There was a cheering group of kids on the sidewalk – young ones, likely 11 years old, give or take. They were riled up and cheering at me. As I walked closer, their excited questions became more clear:
“A&M or Tennessee?!?”
“Which one man?”
“Who you for, dude!?”
I took a quick and covert poll of their expressions, hoping to rile the bigger percentage of them up with my answer. The obvious conclusion seemed split, judging by the shirts and hats the rowdy crew wore.
“Tennessee” I mentioned through a mischievous grin.
They reminded me of my own boys, running around in a pack, enjoying summer to the max and making memories along the way. ½ of them cheered and ½ of them jeered as they ran down the sidewalk looking for their next survey subject. I caught high fives from all of them, whether I was rooting for their colors or not.
It was championship weekend at the College World Series in Omaha, NE; a formidable event even on a nationwide scale. Omaha buzzes with college sports fans from all over the world for a week and “Nebraska Nice” seems to be contagious – taking over the demeanor of even the most faithful team fanatics. It’s a vibe for sure.
I made my way to our venue. The Handlebend team was in town to collaborate with one of our oldest and best “business friends”.
The scene inside of Brickway Brewery and Distillery wasn’t quite as rowdy as the youngsters I’d laughed with on the sidewalk, but it was buzzing every bit as much. There wasn’t a table available and much of the standing space was occupied. Folks from all over the United States laughed together, drank Brickway brews, and sipped mules from Handlebend Copper mugs.
I gave a few high fives as I made my way into the HB Crew’s circle, and then ordered a beer. Jerry’s Pale ale. I was a bit surprised when it was served in a can and not a pint glass – given the fact that I was standing in Brickway’s taproom. I wasn’t disappointed.
I was just working through how connected I felt to the branding of the beer (a decidedly old-timey, Northwoods vibe) when Zac, Brickway’s founder, walked up and slapped me on the back.
“How ya been? Glad you’re here! You like the beer?”
“This is good beer Zac, but I LOVE the can!”
I spent the next half an hour listening to the story and inspiration behind the beer. An old project, brought back to life by the unfortunate passing of Zac’s dad, Jerry. I’ve only known Zac for a handful of years and I’ve never met any of his family, yet I stood there and reminisced about his early years, his dad, their old lake place in the woods of Minnesota, and the lifetime of memories that it provided.
Zac is a natural host, and this day only further accredited his skillset. We served hundreds of Handlebend mules in his establishment with the Brickway crew, we raffled off prizes, and we kept our little corner of Omaha just as hopping and happy as the College World Series right outside the front door.
This is the spirit of collaboration; it’s spending quality time with quality humans and working on something that each party can do better with each other than they could without. Amidst this modern world of social media, technology has rebranded the word collaboration itself. We’ve decided that we are going to put our time, talents, and energy into real human beings and creating good times with them; that’s the brand of collaboration we’re interested in supporting.
Jerry’s Pale Ale is the only kind of beer I drank that day. I took a six pack home for my fridge, and I still think of Jerry as a friend every time I pry a can from it’s plastic loop.
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