Get ready for a night of hearing your favorite songs, with a new twist!  Chris Powell is a performer out of Des Moines who has classical training in music, specifically in jazz and opera.  He's a piano-lounge type of singer/piano player with a big voice and even bigger song list.  Please join us for this super casual after-work show in the taproom!  No admission fee.  

For more about Chris: 

 https://www.facebook.com/chrispowell515/ 

http://www.chrispowell515.com/

This deep-copper stunner started its life as our Belgian Golden Strong, walloping your taste buds with tropical fruit flavors created by a special strain of Belgian yeast. To take this beer to the next level we aged it for 8 months in Mexican Port barrels. The flavors of this fortified wine mingle with those flavors to create a spectacular alliance. (11% abv - 13 ibu)

This beer will be available in our tap room in 10 oz pours while our limited supply lasts. We'll also have a limited-edition, special-label, special-sized crowler run (750 ml) of exactly 100 and no more for $20 each. No growlers. Limit 3 per customer per day.

Saturday, April 14 will be the public's first chance to purchase this special beer. Sales start at noon sharp and not before. 

We expect the crowlers to sell fast! These crowlers were purged of oxygen and filled from the bottom, meaning they can be aged for several years if they’re stored at cellar temp (65 or lower). We’d recommend trying one now and sticking one in the cellar to see how the flavors develop and round out over the next year. If you’ve never aged beer before, this would be a great one to start with.

(If you're coming to grab a Belgian Golden and like good music, we also have Minneapolis duo The Home Fires from 3 PM - 6 PM on this day as well!)

We are teaming up with local food and nutrition enthusiasts Simply Nourished in Clear Lake to bring 50 lucky ticket holders a special taste of north Iowa! Four locally sourced meaty mini appetizers. Four locally made beers. A match made in carnivore heaven!

Your $20 ticket price includes the local meats flight and accompanying beers (four meats/four 5 oz beers), and crackers. No substitutions. (Although the final menu is yet to be set, it is likely this event will be unsuitable for anyone who avoids pork, beef, chicken, lamb, nuts, or dairy products.)

Come in any time between 4 PM and 10 PM on Wednesday, April 11 to claim your goodies.

Tickets are required for this event. Walk-in requests for meat flights unfortunately cannot be fulfilled. Tickets to our flight nights usually sell out more or less right away so get 'um while you can! (There are just 50 tickets available for this event.)

No refunds on tickets.

Click here to grab your spot!

Kevin Boehnke, a native of Ventura, will join us for a rare north Iowa solo concert this Saturday.  Showing versatility beyond his 21 years, Kevin plays guitar, trumpet, and sings as well as writes his own music.  His solo shows are influenced by artists like John Mayer, Ed Sheeran, Ray Charles, Beatles, and Darius Rucker, but as a UNI School of Music student he brings classical and jazz training to the mix as well.  He's preformed across the midwest and beyond, recently recording an album with award-winning songwriter Chad Elliot at Sun Studios in Memphis.  Expect to hear a genre-blending hodgepodge of rock, pop, and country favorites and Kevin's original songs during this cozy no-cover-charge show.  

For more info about Kevin:

https://www.kevinbmusic.com/ 

New and experienced knitters are welcome to join our monthly knitting meet-up!  The brewery knitters meet every 1st Thursday of the month at 7pm for a very casual gathering.

Bring your supplies and your new ideas and get ready for a fun and creative evening in the tap room!

The knitting meet-up is hosted by Mason City knitting club Hooked on Yarn.  

Questions?  Please email Hooked on Yarn representative Sophia Walsh at srgwalsh@gmail.com.

Jordan Mayland is well known for being involved in many musical projects such as Tires, Volcano Boys, and his solo project Jordan Mayland and the Thermal Detonators. Hailing from Rake, Iowa, Jordan started his first band Keepers of the Carpet with his close friends around 1996. He continued to study music at Central College in the early 2000’s and has since put out many albums and played countless shows around the nation. Expect to hear many of Jordan’s songs and his favorite covers (from bands like The Beatles, Tom Petty, and Weezer) during this rare North Iowa solo set!

