Sponsor Spotlight - Blackbird Brewery
It’s the weekend! Looking for a nice place to hang out and relax with friends and family?
Blackbird Brewery has you covered! Husband and wife owners Ian and Harmony VanGundy have spent their professional lives taking care of people, making great beer, and helping build great local breweries in Wake Forest and Raleigh, NC. In 2022, with decades of experience in brewing, sales, and distribution, and minds full of ideas, it was time to create something new. They wanted to create a more thoughtful approach to brewing and living. A place for remote workers and family-focused beer drinkers—where people from all walks of life could find their new favorite place and their new favorite beer. “We at Blackbird Brewery understand that craft beer is no mere beverage. Each drop, each pint, is a form of history, anthropology and sociology. We are students and teachers of the culture and process of brewing. We do not just deal in tanks or barrels or kegs, but in magic and transformation—of our art, craft and chemistry—by every subtle aroma, each fleeting moment. We explore flavor development through challenging and lesser used traditional techniques combined with the newest discoveries and ingredients we can find. Our highly customized 7bbl brewhouse houses an automated mash mixer and decoction capabilities giving us more control over recipe variables and the ability to process local non-malted grains. We also squeezed in tank designs for adjuncts, fruit, high hop loads, massive malt loads, and natural carbonation in horizontal tanks. This means authentic European styles, expressive IPAs, tart fruit beers, barrel aged stouts and barleywines. In addition we offer prosecco and cider on draft, fine wines by the glass, and an assortment of non-alcoholic drinks.”
Ian and Harmony Van Gundy have been members of the Durant Trails Typhoons for 3 years. Their son, Alistair, swims with the 7-10 age group and their son, Charlie, swims with the 6 and under age group. During our swim meets, you may have noticed Charlie leading our 11 and up boys in shenanigans even though he’s half their size!
As always, let’s support our sponsors, because they support our kids!
