We’re back with our monthly newsletter. This issue, we want to take the time to celebrate our Veterans and talk about the new Eureka Heights brew, Alpha Charlie. We sat down with our resident Head Brewer, Travis Bassett who is a Veteran himself to find out more about how Alpha Charlie was developed and his transition from the US Marine Corps to brewing beer at Eureka Heights.
This past month, Travis and the team had the opportunity to work with a very special Veterans blend of hops from Yakima Chief for our upcoming release called Alpha Charlie. Travis explains that each year, Yakima Chief works with a group of Veterans to assemble the blend. This year, the blend contains Citra, Talus, Sabro, and HBC 638, and a new experimental hop. Yakima Chief partnered with Homes For Our Troops as their beneficiary. Homes for Troops is a non-profit group that builds and adapts custom homes for severely injured post-9/11 veterans. These homes make a huge impact on the lives of those veterans and their families. Eureka Heights and Travis are proud to support each year using that special hop blend in our annual release of Alpha Charlie which is currently available in our tap room.
Coming from someone who has such a major role on the Eureka Heights brew team, you would be shocked to know that Travis never expected to find himself in the beer industry. When stationed in North Carolina, Travis mentioned that craft beer was scarce at that time. However, after he returned to Houston 9 years later, he began searching for work while he was finishing his Degree at the University of Houston. That led him to some part-time work in the beer industry as Travis started bartending and giving tours at another local brewery.
Shortly after, he became enthralled with craft beer and decided to become more involved in the brewing process. Travis noted that many of the skills he learned in the Marine Corps made his transition to the industry a bit smoother. In his first enlistment, Travis was an aircraft mechanic and crew chief. The Mechanical and critical thinking skills he learned came in handy when understanding and attempting to master the actual processes involved in producing craft beer.
As we approach Veterans Day and we honor those who served, we want to leave you with a quote from Travis that I hope will fill your heart and your glass. “The community in craft beer and the community in the military are incredibly similar in that people in both communities support one another, give help when needed, and ask for help when necessary. I consider myself very fortunate in my transition from active duty because I left one great community and immediately joined another.”
