FOOLCiRCLE

So the American Homebrewing Association (AHA) held another rally at Iron Hill in Wilmington, and it was another blast.

So, I was looking for another partner in crime for the AHA event at Iron Hill in Wilmington on Friday 08.08.08. The trick is, you either had to be an AHA member or join that day before entry. The discounted entry price was $33, not too cheap, but for what you get in return not too bad. Basically you get to go to local events like this, a magazine subscription for a year, and up to 20% discount at local beer places through the AHA pub discount program, plus other random beer shwag - it’s actually pretty rad, I’ve been a member for I think 7 or 8 years. Anyway, I talked Robert into it, and helped buy him beer all night to compensate for him having to pay to get in and not me.

It was pretty cool again. Stewart’s and Ric and Eric were there, Dogfish Head and Sam and some of his brewers were there, Twin Lakes and Sam, Matt, and Jack were there, and of course Iron Hill and Mark, Brian, and Justin plus many others were all threre. I was a little surprised to not see Fordham at the event, but didn’t feel like we were missing anything, sorry Walter. Anyway, everyone was very talkative and social which made it much more fun. We got to try an early release of Stewart’s ‘08 Barleywine, DFH’s Red & White and Midas Touch, Twin Lakes Route 52 Pilsner, and Iron Hill’s Heywood and Oak Aged Old Tom Old Ale. Pretty cool. After the event we hung for a while drinking Iron Hill’s West Coast Golden Ale - yummy!

Here’s what the AHA posted up before hand (abbreviated): “Dear Homebrewers and Beer Enthusiasts, The American Homebrewers Association (AHA) wants you to join us for a fantastic fun-filled event with prizes and an opportunity to meet and mingle with other beer enthusiasts at Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant- with guests Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Stewart’s Brewing Co. and Twin Lakes Brewing Co. Friday August 8, 2008. Bring a friend to the event. The cost is $33 for new and renewing members. Entrance is free for current AHA members. Entrance to the event includes these opportunities: • $33 One-Year Membership to the AHA (reg. $38). • All beer proceeds will be donated to homebrew clubs in the area. • Bocce Ball Tournament.  • Special Release on tap. With your AHA Membership you also receive a Zymurgy magazine every other month, discounts at pubs across the U.S. and much much more!”

Just returned from this years Belgium Comes to Cooperstown (BCTC) beer fest at Brewery Ommegang, August 1 & 2, 2008, and once again it was awesome!

This year the fest even had a theme/nickname, The Big LeBREWski - crazy. Anyway, last year Robert and I went up and volunteered at this even and had a really great time. So this year we wanted to volunteer again. After several unforeseen turn of events we almost didn’t get to go, we didn’t even get an affirmative answer about volunteering until only four days before the event. But, we got in and had a blast, and I guess that’s really what matters. Sorry folks, no new pictures really this year, I forgot to take pictures worse than last year. There are only about five pictures and they are all of Robert and I drinking.

So Friday morning we packed up and made a few short stops and were on the road by 8AM. No real major delays and no real time restraints on the way up since our first (and only) volunteering shift wasn’t until 4PM on Saturday. We were hoping to be able to camp in the same area as last year, but instead we camped a little bit further away. In the long run this worked out just as well with us actually camping between Empire Brewing and a campsite full of local (PA) beer writers. Friday’s pace was way lazy because we didn’t have anything we had to do. We ate some lunch, we walked around, we drank some beer, we played cornhole, we walked around, we drank some beer, we played cornhole, we ate some dinner, we walked around, we drank some beer - - are you feeling the pace of the day yet? Good times to say the least. At 10:30ish they had planned on showing The Big Lebowski on a giant blow-up 60ish foot screen outside. It was ridiculous how big this thing was. So we brought up some lawn chairs, a box of Cheez-Its and a 2007 Three Philosophers to enjoy the movie. Now, I’ve seen the movie a few times before and have always thought it to be OK, but this was just freakin’ hilarious to watch the movie in this manner. After the movie we wound up doing the same: eatin’, walkin’, drinkin’ and wound back at out tent for the night.

