TEMPLE, TX — Massive fermentation tanks that are usually filled with craft beer were filled with something a bit less alcoholic this weekend.
“Most people can boil one to two gallons of water at a time and we can boil 170,” said JD McBride, the principal owner and head brewer at Fire Base Brewing Company. “If you have the ability to do something, why not do it?”
McBride and others at the Fire Base Brewing Company in Temple stepped up when the arctic blast came through Central Texas, boiling water for those who needed it in the community.
"That's been the hardest part, you know, finding containers to be able to transport the water,” McBride explained. “So we set aside that boiled kettle of water, and made sure it was ready for today, as soon as we can get it out.”
The brewery teamed up with local organizations, like Wake Up Temple, to help hand out the water. Terris Goodwin, founder of Wake Up Temple, leading the movement, stopped by the brewery to pick up the gallons of water, then was off to work, dropping it off to communities still without water.
“The look on their faces is just priceless,” Goodwin said, thinking about her drop-offs. “But it's just unfortunate that they’re in this situation.”
While Temple isn’t under a water boil notice anymore, city officials told 25 News it has plenty of water. However, the same can’t be said for surrounding areas, like Belton.
“Coming out of that storm we began to experience, like many other communities, really high volumes of water being used,” said Paul Romer, the public information officer for the city. “So that was particularly a challenge in our community.”
Even though McBride has power and water at the brewery, he’s served in the United States Army, which taught him to value a clean gallon of water.
“Being in the military, I've been to the point where a gallon of water was my entire water that I had for a day whether that was hygiene, whether that was hydration,” he explained. “And knowing that families are without it, we're just happy we can do what we can to help.”
