fabric! Details and materials to make an inexpensive girl's polar fleece poncho and blanket for seniors.
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Special Delivery- The Bruery Growlers

Stop all the presses- our growlers have arrived!

Growler price- $10 (not including fill cost)

If you bought a blank growler off of us, you can redeem it for a $5 credit on the new growler.

The bad news- we can no longer fill blank or other brewery's growlers.  Our new growlers are so pretty that you will be tempted to just display them on your fireplace shelf.

The good news- you don't have to deal with those pesky growler stickers any more.  No separate caps- hooray!

Tasting Room Update: 10/15/08

Starting this weekend, there will be many exciting/delicious events in our tasting room.  Here's the DL-

OktoBRUEfest- this Saturday, October 18th

Break out those lederhosen or practice your Sprockets dance- we are bringing Bavaria to you!  Come this Saturday for The Bruery's take on Oktoberfest.  Snack on some delicious Bruery inspired German food prepared by The Bruery Chef Anthony Latteri.  We will be tapping our LAST keg of Hottenroth Berliner Weisse which will go down faster than the Dow Jones!  It will be uber (read: ooh-beer) cool.

Beer Geek Show-and-Tell Saturday, October 25th

We are no dummies- we know The Bruery's beer isn't the only beer you drink.   As much as we love our beer, we do enjoy partaking in the fruits of other brewery's labor as well.  Here at The Bruery, we strive to remind those of the principles and values expounded to us in grammar school, such as "sharing is caring."  Thus was the creation of Beer Geek Show-and-Tell.  On this day, if you are so inclined, please bring one bomber/750ml/ 2-12oz bottles of special craft/exceptional home brewed beer to share.  By the way sharing equals having the beer served by the tasting room staff- please don't just bring it for everyone just to look at and drool, that's not nice.   This is also a lesson in quid pro quo= only those who bring beer can partake in the sharing.  Don't worry, we will be bringing something special as well.

Halloween Night @ The Bruery- Friday, October 31st

Why should kids have all the fun trick-or-treating on Halloween night?  Come to The Bruery to get your treats on Old Hallow's Eve.  We will open at 2 like normal, for those of you who like to cut out early from work on Fridays.  However, the Beer-witching hours will be from 6-11pm that evening.  During that time, those who show up in costumes will receive 1 free pint of Imperial Orchard White.  Sorry- dressing up as a Bruery employee does not count.  

We may not put pumpkin in our beer, but we do put beer in our pumpkin.  At 6pm, we will tap a special pumpkin cask of the Autumn Maple.  A costume contest will occur at 8pm (you have to be there to win), with prizes for the winner.  There will be many more spooky surprises that evening, so be sure to make it!

First Firkin Friday (aka F cubed)- Friday, November 7th

Hopefully by now you have experienced F-cubed, and look forward to the first friday of every month like children do for Santa Claus.  Our next tapping in the series will be on Friday, November 7th.  The beer de jour?  Our Humulus Gold- a hoppy golden strong ale.  Yep, that's a new beer, so you better be the first to try it so you can be the cool kid and tell all your friends!

AHA Rally- Saturday, November 15th

I know this one is 1 month (or approc. 100 beers in beer-time) away, but this one is a biggie.  We will be hosting a crazy awesome rally for AHA- American Homebrewer's Association.  More info definitely to come on this one.  For now, just start the count down, OK?

Cheers!

Rachel

Chief Style Officer / Owner

Best Gifts for Mother's Day

Top 10 Real Gifts for Real Moms
Meaningful gifts for moms! Skip the candy and flowers. Give moms what they really need and want.
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Hello from the GABF!

Blogging from my phone is no fun, so I'll keep it short. We're having
a great time at our first GABF, and people seem to be digging the
beers. The awards are this afternoon, so our fingers are tightly
crossed (I think mine are bleeding and blue at this point).
Categories that we thought would be low in entries actually have many
entries, so it'll take quite a bit of luck to bring home a medal.

Tasting room is open today-- please be gentle with Pete and Kevin, our
bartenders for today.

What are Diaper Cakes?

Diaper cakes are a fairly new concept in North America so we often get asked the question – What are diaper cakes?

