Hey there, It's Brian from Craft Hot Sauce and Craic Sauce here with our first newsletter of 2021. I hope you had a relaxing holiday, but we're turning up the temp with some new hot sauces and updates! From farm, to ferment, to fire in your mouth! Kitchen Garden Farm & Fraktured Sauces harvest peppers and so much more!

A year and a day ago, in last year’s December Craft Hot Sauce newsletter, we reflected on a big decade for the hot sauce industry. A year later, it feels like another decade has already passed! 

While 2020 is a year many would like to leave behind, it's worth looking back and reflecting on it because the craft hot sauce world has grown and changed a ton!

This month I wanted to share a little bit about confidence and even take a crack at explaining where my electric buzz of passion comes from. I thought it was an appropriate time to share, as many of us are searching for inspiration as we come into the winter months.

There’s nothing quite like the vibrant colors of freshly harvested peppers glistening out in the sun. A pepper harvest tradition that started with 150 habanero and ghost peppers in my parent's garden in 2014 has steadily evolved into over 900 pounds of locally harvested organic peppers in 2020. 

Hey there! Pepper harvest season is officially underway. I love seeing the combination of the vibrant colors of peppers and fresh produce that eventually blend together, creating a fresh homemade hot sauce. For many, the idea of creating their own hot sauce is planted in their mind during harvest season.

Hey there! How is it August already? Before you put your grill away for the summer, we curated three summer-themed craft hot sauce boxes for you to explore. (Image) I just heard that if you drink hot tea on a scorching hot day, it actually makes you feel cooler.

What's been your go-to hot sauce recently? It’s the height of summer cooking, so I’ve been using lots of verde and ghost pepper sauces. I put together two collections of my favorite verde and ghost pepper sauces. We share the story of a NFL veteran starting a spicy food line.

Wow, what an emotional last few months. These feelings have been difficult to put into words, but we must embrace our loved ones and speak out against hate. 

Upon reflection, there have been too many times in my life where I have been quiet on the sidelines, disagreeing with actions but not standing up for the victims right then when they needed it most. I promise that the next time I see someone in need, I will stand up for them, and I also urge you to take action towards creating a more inclusive world, free of racism.

After having these recent conversations I came away with a few reflections:

• If you’re thinking about creating or starting something new - just do it and start! The rest of the questions and the path ahead will present themselves as you move.
• You carry a unique collection of experiences, influenced by your family, travel, work, and the people around you. Embrace those experiences and relationships to help find passion in what you do.

Hey there, It’s a stressful and uncertain time, and I hope you’re staying safe. Today we're going to keep it 100% craft hot sauce and share some stories and articles to change the pace 😀 This month I wanted to start off with the datil pepper! Have you heard of it?

What's up, Are you up for a little challenge this month? I’ve been seeing all these chili harvest photos down under and thought it would be cool to see what our Craft Hot Sauce followers come up with. So here’s the challenge! Go out and cook up a new or different batch of hot sauce...

I encountered a tricky little situation during a hot sauce cook one January Sunday morning in our commercial kitchen in Lowell, which gave me some perspective on failure and growth. My co-cook Ben and I were making a 5 gallon batch of 40 Shades of Green Chilli, a sauce I’ve made 20 times before.