Saturday morning came early being awoken to the sound of some idiots setting up three tents practically on top of ours at 5AM. If I would have had any energy at that point I would have strangled them, instead I was half passed-out and basically just drifted in and out listening to them talk loudly. Then around 6AM the rain started. Now, no one likes rain when they camp, it just changes things, but I am also not afraid of the rain, but I’ll tell you what - rain never sounds louder than when you are in a tent, for real. So it basically rained from 6-9AM, just enough to make everything pretty wet and for us to try and figure out what we would do if it kept raining (being trapped in your tent is also typically very boring). So, Saturday morning and early afternoon saw a lot of the same as Friday: eatin’, walkin’, drunkin’, and cornhole. The cornhole set was a huge hit. This year we set it up closer to our tent versus last year it was closer to the car, so there was a lot more foot traffic and a lot more, “can we get winners?” kind of thing. We actually left the sets set-up during the actual fest so that others could play from 6-8PM while we were stile volunteering if they wanted to, and they did.

Around 2PM we got ready to go in to the beer fest, there were so many good breweries we actually tried to strategically go to the booths we wanted to since we only had two hours and didn’t want to get blitzed before our shift. We got to try a lot of good stuff, I’ll try to remember some of my favorites, but for now just Russian River’s beers are standing out like a sore thumb. When we got on our shift, both Robert and I were suppose to poor for a brewery by the name of Old Burnside Brewing Company. Just about when we started one of the people we know from Stewart’s asked if one of us would pour for them since their volunteers didn’t show up and supposedly there is some law in NY about employees not being able to pour their own beer or something. So Robert stayed there and I poured for Stewart’s which I was actually more comfortable with, I knew the people and I knew their beer so I felt I could chat it up properly. It was actually quite fun pouring beer and feel like I missed out on that aspect a little bit last year. At 6PM we started breaking down the equipment and hauling it up to Stewart’s camp which was ridiculous. They had hooked up with several people and had a freakin’ compound. Several tents and RVs with lights, and disco balls, and a 20 foot projection screen that they were showing The Muppet Show and live Grateful Dead shows on, and had the Axis Munde in place - a 20 foot pole wrapped in lights - you couldn’t miss this place. Anyway, we helped Stewart’s and Stone Brewery breakdown and then the momentum kind of fell short. It was about 7PM and we couldn’t see another volunteer and there wasn’t anyone directing anyone on what to do next. We basically hung under the brewer’s tent for the next hour helping where we could, which wasn’t much.

After our shift, we scooped up our beer vouchers for our case of beer payment, which we couldn’t pick up until the following morning, and headed on back to the tent. Guess what we did? You got it: eatin’, walkin’, and drinkin’. We were just deciding on what to do for dinner, make it or buy it, when we were told that Iron Hill Brewery had cooked up a large amount of BBQ and that anyone in the area was invited. We headed down a little unsure, but sure enough Mark asked us to grab a plate and help ourselves. So a burger, beans, and some ribs later I was feeling much better. After that we hooked up with a few folks who met last year at BCTC and later have talked to on BeerAdvocate, MugHugger and HombreWing and went and bowled with them for a while. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that a local bowling alley had donated pins and balls for lawn bowling to help flush out the Lebowski theme? After bowling I think we headed up to the Stewart’s compound and hung there for a few hours to finish the night.

Sunday morning was not my friend with me waking up not feeling like sunshine and with a long drive home still. After breaking down camp, sort of finding my face, and collecting our beer (Three Philosophers for Robert, Ommegang Abbey for me) we hit the road about 12PM. I was so “exhausted” that I couldn’t keep my eyes open and was half sleeping half not for most of the ride home. We stopped for food at one point and I figured that was going to be the make it or break it moment with the food either helping or hurting me. Fortunately for me I started to feel better, but also still couldn’t keep my eyes open which meant Robert was stuck driving all the way up and back. I felt like an ass, but I would have done the same for him. Plus, with traffic, rain, and accidents out five hour drive home took almost seven, lucky us.

To say that this is my favorite beer fest is an understatement. For the second year in a row I had a really great time and wish I had this kind of opportunity more often. Thanks Brewery Ommegang, and thanks Tara for helping us get in.

So this weekend we went ‘up the mountains’ with some of our friends to their mountain house in Eagles Mere, PA.

The long weekend break at the mountain house was great; nice weather, good company, lots of laughs, long walks - - all that happy mountain stuff. BUT I’m not really about to write about that, I am about to write about a quick stop we made on the way home.

