Hello, kind customer. The long-anticipated website has finally arrived and we are releasing it today Sept. 28th on the day we celebrate of our 14th Anniversary. If for some reason you are reading this early on the 28th, this is your warning not to be late for our Annual State of the Beer Union Address as it begins promptly at 2 pm and it’s going to be one for the books.

For years we had an ill-advised group of drunk snails working a new website. The project was delayed further when late late one night in 2023, a someone named Timmy the keyboard warrior, complained with a very hateful and disturbing email to the ole Captain of the Civil Life (me) about how pathetic it was that he couldn’t access all the information right when he wanted it. Which was about 2:30 am on an early Monday morning. I personally, agreed that I certainly should have a functional website but I then worried that if late night keyboard warriors with undetermined amounts of unchecked hatred started coming into the pub, we could fundamentally change what is a welcoming and wonderful place full of regulars and kind newcomers. If Timmy himself came to the pub, it wouldn’t be good for me, or for you or even likely for Timmy. So, I figured it was best to put the website off for another 2 years in the hopes that Timmy never stumbled upon the new website with all the information he needed to give us a chance. That time passed and this past summer, one of our great regulars and friend to mankind Justin remarked that he could help me get the website up. Luckily the self-imposed expiration of what I like to call the Timmy period, Justin embarked on a very difficult task of putting what is the Civil Life into a world wide web format that would convey to our current and new potential customers the information they desire. Current beers, Menus, Events and some history of the ole Civil Life. It’s all here now and we will be adding to it over the coming months and years.

There’s a lot that can’t be captured about the Civil Life in any digital format. We’ve always and will always be a place where eye contact, handshakes and conversations are best when they happen in person. Care has been taken in every aspect of our brewery from the arts and craft style woodwork to the layout of the pub that created many ways to enjoy our pub to the 250-seat outdoor beer garden surrounded by some of the finest and cared for flowers you will find anywhere. There are many people that make the Civil Life what it has become. Our talented employees, our long-time regulars and regulars who have gone out of their way to keep us on their going out list and of course, the always important new customers that are seeing the place we have built together for the first time. I believe strongly in the role public places play in the fabric of our society and how important it is to have a place where you can come in good times and bad and that hopefully when you are here, you’ll connect with us or perhaps someone you didn’t know…civilly of course. It seems we are increasingly living in a more and more disconnected and divided World. Pubs and restaurants like the Civil Life stand in contention against these fissures in society. Come on down with your friends and break some bread, eat some of our incredibly tasty pub food and clink a beer glass with your friends. My hard and fast rule has always been that you can only become true friends once you have bought your pal a beer and shared a meal with them. And that sharing was the passport to a deeper friendship. Our beautiful space, our wonderful staff and our talented kitchen provide the backdrop for this to be a place to make that happen. Not into beer, don’t worry we have something for you too. We have a beautiful wine list and NA drinks as well! A brighter future is a more civil future. Of course, civility paired with kindness and equity.

I am so thankful for your support of this small business. We can’t do this without you, no truer thing has ever been said. Please come along for the ride, jump on the train or just stop by to see what we are all about. We have a long road ahead of us as a small business, but I hope you’ll share what I truly feel, that saving and helping the Civil Life prosper again is a fight that is worth it.

I’ll see you around the pub, or maybe even buying Civil Life at any of our city’s best retailers, restaurants and pubs.

Cheers,
Jake Hafner

Civil Life Brewing Company

Publican

9/28/2025