A quick reminder to come HUNGRY to Jordan's show! Piggyback Smoke Shack will be running a pop-up restaurant near the brew area.  Menu is ribs, wings, Raspberry-BBQ smoked pork sandwiches, Slaw, & Beans..  Their food is seriously SO GOOD and this is a great chance to get some without driving all the way to Osage.  (Cash sales only for food.)  

No admission fee.

Here are some links to some of Jordan's projects.  He's BUSY!

http://www.jordanmayland.bandcamp.com

http://www.volcanoboys.bandcamp.com

http://www.tires.bandcamp.com

http://www.electronidoll.bandcamp.com

http://www.mantispincers.bandcamp.com

http://bewarethewheelers.com

FHB brewer Jake will lead a small-sized class on Saturday, March 31 beginning at 1:00pm. 

Have you ever wanted to feel, smell, and taste raw ingredients that go into your favorite beer?  Then this is the event for you!  Brewer Jake will lead you through a guided tasting (a flight of beers he chooses), teach you about flavors and ingredients, take you through the brewing process on an in-depth behind-the-scenes tour (pint of beer included), and set you up with a t-shirt to remember the day.  You'll leave with a better understanding of the brewing process and what kind of beers are for you.

To review, your $40 ticket includes:

-  class and tour

-  flight of four 5 oz beers

-  pint or 10 oz beer during the tour

-  t-shirt to take home

The class and tour together will be about 2 - 2.5 hours.  Classes are limited to 7 people each.

This is a great opportunity to meet our brewer, ask questions, see our brew area and basement, and take your beer hobby to the next level!  

Tickets are available by via our online ticketing system.  Please click here to order!  

Levi Smith returns to Fat Hill with Matt Root for a Thursday evening performance. Come out for a pint and enjoy catchy original songs and popular classics by Tom Petty, Neil Young, the British invasion and west coast scene bands, as well as acoustic inspirations familiar in his music. Light percussion accompanies this vocal and acoustic performance.

A quick reminder to come HUNGRY to Levi's show on Thursday! Piggyback Smoke Shack will be running a pop-up restaurant near the brew area (5 PM until sold out). The menu for Thursday is sliced smoked pork sandwiches, smoked mac-n-cheese, wing boats, and rib boats.  Their food is seriously SO GOOD and this is a great chance to get some without driving all the way to Osage.  (Cash sales only for food.)  

Cheers to a fun night with music and food!

No admission fee.  

Learn more about Levi and his music on his Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/levismithguitar/

We had such a good time with last year with our sold-out cupcake flight night, we're doing it again! All different beer. All different cupcakes.

We're pairing four delicious mini cupcakes from Grandma Sugar's Cupcakery with four taster size Fat Hill Brewing beers. Although the final menu is yet to be set, start dreaming of a key lime cupcake with a crisp IPA, a chocolate pretzel cupcake with a roasty porter, caramel apple cupcake with a malty Dublin Red ale... the possibilities are endless! Different flavors in the cupcakes bring out flavors in the beer you may not have noticed before. It's a fun way to re-learn a beer you're already friends with ...and an easy way to try new ones.

Your $15 ticket price includes the cupcake flight and accompanying beers (four cupcakes/four beers). No substitutions.

Come in any time we're open on Wednesday, March 28 to claim your goodies! (4pm to 10pm, as we close at 11 pm)

Tickets are required for this event. Walk-in requests for cupcake flights unfortunately cannot be fulfilled. Tickets to our flight nights usually sell out more or less right away so get 'um while you can! (There are 50 tickets available for this event.)

No refunds on tickets.

Click here to reserve your spot!