One down side to going up the mountains is that there is no where close by to buy good beer, actually beer at all. There used to be a small shack that sold cases and thirty packs of mass produced BudMillerCoors and of course Yuengling (the best they had). Now there is a time and place for these beers, but when you want something better, well, you want something better. So I started searching the InterWebs for something reasonably close that had decent beer. My options were either 45 minutes further than we were going in Williamsport or 60 minutes before we would reach our destination in Berwick. Since I was really the only one concerned with beer I decided to bring a case up with me of a mixed variety and try to stop by the 60 minute away location since it was sort of on the way home.

The name of the place is One Guy Brewing, and it is just that. It is in a small town called Berwick and Guy Hagner is the owner/operator/brewer. Guy runs the show on his home-made custom two barrel system. Yes, you heard that correctly, two barrels at a time - that’s only four full size kegs! I asked about distribution and he said he only sells out of his place though he has sold a couple kegs for special friends. He is only open two days a week, Saturday and Sunday from like 1-6PM. He says he brews once or twice a week. His prices were fair and the beer was good. He also had enlisted a B.Y.O.F. policy in his tasting room (maybe 25ish seats), that’s Bring Your Own Food - which I wish I would have known about. Karen and I stayed for a couple beers and chatted Guy up since we were the only two in there until the end. We tried the Pilsner, Hefeweizen, and Stout. The Pils was good, clean, and crisp. The Hefe was good, real mild on the clove and banana thing which is the way I like it. And the Stout was OK, a little bit  of light carbonation and body, it could have really been helped out by a nitro pour in my opinion. Anyway, we left with two growlers, one of the Pils and one of the Hefe. He also had a Lager and a “Christmas in July” kind of Wheat Beer thing that I never asked to try, should have.

It was a pretty easy detour that ran parallel to the highway that would probably add 15 minutes plus however long you stay at One Guy’s. Next time we go up I’d consider stopping again and I suggest that other do too. One Guy Brewing, 328 W. Front St, Berwick, PA 18603, (570) 709-1056.

I received th following email from the Brewer’s Association today and thought I’d pass it on to all my Delaware homies.

Dear Delaware Beer Activists and Homebrewers,

Delaware small brewers need your help! Please read the following information provided by the small, independent breweries of Delaware:

A proposal currently moving in the legislature would raise the state tax on beer almost 50%. The small brewers of Delaware are asking you TO CALL YOUR STATE SENATOR TODAY to ask him/her to oppose this unprecedented increase as an extremely harmful measure to the state’s small craft breweries.

At this point, this proposal has not been formally drafted as legislation, but will be amended into an existing bill and voted on Monday, June 30.

NOW IS THE TIME TO CALL YOUR SENATOR - CALLING IS THE QUICKEST, MOST EFFECTIVE METHOD AS TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!

For contact information for your Senator, click here.
You will find links to the Senate roster of members. Simply find your Senator and click on their link for contact information.

Following are several suggested points to make to your elected representatives:

* Delaware has one of the most vibrant and varied craft brewing communities on the east coast.
* Delaware’s small breweries are good for the economy and very good for tourism. Thousands of visitors journey to the state every year to visit these breweries and experience their unique products where they are made.
* Small brewers are facing astronomical costs increases across the board - from malt and hops to energy and packaging materials - nearly 40% over last year. If a further tax burden is placed upon Delaware’s small breweries in this challenging economy it will surely put many of those small businesses at risk.
* A tax increase of this magnitude will deter start-up breweries from considering locating in Delaware, as it will affect existing breweries’ ability to expand, stalling job growth and possibly forcing Delaware breweries to relocate to states that have more competitive tax structures.
* The small, independent breweries of this state need their legislator’s support now more than ever.

Thanks for supporting Delaware’s small breweries!

Sincerely,
Charlie Papazian
President Brewers Association
charlie@brewersassociation.org

Gary Glass
Director
American Homebrewers Association
gary@brewersassociation.org
www.beertown.org

So I went online and looked up the local Senator. Of course I was a little bit stupid and tried to call Joe Biden the federal senator first, but eventually I found my man. He wasn’t there when I called, so I wrote the following email

To: ‘Harris.McDowell@state.de.us’
Subject: Delaware small brewers need your help!

