Some may see bulky, bearded brewers kicking back on bar stools after work and falsely assume making beer is easy work. Even with added automation, there’s still plenty of elbow grease to grow around in a brewhouse. It’s easy to work up and sustain a sweat, and the staff at Council Brewing Company (7705 Convoy Court, Kearny Mesa) have come up with a fun way to provide patrons a sample of their workday activities in tandem with a solid workout: BrewFit.
Held the first Saturday of each month, the aim of this promotion is to allow health-conscious customers to “train like a brewer” by taking part in a 45-minute session chock full of brewhouse activities. Council held its first session last month and it was a well-attended success. After check-in and a thorough warm up, attendees began going through a quartet of stations offering adaptations of brewery tasks:
- Farmer’s Keg Walk: A pair of workout partners pick up a full half-barrel keg, with each holding a handle on either side, and walk it the length of Council’s parking lot, then switch sides and bring it back. This process continues for three minutes and mirrors keg movement in a brewery and when making deliveries.
- Grain Bag Lunges & Step Ups: Participants shoulder 55-pound grain sacks and do weighted lunges by stepping onto two sets of pallets, one stacked two-high and the other three-high.
Grain Mill / Stack: Imitating the movement of grain sacks from inventory to the mill, equal stacks of grain sacks were set up on a pallet on one side of the parking lot and teams of participants competed in a race to transport those stacks, one at a time, to a pallet on the opposite end of the parking lot.- Sixtel Keg Clean & Press: Participants lifted sixth-barrel kegs (filled with varying amounts of beer so they come in at different weights to meet individual’s comfort levels), first from the ground to waist level, then above their heads and back to the ground.
Realizing they know a lot about brewing, but could use a little help in developing a workout regiment, owners Curtis and Liz Chism teamed with certified CrossFit instructor Joe Craig to make sure the program provides maximum benefit while safeguarding against potential injury. The instructor leads the workout session, but Council staff takes over at the end…when it’s time to adjourn to the tasting room for a beer.
Council’s next BrewFit event will take place this Saturday, February 3 at 9:45 a.m. Tickets can be purchased online ahead of time as well as day-of at the brewery’s tasting room.