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“Hello!” A chipper young man greets us at the entranceway, his eyes bugging when he sees me. “Welcome to Burberry Breweries!”
I strain to look over his shoulder, realizing that there is a bar behind him, and my curiosity is triggered. Maybe I’ve gotten this all wrong.
“Thank you,” Stella says pleasantly, nudging me in the ribs, and I refocus my attention on the puppy-like guide, recognizing that Stella expects me to be on good behavior.
“Yeah,” I grouch, still displeased with this setup. I’m starting to wonder if it was a deliberate act or if someone made a mistake. We have no business being at a brewery at all.
“I’m Todd,” he announces, pointing at his nametag, probably sensing that we’re apt to forget it already. “And I’ll be your guide today.”
“What are we doing here, Todd?” Stella asks before I can.
Todd beams brightly, as if her query has made his entire day, and he waves for us to follow him through the front, the overpowering smell of fermentation wrinkling my nose.
“Have you ever been in a brewery before?” Todd asks.
Both Stella and I wave our heads in the negative, and I relax more to realize that this is the first time for her, too.
“Then this will be a real treat for you!” Todd exclaims with far too much enthusiasm.
“A brewery tour?” I muse.
He abruptly stops walking and looks back, shaking his shaggy blond head. “Oh, no,” he says. “It’s more than that.”
I find myself looking back at the cameras who are on our heels like always, but Todd is already ahead of us, darting toward the set of double doors, leading into the modern-looking bar area. Twangy county music ricochets through the speakers, but Todd doesn’t stop at the bar, guiding us around the counter toward the back.
“You’re going to learn how to craft your own beer today.”
So I was right.
I whip my head around to scowl at the director, but she’s conspicuously absent suddenly, and I grimace.
“We are?” Stella replies. “That sounds like fun.”
“It’s hard work,” Todd answers without turning. “Are you up for it?”
“Do we have a choice?” I ask, wondering how we had been suckered into this.
Stella’s hand slips into mine, and again, I’m put at ease.
“Yep,” she answers for both of us. “We sure are.” I cast her a quick glance and find her smiling back at me. “We’ve got this,” she reassures me, and I relax.
“Doesn’t it take time for the beer to ferment?” I ask, and Todd spins around before a closed door, his eyes so bright, they’re like stars.
“Ah-ha! So you do know something about the process!”
“I think I read something about this somewhere,” I admit.
“It takes two to three weeks for the beer to be ready, but you should be enjoying your very own brew by the time you’re ready to finish filming.”
“See?” Stella says as Todd opens the heavy metal door in the kitchen area. “You’re already ahead of the game.”
We enter the back area, and the smell of hops overpowers me here. I wrinkle my nose, but Stella doesn’t appear bothered by the scents.
“It reminds me of something,” she murmurs as I eye her speculatively.
“The smell of beer brings back a lot of memories for a lot of people,” Todd says. “Some good, some not-so-good.” He stops next to a massive silver vat, and I look around in confusion.
“Is this a brewery or a bar?”