Senator McDowell - I am a member of your district, so I thought I would bring this to your attention. I was just informed by the Brewer’s Association that there is a proposed tax increase of 50% on beer for the state of Delaware. Supposedly at this point this proposal has not been formally drafted as legislation, but will be amended into an existing bill and voted on Monday, June 30. That is this Monday. I tried to call you momentarily ago to make sure you were aware of this increase but was not able to reach you, so I am writing this email instead. Please do not vote to pass this tax increase. The local beer scene really can not afford to be hit with a huge tax increase like this. After one of the largest increases in raw materials , packaging material , and energy costs with an overall 40% increase to make the same product as a year ago, the last thing the local brewers need is to receive a huge 50% tax increase. Do you remember before we had local beer, before Dogfish Head started in 1995? I do, and look how much things have changed now! We have Dogfish Head, Stewart’s, two Iron Hill locations, Fordham and Twin Lakes. The local beer scene is only getting bigger and better, to the point of people choosing their vacation destinations based off our beer scene and others being presented the opportunity of starting new and growing beer businesses in our local community.

The small, independent breweries of this state need their legislator’s support now more than ever. Please do NOT vote for the 50% tax increase on beer. I thank you for your time.

Brian Moore

I suggest that anyone that reads this before Monday June 30th who is a Delaware resident do something similar. For all I care you can just cut and paste sections of this entry. This tax would be outrageous and ridiculous. Thanks for listening.

I got to try a new beer AND a new beer-style for me tonight, awesome!

This is the Ring of Fire Porter from Iron Hill Brewery. I bought three bottles yesterday, one for myself soon, one for myself later, and one for a trade. I also happened to be at Iron Hill again today and bought another bottle to split with the people I was with, Todd, Carrie, and Karen. The bottle is 13oz and 9 dollars, so to split between four you don’t get much to sample but at a good price.

This is what the bottle has to say: Ring of Fire Porter  - Aged and Finished in a Tabasco Pepper Mash Oak Barrel - Ring of Fire Porter: Brewed naturally with the finest malted barley, hops, and yeast. Our house porter, aged and finished in a Tabasco pepper mash oak barrel, imparting a hot pepper character which marries with the roasty and subtle chocolate notes of the porter. - OG: 1.057, Color: 23L, IBU: 37, ALC: 5.4%.

Rumor has it that this was originally a lighter beer, Iron Hill’s Light Lager perhaps, aged in the Tabasco barrel. Problem was there wasn’t enough to the Light Lager and basically they made a Tabasco beer, for real. Again I believe this to be the West Chester location, supposedly Chris figured that they needed a bigger beer with more body and flavor to help cut and carry the Tabasco. They chose their house porter, the Pig Iron Porter, which was a great choice. They really built a great “hot chocolate” one off.

I thought the beer had a great Tabasco burn characteristic commingled with the roast and chocolate of the porter, but with neither being overbearing. Both the Tabasco-type heat/flavor and the porter-like body/chocolateliness built a strong beer. The heat of the Tabasco did build a little in the back of the throat and made sure its presence was known, but I never felt like i needed to cool it down or rinse it out. Very excellent attempt at an ambitious idea. If it wasn’t so expensive, I would love to marinate some London Broil in this to make an excellent BBQ/grilling addition.

So on Tuesday I received a package in the mail from a blind trade, shweet!

The original trade was suppose to be for an EMPTY DFH 90 Minute IPA Special Edition bottle that Robert and I scored at the DFH Bocce Tournament. We drank the beer, but the bottle was cool enough to keep, but I don’t really collect that many bottles. I posted it on BeerAdvocate kind of as a ‘one-man’s-trash’ kind of trade. About a month later someone asked me about it. Initially it was suppose to be the empty bottle for an AleSmith Old NumbSkull. Then we decided to bump it to a blind three for three trade on top. He sent me The AleSmith Old NumbSkull, a Firestone IPA, a Russian River Supplication, and a Drake’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine. I was stoked. I am actually enjoying the Fire Stone IPA right now, and I am very excited about all of the other three. I sent him the empty DFH 90 Minute Special Edition, Legacy Hoptimus Prime, DFH Santo Palo Marano, DFH ApriHop, Stoudt’s Pale Ale, and Dock Street Illuminator (all from his wants list). Good times.

So I pulled out the beers I’ve put together for the Hip Hop BIF, and there will be a nice outgoing package.