Fred Love is a singer, songwriter and guitarist from Ames, Iowa. He released his debut solo album, "Lily of the Valley," this summer.

A native of an isolated farm town, Fred has always thought of his music as an extension of the most primal forms in the American songbook. His direct blend of country, folk and blues lends his songs an immediacy that taps into the hearts of the wanderers, misfits and strangers that haunt America’s rural interior.
 
Fred’s hometown seldom attracted the attention of traveling musical acts, so he usually had to drive an hour or more to reach the nearest music venues for live shows. Now, as an established DIY singer-songwriter in Ames, he embraces every opportunity to play the local bars and honky tonks of the rural Midwest in an effort to bring live performances to communities that rarely host them.
 
You can often find him setting up his guitar and microphone stand in an out-of-the-way watering hole on the plains, serving up his original compositions alongside classic numbers from the likes of Lightnin’ Hopkins and Hank Williams. 

Find out more about Fred Love here:

https://fredlove.info/home

https://www.facebook.com/fredlovemusic

What’s Happening For Bicycling In North Iowa In 2018?  Find out at the DRAFT Mason City event on March 22!

Schedule:
6:00 - 6:30 pm: Beer + Banter
6:30 - 8:15 pm: Program + Speakers
8:15 - 9:00 pm: More Beer + Banter

This event is designed as a fast paced evening of ideas and news about:

-          High Line Trail development                         - TRI Clear Lake Triathlon                

-          Mason City Bike Share                                               - SPIN DEVO Junior Development Team

-          Bicycle, Blues & BBQ Festival                                  - Hardin County Trails

-          Brews On The Beach Craft Beer Festival      - Bike Iowa

-          Cannonball Cross Cyclocross Race                - Ride of Silence

-          Moonlight Ride                                                          - Iowa Bicycle Coalition

-          Bike Month - May

Please RSVP using the Eventbrite page here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/march-22-draft-iowa-meetup-mason-city-tickets-42887591942   This event is FREE!

Sponsored by Fat Hill Brewing, PeopleForBikes, Iowa Bicycle Coalition, RAGBRAI

and Active Living & Transportation Commission, Mason City

Have a bike-related event or new product you want people to know about? Pitch it to the audience. Apply to speak and select DRAFT: Iowa:http://peopleforbikes.org/draftspeaker

Join us for the 3rd meeting of the Fat Hill Brewing book club for 2018!  We meet once a month at the brewery (3rd Wednesday of each month, at 7 pm) and anyone is welcome to come or not come based on their interest in that month's book. No commitment, no stress...just a chance to learn something new, share your opinions, and meet fellow supernerds. The book discussion is lead by our resident bookworm and brewery co-owner, Molly.  There's no fee to participate and no purchase required.  

March's book is The Shepherd's Life: Modern Dispatches from an Ancient Landscape by James Rebanks, which is a first-person account of work and family life on an old-as-the-hills English sheep farm.  How does a place like his farm survive during the modern age, an era of profit-driven scale and consolidation?  Rebanks takes us through a deeply personal journey through his year, offering a unique account of rural life and a fundamental connection with the land that most of us don't have. It is a story of working lives, the people around him, his childhood, his parents and grandparents, a people who exist and endure even as the culture - of the England's Lake District, and of farming - changes around them.  There are plenty of parallels we can draw between rural England and rural Iowa, between old ways and new ways, between big farms and small.  An awesome bonus to this meeting will be its guest star -  Carl Ginapp, the brewery's "grain guy," who raises sheep here in north Iowa.  He will be around to answer any questions you have about sheep and to offer some comments on small-scale farming. 

The book is available in paper, Kindle, and audio formats.   

More about the book

Please refer to this review in the New York Times.  