Diaper cakes are the newest rage at baby showers and are quickly topping the ‘favorite new baby gifts’ list. They are non-edible cakes made out of diapers in 1,2, 3 or more tiers. They are then decorated with baby products such as clothing, receiving blankets, wash clothes, plush toys and bath products. Simple designs are also available where the plain cake is decorated with flowers and ribbons. This makes an excellent gift for moms who already have children since they probably have most of the baby items.

The uniqueness of presenting a couple with a diaper cake is that it can be a beautiful part of your baby shower décor and a gift the parents can enjoy after the baby is born. If you don’t want to pick a pre-designed diaper cake, you can customize them using your theme, color, size and budget.

Be sure to view our diaper cake section for more information.

Darfur Donations: Berkeley Camp Stove

Save Lives in Darfur with the Berkeley Green High-Efficiency Cookstove
Do you feel that stab of pain when you see the suffering Sudanese in Darfur? Want an easy, inexpensive fast way to help? The Berkeley cook stove, made locally by Sudanese, is a high efficiency tool that is saving lives. Here's how...
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Brokenness

John 12:24-25: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.

Most of us would rather live without any seasons of pain. I know I would. Brokenness hurts! Yet during such times, the Lord often does His greatest work in our lives, reshaping and realigning us for His divine purposes. Jesus beautifully explains the principle of brokenness in John 12:24-25, where He compares our life to a single grain of wheat. If we hold a kernel in our hands, nothing will happen. If we carefully place it in a jar or on a shelf for safekeeping, it will just sit there indefinitely. In its safety, the grain will essentially be useless. However, if that kernel is placed in the soil where its protective layer is stripped away, something amazing happens. Before long, a little sprout will emerge from the earth and start to grow into something different, useful, and beautiful. Moreover, that new stalk will produce more grains that can be planted, and the stalks they produce will do the same. It's an amazing cycle of life, wherein a single kernel can lead to countless stalks of wheat. But it has to start with the brokenness of one grain.

Today's prayer: "God, I don't want to sit on a shelf in a jar being "safe." I want to be put in the ground and have my protective layer stripped away so that I can sprout wings and soar like an eagle for you! So, I say, plant me in your soil, water me with your rain, and shine your SON on me. Go ahead. This single grain of wheat cries out for multiplication."

Comfort Zone

Genesis 12:1-2 "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing."

I love the KJV rendering of God's command to Abram, "Get thee out of thy country." God tells Abram to leave his country and his family and his father's household and go to a land that He will show him. God calls us to obedience in the same way, and often times He will say "Get thee out of thy comfort zone." Some of God's biggest blessings (and challenges!) come when we step out into the unknown, leaving behind everything familiar to us, to walk in faith. Abraham must have felt like an alien. I've known that feeling. God calls us to something new and we're "out there" all alone saying, "Wait, surely this is not what God said." Feeling like an alien is usually the first indication that we're in the right place with God. I've learned that stepping out into the unknown is where God does some of His best work. It's a place where blessing (and testing) flow hand in hand.

Today's prayer: "God, I'm out here. Yes, it's a strange land -- not much familiar in sight. Must be the right place, and though I don't see any road signs I sense your presence; your confirmation; your urging. If I strain my eyes I can still see "my comfort zone" -- way back there where I left it. Just a few more steps and it will disappear completely, dropping below the horizon."

Fear

Joshua 1:9 "I command you – be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

If God has "commanded" -- called and commissioned us to do something, then He is sure to go with us. Where does our fear come from? I think Beth Moore hit on this. To some degree, we are all afraid of failing. We're afraid of letting God, ourselves, and others down. We somehow want to hide our "humanness." We may not speak our fears out loud, but Satan watches our actions. He can read us like a book. Satan sets the trap -- the very thing we're afraid of doing; the very thing we're afraid of becoming, and the very area in which we're afraid we might fall -- he sets up the circumstances to try and trip us up. But praise GOD -- He tells us to be strong and courageous and not to be afraid. We scream, "I can't. I won't. God, what if I fail you?" And, He lovingly echoes back, "I am the potter and you are the clay and I WILL NEVER FAIL YOU!"

Today's prayer: "God, in what areas am I most afraid of failing? Help me submit to the potter's hand. Help me press through the fear of man and the fear of failure. You've already accounted for my failure in your plan. You've even accounted for my stupidity. And yet, you still say, I will never fail you. This lump of clay can only respond with thank you, thank you, thank you."

