Last week's Derecho, or land hurricane, which pummeled the Mid-Atlantic States put a crinkle in Port City Brewing's production schedule. The Alexandria, VA craft brewery lost power for close to a week, disrupting deliveries and threatening to spoil nearly 13,000 gallons of beer. A generator was brought in to save the beer but to add more insult to injury, one of the brewery's six tanks laid outside of the area the generator could support — it was left to fate.
The sixth tank full of 60 barrels of lager fermented at too high of a temperature during the subsequent DC heat wave but instead of throwing it out, the small business realized what they had and turned on the marketing machine.
This summer, if you find yourself in DC, saddle up to a tavern serving Port City's limited release Derecho Common, a California Common steam beer known for fermenting at a higher temperature than most lagers, like an ale.
Innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit at Port City Brewing is yet another testament to this country's resilient small business community. The brewers had the flexibility to adapt to unforeseeable changes and capitalize on the new lemon life delivered.