Crafty people should get this on their calendar now!  We're excited to host a Sips & Strings Workshop at Fat Hill Brewing (featuring an any-color-string-you-want Iowa w/ heart design OR any letter of the alphabet) on Tuesday, March 20, taught by Becky Pospisal of The Knotty Nail! Join us to pound some nails, tie some string, and create a work of art worthy of the best wall in your house. Now living in the Des Moines area, Becky was born in Mason City and she's excited to come back and share her art with us!

Doors open at 6:30 PM and craft will begin promptly at 7 PM.

For more info and to pre-register (required) visit this link:  https://www.theknottynail.com/workshops/fathillmarch2018

We have a cooler full of Dry Irish Stout, beer-infused Irish food, and our own ginger-haired leprechaun, so you'll definitely want to join us for a big day of good craic (an Irish term for fun or entertainment, pronounced "crak") on March 17!

SCHEDULE

Noon - Sláinte! We open and the come-and-go "Irish Enthusiasm" costume contest begins. Just sign up at the bar and have one of the staff take your picture if you'd like to participate. Winner gets a $50 gift card.

4 PM - Taste. By Unc's Cheesecakes, Inc.'s pop-up Irish food bar opens! They will be serving traditional Corned Beef & Cabbage as well as Irish Kettle Nachos, pretzels with FHB Dry Irish Stout cheese sauce, and Smoked Rib Boats with FHB Dry Irish Stout BBQ sauce. Until 9 PM or until sold out.

4:45 PM - FHB's leprechaun arrives.

5 PM - Main Street Mason City St. Paddy's Day Bar Hop begins! Buy your pass here at FHB and get drink discounts downtown. 

7 PM - Betty and the Gents live in the taproom until 10 PM, entertaining you with great music with an Irish flair. 

10:30 PM - Costume contest ends.

11 PM - An Irish exit. 

St. Paddy's is one of our favorite holidays and the taproom and staff will be all decked out. Please join us!

No admission fee.

Join us for a cozy afternoon concert in the tap room with Mason City's own John Carden, aka St. John, the Whisky Prophet. A seasoned musician originally from Texas, John plays folk/alternative/blues and cites diverse influences including Eddie Vedder, Jim James and Joe Purdy. Expect to hear some of John’s originals as well as some familiar favorites during this free, laid-back show.

Join us for the 2nd meeting of the Fat Hill Brewing book club for 2018!  We meet once a month at the brewery (3rd Wednesday of each month, at 7 pm) and anyone is welcome to come or not come based on their interest in that month's book. No commitment, no stress...just a chance to learn something new, share your opinions, and meet fellow supernerds. The book discussion is lead by our resident bookworm and brewery co-owner, Molly.  There's no fee to participate and no purchase required.  

February's book is The Alice Network by Kate Quinn, which is part spy thriller and part mystery.  This books is was a favorite of both critics and readers when it came out last year and should appeal our book club members who like fast-moving historical fiction like All the Light You Cannot See (last year's February pick).  This is a great escapist read for the mid-winter blues!

The book is available in paper, Kindle, and audio formats.   

About the book

USA TODAY BESTSELLER

#1 GLOBE AND MAIL HISTORICAL FICTION BESTSELLER

One of NPR's Best Books of 2017!

One of Bookbub's Biggest Historical Fiction Books of 2017!

Reese Witherspoon Book Club Summer Reading Pick!

One of Amazon's Best Books of June!

One of Goodreads' Best Books of June!

A Summer Book Pick from Good Housekeeping, Parade, Library Journal, Goodreads, Liz and Lisa, and BookBub

In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption.

1947. In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, American college girl Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her very proper family. She's also nursing a desperate hope that her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war, might still be alive. So when Charlie's parents banish her to Europe to have her "little problem" taken care of, Charlie breaks free and heads to London, determined to find out what happened to the cousin she loves like a sister.

1915. A year into the Great War, Eve Gardiner burns to join the fight against the Germans and unexpectedly gets her chance when she's recruited to work as a spy. Sent into enemy-occupied France, she's trained by the mesmerizing Lili, the "Queen of Spies", who manages a vast network of secret agents right under the enemy's nose.