50 Wedding Gift Ideas Priced Under $10

50 Wedding or Bridal Shower Gifts Regularly Priced Under $10
Think you can't buy a decent wedding gift for less than $10? Surprise! You can find over 50 great wedding gifts priced under $10!
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The Golden Collection - Wedding Favours

Our Golden Collection is an amazing array of wedding favours in warm gold, burgundy and brown shades. It’s a classic choice for a fall or winter wedding. Choose from a variety of styles including satin sachets, bombonieres and delectable chocolate bouquets.

Finest Expressions

Wedding Gift FAQs

Wedding Gift Giving FAQs
tips for wedding gift giving based upon Frequently Asked Questions. Includes ideas, stores and shopping strategies
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Embedded Impurities

One of my favorite Bible teachers, Beth Moore, says that we all have embedded impurities, things from our past, areas of sin, temptation, or weakness, that even though we may not have "acted" on them in years, they're still there. Part of God's sifting or purification is to shake those things loose, to bring them to the surface one by one so that they can be purged. At any one point in our life, something can happen to shake one of them loose and it rears it's ugly head. Woe be unto us if we're not prepared to deal with it. You can just bet that the timing won't be the ideal time for us -- e.g. we may be at the "height" of our ministry and bam, out of nowhere we get hit. It is to our benefit to work with God to get those things out in private time with HIM before they are exposed in public time, all because we didn't deal with them. God will often allow private time for correction first and if we don't take heed, public correction is sure to follow.

Today's prayer: "Oh God, it scares me sometimes to think what hidden things are still embedded within me. And yet, I want them out! When someone "bumps" me I want only YOU to spill out. I submit to your purging -- go after those things that are embedded; show them to me; and help rid me of them once and for all."

Sifting

Luke 22:31-32: "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

In this passage, the first use of the word "you" is plural, meaning all of us; and the second use is singular, referring just to Peter. Like others, I have been through some seasons of sifting in my life. We can be sure that if we're being sifted then there is something in us that NEEDS sifting. But, Praise God! While we're being sifted, Jesus is praying for us. If anyone is going to pray for me, let it be Jesus. I know his prayers are heard and answered. Notice the scripture says "and WHEN you have turned back" -- this gives me courage because it doesn't say "IF you turn back." After our season of sifting we are strengthened (that is, able to make use of our bitter experience for the fortifying of others) and in turn, can strengthen our brothers.

Today's prayer: "God, the seasons of sifting are unpleasant, but more bearable knowing that Jesus is praying for me. I have places I want to "go" in you -- so what must "go" in me in order for that to happen? It scares me to even ask, but ask I must because an unrefined life is not much of a life. Sift away; oh, but please do it quickly. I promise to cooperate."

Finest Expressions On Flickr.com

Check out Finest Expressions On Flickr to view pictures and details of our beautiful gifts. Our gallery includes pictures of our latest diaper cakes even before we have them up on our website, wedding/party favours we have designed for our clients and much more!

First Firkin Friday!

  Tapping our second cask in the Melange series this Friday! Melange #2 is a blend of Autumn Maple and six week old Lambic, we're calling it Yambic! 

Creating the perfect blend for the cask, doesn't work just suck sometimes?

Morning

Isaiah 50:4-5: "The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back."

After reading Isaiah 50:4-5, I began to ponder if I might be missing something. Does the LORD give us supernatural ability to hear Him in the morning? Does time spent with God first thing in the morning provide direction and/or corrections to our day that we would otherwise miss? I confess to being a morning person in most areas, but not in my prayer/devotional time. I'm blessed when I can squeeze in 15-20 minutes. In fact, I prefer long evening sessions of prayer, worship, & devotion. It's my bedtime routine and one I'm not likely to abandon anytime soon. It's my "cup of warm milk" and it gives me restful sleep. And yet, I wonder if God is leading me down this morning path; a path fresh with the morning dew. I purpose today to try an experiment and see where He takes me.

Today's prayer: "God, you are my morning and my evening and everything in between. I want to yield to your voice and follow it wherever it takes me, so I say YES, please lead me there and I will follow. Shake up my routine and help me explore new heights and new depths in YOU."

Lindor & Ferrero Rocher Chocolate Bouquet

Fifty delicious Lindt Lindor and Ferrero Rocher chocolate petals make this delectable chocolate bouquet. Its a perfect treat for any occasion including wedding, baby shower or bridal shower. Give it as a corporate or holiday gift as well!