I’m a little hesitant about posting this just in case someone reads my sight and it “ruins” their surprise, but I guess if I don’t say where it is going it should really only raise the anticipation level. Actually, no one reads this thing anyway, so what the hell. These are the beers I’m sending out, I’ll list them below:

Legacy - Hoptimus Prime - 22oz
Sly Fox - Odyssey (2006) - 22oz
Victory - HopDevil - 12oz
Victory - Hop Wallop - 12oz
Dogfish Head (DFH) - 90 Minute IPA - 12oz
DFH - Burton Baton - 12oz
DFH - Old School Barleywine - 12oz
Weyerbacher - Hops Infusion - 12oz
Weyerbacher - Double Simcoe IPA - 12oz
Weyerbacher - Eleven (2006) - 12oz
Clipper City - Heavy Seas, Loose Cannon, Hop3 Ale - 12oz
Southampton - IPA - 12oz
Troegs - Nugget Nectar - 12oz
Sierra Nevada - Big Foot Barleywine (2008) - 12oz
Sierra Nevada - Big Foot Barleywine (2006) - 12oz
Stoudt’s - Double IPA - 12oz
Lancaster Brewing Company - Hop Hog - 12oz
Harpoon - 100 Barrel Series Encore Barleywine 2006) - 12oz

That’s 18 yummy beers, not all of them difficult to get, but maybe not common for everyone. Basically I have two choices left to ship to but I still won’t say which, California or Michigan. Also, I of course included some hip-hop tunes. I actually sent 8 CDs, I sent both Pain Relievaz discs burnt onto one CD and I also sent the infamous 7 volume set of Puma Sweats. Puma Sweats is one of the greatest rap mixed CDs of all times spun by my buddy Erik. Hopefully whoever receives it likes old school. Click here for a track listing for Puma Sweats.

I received the incoming leg of a new BIF I am in yesterday, the Hip-Hop BIF.

This BIFs theme, for lack of a better term, was hoppy beers and hip-hop music. Each person was to ship at least 144oz of hoppy beer and a hip-hop mix CD. I’m all about hoppy beers and I like some hip-hop (1990 and earlier preferred), so I decided to take a gamble on the music in order to get some hoppy love, and it was totally worth it. This is the 214oz of hoppy goodness wrapped up in 13 beers I received:

Boulevard - Double-Wide IPA - 750ml
Southern Tier - Back Burner Barleywine - 22oz
Bear Republic - Hop Rod Rye - 22oz
Sierra Nevada - Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale - 24oz
Terrapin - Big Hoppy Monster 2007 - 12oz
Bell’s - HopSlam - 12oz
Samuel Adams - Hallertau Imperial Pilsner - 12oz
Troegs - Nugget Nectar - 12oz
Tyranena - Hop Whore IIPA - 12oz
Surly - Furious - 16oz
Surly - Cynicale - 16oz
Surly - Surly Fest - 16oz
Surly - Bitter Brewer - 16oz

And this is what was on the CD, named (by him) “Hip Hop BIF - PitMonkey’s Pretty Lame Hip Hop CD”:

The Gourds - Gin and Juice
The Go! Team - Grip Like a Vice
50 Cent feat Snoop Dogg, Don Magic Juan - P.I.M.P (RMX)
Sultana Erkez - Big City
Busta Rhymes - Turn It Up
Everlast - Get Down
The Go! Team and Chuck D - Flashlight Fight
Wookiefoot - Nothing
Kid Rock - Roving Ganster (rollin)
Beastie Boys - High Plains Drifter
RATM and Cypress Hill - How I Could Just Kill a Man (live)
Wookiefoot - John Henry
Big Tymers - Oh yeah
Sultana erkez - Pek Yaman
Beck - Hotwax
Wookiefoot - Can’t Get a Job

Really, for me, this isn’t all that bad of a hip-hop CD. Sure, I don’t know half the songs, but I do know half the artists and none of them really fall into the hip-hop style I don’t like. So it looks like I have some new music to listen to. I should be sending out my leg Monday or Tuesday and I’ll put up another post of what goes out.

(savor) an american craft beer & food experience, may 16-17, 2008, andrew w. mellon auditorium, washington d.c.

So this past weekend (May 16 & 17, 2008) was the first ever Savor beer and food event presented by the Brewers Association. Robert and I attended the Saturday evening event (6:30-10:00PM) held at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington D.C. To say this event was unique is not enough. To say this event was unlike anything I have ever attended is at least the truth. To say that this event was a great time, well, that’s what I’m going to say.

