Sunday, April 11, 2010

Great Lakes Brewery


You can click on the picture to get more of the story, but I'm always amazed at what you can learn while you're out sketching. It's like, if you stay still in one spot long enough, something or someone interesting always comes by to teach you something if you're curious enough. Today, Blaine and I learned what happens to the wet barley when Great Lakes Brewing is done with it. I always knew that they are a very eco-friendly company, and it's so cool to know that all of this barley is going to a good use. The farmer said that his biggest expense every year is protein for his cows and chickens. Last year, he'd spent $100,000 on feed, and using the wet barley had saved him tons of money over the years. Plus, Great Lakes doesn't have to pay to dispose it. He said that his daughter even bakes bread of out of the wet barley.

It did smell really good. Someone should make candles and soaps out of that smell. I know that I'd said it smelled "yeasty" in my journaling, but it wasn't at all yeasty in a bad way.

The funny thing is that I told Blaine to meet me on West 28th, just north of Lorain. When we get there, we have the back of the brewery to draw or the back of St. Ignatius high school, which I told her that it looked like Harry Potter's school. So, she arrives, and continues to look back and forth, never looking behind her, and says, "What about this looks like Harry Potter?" I said, "Turn around." She laughed, becasue she thought she'd missed the chapter where Harry Potter gets drunk at a wizardy brewery.

I wish it hadn't looked like rain, or I would have stayed out longer. I am very much in the mood to be sketching outside today. But, it's so overcast, and I kept feeling sprinkles.

4 comments:

Karen Sandstrom said...

Nice sketch! Did you take a collapsible stool?

Maureen said...

No, but I sure wish that I had! I am buying one first thing when the registers open tomorrow.

I'm going to visit the parents later this week, and my father suggested that I sketch the old glass factory that he'd worked at before they tear it down, which I thought was a great idea. But, from what I remember, it's just gravel parking there, no curb at all.

Thor said...

I feel portable stools might be a new fashion statement soon. Great work Maureen.

Gillian Mowbray said...

I love the idea of a Harry Potter-esque wizardy brewary. LOL

Your sketches are great - isn't it fun how we absorb so much more by sketching than by just taking photos. Thanks for the story to go with this - and thanks for visiting my blog too. x