Rebuke

Matthew 16:23 "But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art a stumbling-block unto me: for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men."

This scripture came to me last night and I couldn't help but wonder how often many of us (me included) have played the role of "stumbling block" -- not minding the things of God, but the things of men. Jesus rebukes Peter in front of the disciples, probably because they also needed to hear it. But notice, that in Jesus' rebuking of Peter he does not say, "I'm done with you" or "I don't love or value you." Jesus rebuked the "spirit" speaking through Peter and not Peter himself. I'm convinced it was in love and with complete restoration in mind. Jesus was in relationship with Peter and had poured much encouragement into him (i.e. he had first paved the road with love).

Today's prayer: "God, forgive me for the times I've been a stumbling block. Keep my eyes on the things of God and off the things of men. Send others to rubuke me, in love, whenever it is necessary. Lead me to good, solid, accountability relationships; relationships that exhort and encourage and come along beside me. And, yes, I'll take the rebuking too, especially if the road has first been paved with love."

Gifts for Men Under $15!

Gifts for Father's Day for Under $15; Some under $10!
Review of 10 great budget gifts for dad, grandpa, big brother, uncle or male friend! Under $15 Birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, anytime! Great gifts for teachers, ministers, priests, scout leaders, Big Brothers and more! quality gifts for Father's Day for under $15.
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Intercession

Habakkuk 3:1-2 "A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth. Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known..."

Habakkuk 3 is entitled a prayer of Habakkuk. It is a meditation with himself, an intercession for the church. Prophets were praying men; this prophet was so (He is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, Gen. 20:7); and sometimes they prayed for even those whom they prophesied against. Those that were intimately acquainted with the mind of God concerning future events knew better than others how to order their prayers, and what to pray for, and, in the foresight of troublesome times, could lay up a stock of prayers that might then receive a gracious answer, and so be serving the church by their prayers when their prophesying was over (excerpt from Matthew Henry Complete Commentary).

Today's prayer: "God, I have heard of your fame. I have seen it declared. Your glory invades the earth. Today I intercede for your church, your bride. I call upon the One who sits enthroned above the earth and ask you to renew your works in our day; and in our time make them known. Come quickly to our aid; defend us against our foes; bring hope to your people."

This unique favour was created for a wonderful client of ours that was using a lavender colour theme for her wedding. The heart shaped pouched looked like a little basket filled with chocolates and candy. We accented it with silk ribbons and flowers to give it that special touch.

Size: 25/8 x 5/8

Finest Expressions

Boldness

Acts 4:13-14 "The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men who had had no special training. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. But since the man who had been healed was standing right there among them, the council had nothing to say."

Today's prayer: "God, I pray for boldness in the midst of persecution. Though I am an ordinary woman and have no special training, I ask for a great boldness that comes as a result of spending time with you. And when (not if) the people are healed, the "council" will be silenced. Yes, Lord, let it be unto me as you have said. Amen."

Wedding Services

Wedding favours are little tokens of appreciation that you can give to your guests for sharing your special day with you. We offer exquisitely handcrafted and custom designed wedding favours to make your wedding day perfect. We carry everything from traditional truffle boxes to unique mini-chocolate bouquets. Here are some of our wedding specific services:

Custom Favours: We work with you to create one-of-a-kind favours that will suit your wedding theme and budget. For your convenience, we offer free consultations Monday to Saturday, days and/or evenings.

DIY Favour Kits: If you'd like to design your own favours, we offer a wonderful collection of favour supplies that will surely take your breath away! Our DIY Favour Kits come with different styles of favour containers and pre-cut ribbons so its incredibly easy to put your favours together yourself.

Gifts for the wedding party & Out-of-towners: We help you show your gratitude and appreciation for those special people that are part of the wedding party and those that have traveled from afar to share this special day with you. We offer pre-packaged gift baskets and bags filled to the brim with delectable gourmet or spa products.

Chocolate & candy bouquet centerpieces: Choose these gorgeous and unique bouquets as centerpieces for the wedding instead of the usual flowers. We have many charming designs that you can choose from or we will work with you to design the perfect centerpiece.

We are continuously working on getting you the latest and greatest in wedding favours, so do make frequent visits to our website to view our wedding gallery.

Finest Expressions

Our New Logo & Other News

For the last little while, we have been working with OneUp Design Inc on creating a new logo that would reflect our company's brand and image.

