It’s been a while since we had a big to-do that was all our own and not prompted by acts of thievery. Now we are ready for more fun! If you know us at all, you know we have a fondness for the loveably terrible, the stupidly beautiful, and the transcendently absurd. Nothing captures these contradictions more than bad movies, which we’ve shown in the past, but we thought it was time to do something a little more interactive.

Hence… the Inaugural Fullsteam Bad Movie Trailer Contest!

Here’s how it works: Four genres, submissions from you the public, and a viewing and voting party on Friday, June 29 at 10 p.m. Trailers should be short (i.e., under three minutes) and the movies they’re previewing must actually exist. We’ll choose sixteen trailers to show at the party, and you, the audience, will vote for your favorites in each genre and a grand-prize winner.

Prizes: Category winners get gift certificates and the overall winner gets a Fullsteam shwag pack. The nominator of the grand-prize-winning trailer must be present to win.

How to Submit: Just fill out the nice form at the bottom of the page! The deadline to submit is Sunday, June 24th at midnight!

We’ve been stunned by some early submissions. Here’s one, so you know what you’re up against:

Hey hey, it’s Memorial Day! By now maybe you’ve had your cook-outs and are feeling done with all that American food. For dinner, how about a little Sabut Moong? Fullsteam opens at 4 p.m. and Suman will unveil the trays of deliciousness at 5 on the dot. Trust me, that leftover potato salad can wait.

A Very Bolly Monday Menu for May 28th, 2012
5 – 8 p.m., eat in or take out. $10 all-inclusive. Cash or checks accepted.

• Punjabi Chicken Curry: All-natural, succulent, boneless chicken redolent with black cardamom and cilantro
• Sabut Moong : Green Moong beans with tomatoes and cumin
• Aaloo Sem: Comfort food… potatoes and green beans…

• Basmati rice with spices
• Garlic naan
• Cilantro chutney

This here is your friendly Chief Executive Optimist with two important updates. Not very sexy topics. It’s tempting to add spicy Judy Bloom language just to make it more interesting, but I think a more straightforward approach is warranted.

PARKING
Our neighbors, Motorco Music Hall, have a parking lot — a valuable commodity in these parts of town. Motorco is adjusting their parking policy, charging a $3 per vehicle fee from Tuesday through Saturday. Sunday and Monday will be free. You can read more about the new plan on Motorco’s website.

The important takeaway is this: We will honor Motorco’s parking vouchers. Yeppers, that $3 fee is redeemable at Motorco…and at Fullsteam.  Drinks, snacks, merch, etc. at either location.  Now, there may be special occasions in which Motorco needs to reserve some or all of the parking spots, but it shouldn’t be all that often. Just circle around on Geer (behind Motorco), pay the friendly parking attendant $3, and park in the lot. Motorco is installing barrel planters, so it’ll be easy to walk over to Fullsteam if you’re headed our way. Turn your ticket in and get $3 off your bill. High fives optional.

The new layout opens up additional street parking on Rigsbee, which is cool.

Also, don’t forget about Madison Street, behind Fullsteam. This wide road offers up plenty of parking, and we’re in the process of beautifying our back gate (between JR’s Auto Repair and Fullsteam) so it’s a snap to walk up to the brewery and enter from the side.

Are you a visual person? Here’s a sexy map. Truthfully, it’s not really sexy, but I thought I’d tempt you.

And here’s a shot of the new planters (so fresh and new they don’t yet have greenery in them!):

If you have any questions, post here or email me at sean@fullsteam.ag. We value our good neighbors at Motorco and are excited about this solution to a tricky problem.

To summarize — unless otherwise stated by Motorco….

SUNDAY – parking lot open, no fee
MONDAY – parking lot open, no fee
TUESDAY – $3 parking redeemable at Fullsteam or Motorco
WEDNESDAY- $3 parking redeemable at Fullsteam or Motorco
THURSDAY – $3 parking redeemable at Fullsteam or Motorco
FRIDAY – $3 parking redeemable at Fullsteam or Motorco
SATURDAY – $3 parking redeemable at Fullsteam or Motorco

And now on to something even less sexy…

CARDING
We’re tightening up our belts with carding. This means a couple of things: we’ll likely card you if you look younger than 35. Also, if you’re ordering drinks for other people, we’ll need to visually identify them and,  if they appear to be younger than 35, card them as well. So if you’re ordering a pitcher for friends, you can’t just go up to the bar and get a pitcher and four glasses. We’ll need IDs for anyone drinking alcohol. The beer may well be for your 38-year-old (lovely, I’m sure) wife, but it could be for that 19-year-old hottie you’re creepily trying to impress. We don’t know! So we’ll need to see who’s drinking in your party. Have them come to the bar with you, and please have all IDs ready.