Thirty years later, haunted by the betrayal that ultimately tore apart the Alice Network, Eve spends her days drunk and secluded in her crumbling London house. Until a young American barges in uttering a name Eve hasn't heard in decades, and launches them both on a mission to find the truth...no matter where it leads.

Des Moines singer/songwriter Courtney Krause will be joining us for a cozy Valentine's Day concert on Wednesday, February 14!  Courtney will play some original songs and also a wide variety of covers from Bob Dylan, to The Beatles, and John Prine, even R.Kelly to Bastille, Alicia Keys, and more in between.  Enjoy the concert with your Valentine as a date night or with friends just because!

No admission charge.  As usual, FHB is a 21+ venue.

About Courtney Krause:

From Des Moines, Iowa, Courtney Krause's music has been featured on KCWI 23, KCCI 8, Iowa Public Radio (IPR), and KFGM Homegrown. From events like Des Moines Music Coalition's Little BIG Fest, to annual volunteering at Race for the Cure, Women Helping Women, and JDRF, Krause has significantly contributed to the musical growth in Des Moines; at the same time, bringing people and music listeners of all ages and backgrounds together. 

In 2016, Krause was added to 80/35 Music Festival lineup, after the song "Hardwood Floors" was selected for Carpe Diem III and the song "I Understand" was used to be chosen for the 2016 Community Selected Artist for Des Moines Music Coalition's Gross Domestic Project. 
 

www.courtneykrausemusic.com
www.facebook.com/courtneykrausemusic

Preview photo credit for pic of Courtney: Alyssa Leicht  
Www.alyssaleicht.com

Des Moines singer-songwriter Andrew David, known for his guitar-driven sets at breweries like Firetrucker and Confluence, will join us for no-admission charge acoustic show on Feb. 10. With songs ranging in styles from moody pop to alternative to classic Elvis, Andrew is a seasoned musician touring as a solo act and also plays in the Carbon Canaries, an acoustic trio. He has an eclectic mix of influences (Pink Floyd, Weezer, The Pixies, Damien Rice, Oasis, Modest Mouse, etc.) which means there should be something for everyone at this cozy Saturday afternoon show.

As usual, FHB is a 21+ venue.  

For more about Andrew, visit

https://andrewdavidband.com/ 

andrewdavidmusic.bandcamp.com

We love beer. We love the beer we make, but we also love trying other beer.  Join us for our next bottle share!

We host a bottle share on the second Thursday of each month from 4-8 pm. Craft beer lovers are encouraged to bring at least 16 ounces of a new, rare, old, oddball, or just plain delicious beer they’d like to share. Whether it’s a 2004 Cantillon Loerik you traded a kidney for, or just a great pale ale you had at the tiny brewery near your grandma’s house last weekend, beer geeks are encouraged to bring anything they’d like to share.

If you’re a big enough beer nerd to have a favorite sampling glass, feel free to bring it. If not, we’ve got a clean glass for you! This is a casual, come-and-go-as-you-please event, so show up at any time and stay as long you’d like. There is no cost for this event, but we do suggest a generous tip for your friendly bartender who will be cleaning up after us all night.

As always, over-imbibing is not allowed and we retain the right to refuse service to anyone out of line. Hard alcohol is never allowed in our taproom.  The bottle share is for beer only.  This is the only time outside beer is allowed to be brought into our tap room.

Get creative with your Valentine's Day greetings this year by making your own cards!

We'll have DIY card making kits that include enough paper, decorations, and envelopes for you to make five one-of-a-kind cards to send to your friends and family. Each kit will be unique, with different Valentine's Day themed goodies you can arrange/design/glue/cut/tear however you like. Each kit also includes five first-class US postage stamps, so if you mail your cards the day after our event they should arrive in perfect time for Valentine's Day.