Our new logo is fun, trendy and adorable! Take a look and let us know what you think.

On another note... due to the fast growing pace of our baby and wedding gifts line, we have decided to discontinue our gourmet and spa gift baskets. We want to focus our full and undivided attention on our baby diaper cakes and gift baskets along with our wedding and party favour products.

We are still designing custom gourmet, spa and other occasion gift baskets for our existing loyal clientele. If you'd like to order a custom gift basket for a particular occasion, just give us a shout and we'll be happy to help you out.

Lastly, our blog will also be going through some changes over the next couple of weeks. The content change will include posts on wedding reception and wedding showers ideas. We thought of creating a separate blog for our wedding line but between managing the business and our existing blog, it didn't seem like a feasible idea at this time. We are also excited about making changes to our blog layout which you will get to see in the following weeks.

That's all for now...Hope you had a wonderful weekend and are rejuvenated to take on the new week!

Finest Expressions

Tasting Room Update: 9/18/08

Thanks to those of you who have visited The Bruery's tasting room.  Our opening weekend on September 5th was a great success.  Here's a heads up on what's going on this weekend at our tasting room-

Logistics (aka boring stuff that you should probably know)...

Credit Card Payments- You can go back to saving those dollar bills for the gentleman's club- we now accept debit and credit cards.

Growlers- We still haven't gotten our new growlers yet, so please continue to bring your own in to be "rebranded" and filled with our draft beers.

Sports Addicts- You don't have to miss your Friday and Saturday sports watching to come and visit us.  We have a large projection tv and are more than happy to put on whatever sports are on the boob tube.  We accept all sports and team affiliations, as long as you let us beat you at darts.

Now to Wet Your Appetite...

Humulus Bruin Draft Discount- due to overwhelming response, we are continuing our special on Humulus Bruin growler fills, at just $8 a fill.  Come take some home on Saturday for that Sunday Football!!  We will also have a special Frogs Breath cheese accompaniment to try with this beer.

Imperial Orchard White (IOW)- What's better than a glass of cool, crisp, Orchard White, the #1 rated wit beer on Ratebeer.com?  How about one with more alcohol and a bit more malt?  Well we thought it sounded pretty damn good, so we created Imperial Orchard White.  IOW packs a pretty good punch, at 7.7% abv.  And since 7 is a lucky number, we predict that this beer will bring only good to those who drink it (or those football or baseball team picks, or stock market listings).  So replace that lucky rabbit's foot with a glass of this beer, and let the good times roll!  Only $12 a growler!

Autumn Maple Sneak Preview- What? Say it again yam?!?  We have a sneak preview of our Autumn Maple on draft.  Coming in at over 10% abv, Autumn Maple is quite malty with the spice background of pumpkin pie (yet not overdone like many other "pumpkin" beers). We won't be able to hide this beer for long.  Come by and try some off the tap, and see what 440 lbs of yams can do for a beer.  The bottles aren't ready yet, but we will keep you posted as soon as a release date is determined.

So hire the babysitter, feed the dog, and clean your growlers.  Then get your butt over to our Tasting Room!

Hours

Fridays- 2pm-8pm

Saturdays- noon-6pm

Cheers,

Rachel

Full-time Chief Style Officer / Owner

The Heart

"Those who flee temptation generally leave a forwarding address."

I came across this quote recently and it struck me how our flesh can be so clever. When old habits continually knock on our door we need to step back and find out the "root" cause. David penned the following, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts." [Psalm 139:23]

The only way to deal with the flesh is to kill it and if there is still pain there, then it isn't dead.

Today's prayer: "God, search my heart. Expose the deepest parts. Bring to the surface anything lurking there that needs to die. For only in dying to my flesh will I truly live."

Go Mompreneurs!

This is an older article published in the Star titled, Mompreneurs Boom but an extremely interesting read.

Candy Bouquet Centre pieces

Candy or chocolate bouquets make delicious centre pieces for baby showers or even kids birthday parties. We design ours to look like real bouquets in actual flower pots. The Baby Bliss pictured above has a combination of milk chocolates and hard candy. It accented with baby sock petals, flowers and leaves. We even included an adorable plush toy for the little bundle of joy.

We have also custom designed Candy Bouquets to be sent to moms-to-be at the hospital as a delectable treat and at home when she is prescribed bed rest. Add-on a sibling gift to make it extra special and the whole family will enjoy the candy bouquet!