I know this is an inconvenience. With all due respect, deal with it. Fullsteam needs to be responsible vendors of alcohol, both for the community at large and to retain our permits. I’ve been absolutely floored by some of the attitude that’s come from people who have to show their IDs. Thankfully it’s a small minority, but really? Throwing a pen at a female bartender after she asks for IDs for all drinkers? That’s bad form, dude.

The vast majority of you understand our need to operate by the letter of the law. Thank you for that. However, anyone showing disrespect to our staff will be warned of their behavior and, if it continues, will be asked not to come back to our (law-abiding) little brewery.

So, to recap…some rules:

1. Have your ID ready.
2. If you’re ordering for others, bring your group to the bar. With IDs.
3. Don’t throw a pen at your bartender, jerky pants!

As always, hit me with questions, thoughts, concerns, or high fives. We’re all just trying to do the right thing.

Yours truly,
Sean

Every Sunday mid-afternoon, we bring you a little Southern-Fried Sunday: beer from us! Barbecue from Olde North State BBQ or Mama Jean’s! And bluegrass (mostly…sometimes we stray from the theme to bring in some blues, alt-country, or songwriters).

This Sunday’s entertainment comes from Driftin’ Westward, a rag-tag group of musical misfits, hell bent on bringing their brand of Appalachian music to the masses. Their sound is described as ”bringing together various aspects of Bluegrass and Traditional music blended with numerous influences from blues, rock’n’roll, alternative indie music, and topped off with foot-stomping rhythms, ear-pleasing melodies, ass-kicking harmonies, and deep, insightful songwriting.”

Come at 4 p.m. for the band, or at 3 if you’re getting hungry. Olde North State is up this week with their  ‘cue, ribs, sandwiches, and more. And let’s not forget the beer: El Toro, Carver, and Working Man’s Lunch, plus Bourbon-barrel aged Fullsteam, Overtime and Beasley’s Honey White. Or maybe you’re in the mood for a Carolina Shandy? Plenty of NC guest taps too!

Like a prehistoric lizard, I’m pretty comfortable in excessive heat. I think it’s because hot days feel like an excuse to do nothing, or at least to do not-so-active things at a very slow pace. It looks like it’s going to be another 90-degree day, so I’m looking forward to doing mostly nothing after the farmer’s market today. I’m also looking forward to ogling the racers in The Doughman, who are definitely NOT lounging around today. Good luck to you all! I have to say there’s not much that would compel me to eat a bunch of food and then exercise vigorously, regardless of the weather. But I’m happy to watch, and to celebrate with them afterwards with some Will & Pop’s brunch and a pint of beer.

The Saturday Social Line-up for May 26th, 2012!

Worker’s Compensation ($2/$4)

• El Toro
• Carver
• Working Man’s Lunch

Apothecary/R&D ($2.50/$5.00)

• Beasley’s Honey White (5% ABV)
• Overtime (11 0z pour, 8.5% ABV)
• Bourbon-barrel aged Fullsteam (5% ABV)

SUMMER SPECIAL: $2/$4

• Carolina Shandy! (3.0% ABV)

NC Guest Taps, too! Depending on when you visit, we may have:

• Big Boss’s High Roller IPA (Raleigh)
• Foothills’ Torch Pilsner (Winston-Salem)
• Carolina Brewery’s Copperline Amber Ale (Pittsboro)
• Natty Greene’s Buckshot Amber Ale (Greensboro)
• Natty Greene’s Southern Pale Ale (Greensboro)

Food trucks

• Will & Pop’s do brunch! (11 a.m to 4 p.m)
• American Meltdown (5 to 10 p.m.)
• Martin’s Curry Rice! (5 to 10 p.m.)