The price of your ticket includes one pint or 10 ounce of beer, cider, or root beer.

This is a self-led craft event so you can pick up your kit and free drink at the bar anytime between 4 PM - 10 PM the evening of the event. (We close at 11 PM.)  We'll have glue, scissors, etc., so you don't have to bring anything except your creativity!

We have 20 card kits so space is limited for this event.

Ages 21+. No refunds on tickets.

Tickets are $17 each and are available by clicking here.  

How do you turn awesome into amazing? Let it hang out in a bourbon barrel for six months. Our braggot, which is a mead-meets-beer style with thousands of years of history, was brewed with 360 lbs of clover honey. The sweetness of the honey blends perfectly with the vanilla, coconut, and caramel flavors created by the charred American oak used to make the bourbon barrels.

This beer will be available in our tap room in 10 oz pours while our supply lasts. We'll have a limited-edition, special-label, special-sized crowler run (750 ml) of exactly 150 and no more. No growlers. Limit 3 per customer per day.

Saturday, February 3 will be the public's first chance to purchase this special beer. Sales start at noon sharp and not before. 

We expect the crowlers to sell fast! These crowlers were purged of oxygen and filled from the bottom, meaning they can be aged for several years if they’re stored at cellar temp (65 or lower). We’d recommend trying one now and sticking one in the cellar to see how the flavors develop and round out over the next year. If you’ve never aged beer before, this would be a great one to start with.

(If you're coming to grab a braggot and like good music, we also have blues guitarist Matt Woods from 3 PM - 6 PM on this day.)

Toni of Toni's Tarot here in Mason City will be spending a few hours in the tap room on again on January 24 for some tarot card readings!

If you've ever seen these cards in action in movies or TV, this is event is an easy, fun way to cross the experience off your bucket list!

"Tarot can enlighten you about the choices you have," says Toni.  "The cards don't tell you what you should do or what specifically is going to happen in your future, but rather illuminate the possibilities depending on the path you take."

Your 15-minute reading includes one beer, cider, or root beer and is $20. When buying your ticket, please note the TIME you are signing up for. (There is one ticket per time slot.) Please check in at the bar a few minutes before your scheduled time. If you're not there on time, there's no guarantee we'll be able to fit you in to the schedule so please make sure you arrive with enough time to get your beer and settle in before it's your turn.

There will be no refunds for no-shows or late commers.  Must be 21 years or older.

Get your ticket here:

 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tarot-card-readings-tickets-39524077580

Wayward's sound has often been compared to Ed Sheeran, Jason Mraz, The Lumineers, and even Imagine Dragons. With lyrics and music spanning ages and genres, there will be something for everybody at this casual Thursday night show.  

Rooted in Minneapolis MN, Wayward tells the stories of the pursuit of happiness through music they describe as "a little bit pop, a little bit indie, a lotta love." In this pursuit, Wayward is playing 100 shows this year and bringing to life dozens of stories through songs at every show.

For more info:

http://www.waywardsongs.com/

https://www.facebook.com/waywardband/

Wait, there's more!  The Iowa Grill Food Truck will be serving inside the tap room as a pop-up restaurant for the evening from 5:30 PM until sold out.  Their menu for the night is as follows:

Rotisserie  Chicken    $6.00
Toasty Dogs                 $4.00
Cheese Soup              $3.00
Fudgee Chocolate Cookie  $1.00
Chocolate Chip Cookie $1.00

Join us for the 1st meeting of the Fat Hill Brewing book club for 2018!  We meet once a month at the brewery (3rd Wednesday of each month, at 7 pm) and anyone is welcome to come or not come based on their interest in that month's book. No commitment, no stress...just a chance to learn something new, share your opinions, and meet fellow supernerds. The book discussion is lead by our resident bookworm and brewery co-owner, Molly.  There's no fee to participate and no purchase required.  