I had heard about this event like six months ago or so and really started to try and find a partner in crime about two months ago. It took until about two weeks before the event for me to convince someone to go, and I bet Robert doesn’t regret it one bit. This event was to my knowledge the largest craft beer and food pairing event of its kind. They paired approximately 48 different foods with 96 different beers. The idea was to show that not only is beer as good as wine for food pairings, but it may be actually better with all of the diversity that has arisen in the past 20 years or so in the craft beer movement. Actually, it was more than that, there was more of a ’shock and awe’ factor involved: dress was business casual, the location was an old auditorium with many steps and columns, much like the Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy album, the decor was dazzling, the representatives were top-notch, owners, head-brewers, Brewer Association top members, the food was way more gourmet than pretzels and waffles, and the beers were only the best in all of America. It was one of those ‘Wow’ moments when you first walked in and it never really got dull.

Throughout the weekend during the event the Brewers Association put together small (100 people) demonstrations and seminars on the different attributes that the craft beer community is making. We were able to attend the He Said Beer, She Said Wine: A Debate on Food Pairings with Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head and Marnie Olds a well established sommelier. It was actually a very fun and well thought out discussion, they offered us three small food selections each paired with a beer and a wine. First was chips and spicy salsa which was paired with Stone Smoked Porter and Riesling Loosen “Dr. L”, the beer won this round by crowd vote. Second was aged farmhouse cheddar cheese which was paired with Rogue Morimoto Soba Ale and Cabernet Sauvignon Concha Y Toro “Marques de Casa Concha”, the wine won this round. And third and finally was Askinosie dark chocolate which was paired with Dogfish Head World Wide Stout and Banfi “Rosa Regale” Brachetto d’Acqui, the beer won this round giving the night to beer. Sam and Marnie have done similar beer and wine pairing/competitions 22 times, and now beer has won 11 and wine 11, interesting. They both really had a lot to say on the subject, and have a great book available too.

Some of my favorite beers, and/or foods from the night that I can remember were: New Holland Brewing Company’s Dragon Milk Oak Aged Ale paired with Maytag Blue Cheese, New Albanian Brewing Company’s Thunderfoot Oak Aged Cherry Imperial Stout, Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey’s Judgment Day Abbey Ale and Veritas 003, Avery Brewing Company’s Fifteen (a farmhouse ale brewed with Brett) paired with Christopher Elbow Venezuelan Spiced Artisan Chocolates, Deschutes Brewer’s Obsidian Stout paired with Blue Cheese and Walnut Shortbread Rounds, Foothills Brewing’s Hoppyum IPA and Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout paired with Crostini of Figs and Prosciutto, Russian River Brewing Company’s Pliny the Elder and Supplication, Stone Brewing Co.’s Ruination IPA paired with Peking Duck Purses, and of course Dogfish Head Craft Brewery’s Palo Santo Marron and two versions of World Wide Stout (’06 &’07). The biggest disappointment was 21st Amendment’s Watermelon Wheat paired with Strawberry Chicken Salad, the beer was underwhelming and the salad almost made me sick, but really the only disappointment I can remember. To say that it was generally overwhelming in the best way possible isn’t saying enough.

My brother Dave also helped me start a really useful Google Map which helped me pin-point all of the local beer spots we may want to check out while we were in the area and their relationship from our hotel and the event. In addition to Savor we also stopped at RFD (a beer bar) and Capitol City Brewing Company (a brewpub), both were pretty cool and very close to the hotel.

Is Prohibition still alive and well? What’s going on here!?

Well, there is definitely a movement with some to bring back Prohibition, but that’s not what I’m going to be talking about here. What I’d like to talk about is the unofficial 75th Anniversary of the end of Prohibition! That’s right, back on April 7, 1933 there was a change in the Volstead Act which changed the legal intoxicating amount of alcohol in beer from 0.5% to 3.2% alcohol. After the country had been dry for 13 years, this was some MAJOR news. The Eighteenth Amendment was completely repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment on December 5, 1933. So happy 75 years of brewing to our current brewing community!

So, what’s going on in the picture? Well, that is me at my wits-end I suppose. I dumped a case of homebrew. Only the third time in over 100 batches that I’ve ever done something like this, and the most I’ve ever dumped. This time I dumped about 20 bottles of Saturday IPA. Garrett and I had brewed a 20 gallon batch of this back in July. This was an awesome monster of a beer. My bottled beer took a very long time to carbonate. We used two different yeast, with one yeast the bottles did eventually carbonate, with the other they never did. So, I have been slowly opening beers from this batch since July to see how they have developed. It never developed. It was flat and the flavors became both overly sweet and slightly sour. I decided I couldn’t take it anymore, and … drain pour. It hurt, but I new it was the right thing to do, it was better for the beer. (Sorry Garrett)