Finest Expressions

Gifts for Senior Citizens and Homebound

Top 10 Gift Ideas for Senior Citizens -Especially the Homebound
Large variety and price selection of gifts for those senior citizens. Special focus on home-bound, visually or hearing impaired. Elderly people have special needs. Here are some unique and appropriate gifts for seniors!
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Priorities

Deuteronomy 6:5: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

I've always heard the statement: God first, family second, and everything else third. Recently, I heard someone break it down further: God first, spouse second, children third, church family fourth, and your personal ministry fifth. This has caused me to reexamine my priorities. God obviously comes first: Deuteronomy 6:5 "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." If all one’s heart, soul, and strength is committed to loving God, He is the number one priority. If you are married, your spouse comes next after God. A married man is to love his wife as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25). Christ’s first priority—after obeying and glorifying the Father—was the Church. Here is an example husbands should follow: God first, then his wife. In the same way, wives are to submit to their husbands “as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22). We can draw from this the principle that her husband is second only to God in her priorities. If husbands and wives are second only to God in our priorities, and being that a husband and wife are one flesh (Ephesians 5:31), it stands to reason that the result of the marriage relationship—children—should be the next priority. Parents are to raise godly children who will be the next generation of those who love the Lord with all their hearts (Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4), showing once again that God is first in our priorities and all other relationships should reflect that. Deuteronomy 5:16 tells us to honor our parents so that we may live long and things will go well with us. No age limit is specified, which leads us to believe that as long as our parents are alive, we should honor them. We can conclude from this that parents are next in the list of priorities after God, our spouses, and our children. After parents comes the rest of one's family (1 Timothy 5:8), then fellow believers. Romans 14 tells us not judge or look down upon our brothers (v. 10), nor to do anything to cause a fellow Christian to “stumble” or fall spiritually. Much of the book of 1 Corinthians is Paul’s instructions on how the Church should live together in harmony, loving one another. Other exhortations referring to our brothers and sisters in Christ are: “…serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:13); “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32); “…encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11); “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24). Finally comes the rest of the world (Matthew 28:19), to whom we should go and bring the Gospel, making disciples of Christ among them. In conclusion, the scriptural order of priorities is God, spouse, children, parents, extended family, brothers and sisters in Christ, and the rest of the world.

Today's prayer: "God, you are my number one priority. Your face will I seek. You know my heart beats for ministry, but how often has my family taken back seat to my personal ministry and volunteer time? Forgive me and help me find balance in all things. Teach me your ways so that I will be wise and have the understanding that comes from you. Thank you for words from others that challenge my 'status quo' "

Refuge

"Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place..." Psalm 91:9

The hiding place of God's protection is the mountain of holiness; just as He hid Moses in the mountain, so shall He also hide me.

Today's prayer: "God, hide me away. Today, I need to be hidden. The enemy bears down, but I know he won't follow me up the mountain. Step by step I climb .... until all I see is your face. No need to look back; the enemy can't breathe at this altitude. I've crossed the 'snake line' -- victory is now assured."

Resurrection Power

Mark 16:17-18 "These signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won't hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them."

My heart's cry is to be involved in something that's impossible, to have signs and wonders accompany those who believe. A normal Christian life should be supernatural. That's how we know we've tasted of the resurrection power of Jesus that abides and dwells in us as born-again believers.

Today's prayer: "God, saturate me with your presence. Let me walk in your resurrection power, casting out demons, speaking new languages, handling Satan, the lying snake, with safety, receiving no harm from the venom of serpents and poisons, and placing hands on the sick and watching them recover. Give me so much of you that everywhere I go, I cannot help but drip with over-saturation. Your presence is like honey. Honey is golden like your glory; it is thick like your presence; it is sticky enough to get "stuck" on others; pure honey lasts a long time; and it tastes sweet, just like your Word."

Reputation

Mark 8:34-35 "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it."

I heard a speaker at a conference this weekend say that when we start walking in the glory, many will drop us like a hot potato. Jesus made himself of no reputation and we are called to do the same.
Today's prayer: "God, I give to you my reputation. Help me not to care what others think of me. Help me not to even ponder it in my heart. Help me to not have an opinion of another's opinion of me. I have to follow hard after you. Where else would I go Lord? I can never go back. I must only go forward."