January's book is Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, which looks at how we think without thinking  --   about choices that seem to be made in an instant-in the blink of an eye-that actually aren't as simple as they seem.  As so many people are starting January thinking about resolutions for the year to come, it's a great time to take a hard look at how and why we choose to do the things we do.

The book is available in paper, Kindle, and audio formats.   

About the book

Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while others are consistently inept? Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error? How do our brains really work-in the office, in the classroom, in the kitchen, and in the relationships? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others?

In Blink we meet the psychologist who has learned to predict whether a marriage will last, based on a few minutes of observing a couple; the tennis coach who knows when a player will double-fault before the racket even makes contact with the ball; the antiquities experts who recognize a fake at a glance. Here, too, are great failures of "blink": the election of Warren Harding; "New Coke"; and the shooting of Amadou Diallo by police. 

Blink reveals that great decision makers aren't those who process the most information or spend the most time deliberating, but those who have perfected the art of "thin-slicing"-filtering the very few factors that matter from an overwhelming number of variables.

We're pairing four delicious mini handmade chocolates with four taster size Fat Hill Brewing beers. The chocolates are by Vicki Warner, the culinary mastermind behind Chocolates by Vicki and The Iowa Grill food truck. Why pair food with beer? Pairing food with beer helps you recognize and enhance new flavors in both the beer and the food, making both things more delicious!

Your $16 ticket price includes the chocolate flight and accompanying beers (four types of chocolate/four beers). No substitutions. Although the full menu is yet to be set (because we wait to see what's going to be on tap that night, in order to ensure perfect pairings!), the flight night will probably not be suitable for people that avoid nuts.

Tickets are required for this event. Walk-in requests for chocolate flights unfortunately cannot be fulfilled. Due to our desire to provide the best quality service to each customer, we are selling exactly 50 tickets and no more, so if you're interested we suggest you buy now. (Some of our flight nights have sold out in less than 48 hours.)

Come in any time between 4 PM - and 10 PM on Wednesday, January 10 to claim your goodies. In the event of bad weather, the make-up date will be the following day, Thursday, January 11.

No refunds on purchased tickets.

Tickets would make a great stocking stuffer or last-minute gift for anyone on your holiday list!

Ready to buy?  Click here to get your tickets!

If you haven't heard the good news yet, Fat Hill Brewing is going on a beer-themed "educational" field trip to Scotland in October 2018 through a partnership with Jay Allen Travel of Clear Lake, Rabbies Tours International, and Beer Tours of Edinburgh. FHB owners Jake and Molly (and FHB beerista Taylor!) will be along to answer beer questions and our Scottish tour guide will handle everything else on our 10 day trip. We'll tour breweries, visit castles, drink in historic pubs, and hunt for the Loch Ness Monster, among other interesting things. This very small (bus seats 16 not including our driver) group tour is designed to be fun, relaxing, informative, and affordable. (Speaking of affordable, you get $100 off the total price and a $100 FHB gift card if you book before January 1.)

As of Dec. 11, we have six spots left. They're going fast!*

We'll do TWO informal Q&A sessions the night of Thursday, Dec. 21 - one at 5:30 PM and one at 8 PM.

The same information will be covered in each session, but we're doing two sessions just so we can keep the groups pretty small so everyone can hear and ask as many questions as they want. Molly will go through a sample itinerary and talk a little bit about the trip highlights. 

Just tell someone behind the bar that you're here for the Q&A and they'll direct you to the right table. 

Please RSVP "going" to the Facebook event or email Molly (molly@fathillbrewing.com) so she has the right amount of printouts ready. If you attended our last info session, there's no need to come to this one because the info will be the same. 

Want a lot of info RIGHT NOW? No problem! We made a whole mini website for our trip! Click here to check it out: http://www.fathillbrewing.com/trip-overview/

If you'd like to talk about the trip any time, please email Molly at molly@fathillbrewing.com and she'll get right back to you. 

*Trip is first-come-first-serve, so if you're serious about going, get your deposit in to secure your spot. All the info about payment etc. can be found on the website mentioned above.

Join us for the 12th meeting of the FHB book club!  We meet once a month at the brewery (3rd Wednesday of each month, at 7 pm) and anyone is welcome to come or not come based on their interest in that month's book. No commitment, no stress...just a chance to learn something new, share your opinions, and meet fellow supernerds. The book discussion is lead by our resident bookworm and brewery co-owner, Molly.

December's book is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.  Dickens is considered by many to be one of the most important English-language novelists of all time and is credited with creating some of the world's best-known fictional characters.  As a modern reader, however, his work can sometimes be challenging.  Some editions of Dickens' Bleak House, for example, run more than a thousand pages and there are around twenty major characters that are important to the plot.  If you've ever wanted to familiarize yourself with Dickens' work but found it intimidating, A Tale of Two Cities is a great one to start out with due to the not-too-scary length (around 300 pages), manageable set of characters, and the adventure story subject matter.  

The book is available in paper, Kindle, and audio formats and is even available for free online because of how old the copyright is now.  Please consider shopping local if you want a paper copy!  Brewery book club members are eligible for a 20% discount on book club books at Book World in Mason City.  

About the book

Set in London and Paris before and during the tumultuous French Revolution, the novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris and his release to life in London with his daughter Lucie, whom he had never met; Lucie's marriage and the collision between her beloved husband and the people who caused her father's imprisonment; and Monsieur and Madame Defarge, sellers of wine in a poor suburb of Paris.  

Fat Hill Brewing is going a little bit country for a cozy afternoon concert on Saturday, December 16!  Join us for a performance from north Iowa native (Lakota) Morgan Kahler. A seasoned vocalist and guitarist, Morgan has been performing for many years, sometimes opening for big acts like the Vic Ferrari Band.  Morgan cites her musical influences as favorite country oldies, new country hits, and even some rock and roll.  Expect to hear tunes from some of her favorites like Johnny Cash, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, and Journey during her show.

No admission fee.

For more about Morgan, visit her Facebook page.

Craft and art gurus Market 124 are coming to the tap room for a special holiday craft project  -  ornament painting!  They'll provide everything you need (paint, supplies, instructions) AND a free beer, cider, or root beer to get your creativity flowing.  Your ticket is $25 and can be purchased through their website here:  https://squareup.com/store/market124masoncity

If you have questions, please contact Market 124 directly at (641) 423-0929.

We hope you are ready to get into the holiday spirit because we have a full day of festive activities planned for you!  We have santa hats, so much winter beer, and a 12-foot Christmas tree so we are ready to PARTY.  Please join us on Saturday, December 9 for any or all of the following:

Noon  -  Doors open and a special one-time-only holiday flavors infused beer is on tap!  Available just til 6 PM.

1 PM - 4 PM  -  Local Hand-Made Gifts Fair, featuring booths from:

• Twisted River Farms  -  beautiful wood signs & ornaments
• BabyBuggy  -  one-of-a-kind baby textiles
• Sign Language Decor  -  holiday wreaths & decor
• Monkeybuns  -  super-detailed beadwork wearables
• Soyphisticated Candles  -  candles, soaps, and more, some made with FHB beer 

5 PM onward  -  Come-And-Go Ugly Sweater Contest

We want you to wear your ugliest, craziest, most awesome holiday gear.  Make sure you sign up at the bar to enter the contest and have us take your picture.  The staff will vote on their favorites at the end of the night and contact the winner.  Winner gets a $50 FHB gift card and 15 minutes of fame on all our social media.

6:30 PM - 7:30 PM  -  Holiday music from Over the Hill Brass Band from Clear Lake.  Hear all your favorites and tip the band to donate to the North Iowa Arts and Pageantry organization, a charity supporting instrumental music in local schools.

Happy Holidays from Fat Hill Brewing!