How you know you married the right girl

My patient and ever-loving wife headed out to Michigan this weekend to help out a friend in need and returned with a mixed six-pack:

• Bell's Porter
• Bell's Lager of The Lakes (Pilsner)
• Bell's Batch 8,000 (Belgian Strong Ale)
• Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter
• Great Lakes Elliot Ness Amber Lager
• Great Lakes Commodore Perry IPA

She done good! Not bad for someone who doesn't even like beer---show's she's been paying attention! Think I'll split the bottle of Batch 8,000 with her, some homebrewers I've talked to that have non-beer-drinking wives say they've had success with Belgian beers.

Cheers!

DIY taphandles

You don't have to go out and plunk down $40 on a new tap handle. You don't even have to spend $10-15 on eBay. You can make 'em yourself. Granted, some may require some tools most don't have in their workbench (myself included), but if you have access to 'em or know someone that does, a little homebrew barter can go a long way.

I grabbed an old aluminum spanner wrench that was dumpster-bound and decided to give it a second life, delivering hoppy and malty goodness. First it needed a little cleanup, so 5 minutes in the sandblasting cabinet made it look brand-new. Aluminum's a soft metal, of course, so drilling it and tapping it was a piece of cake. Add a light spray of acrylic to protect and voila! Ready for the faucet.

Short of that route, there's always the Tap Handle Insert, but it's probably best used for wooden or plastic items. It requires you drill a 1/2" hole, and in my case that was way too big. Still, it's a good low-tech option at $1.70.

Weight is a concern, so bear that in mind while you perform your search. I'm not sure exactly how much a given faucet can handle, but in reality the faucets aren't mounted 100% vertically and a little unsupervised movement in the wrong direction could mean an empty CO2 tank, an empty keg, and a large mess of beer on your floor---not to mention the loss of the beer! In my situation, my bar is being constructed in a fire department theme (go figure) so axe and sledgehammer heads aren't exactly practical. But aluminum is nice and lightweight so it fit perfectly.

Good hunting!

Sam Adams: Beer Lover's Choice

In 2005, it was the Brown Ale. In 2006, it was the Honey Porter (delicious, by the way). And once again, the Boston Beer Company is looking for votes for their next production brew. In one corner is an Irish Red, and in the other is a Dunkelweizen.

So check out the video and go to their promotions page to find a date and location where you can put your $0.02 in and drink good beer!

Cheers!

Alabama town considers going DRY

Link to Yahoo News Article

It appears some of the residents of Athens, Alabama retain the conviction that alcohol begets all that is bad. And to spare every reader with a political/religious tirade, I'll just say this: "What happened to Separation of Church and State, Reverend Eddie?!?!"

Ironically, the movement in Athens is encouraging the citizens to pray and fast---and when I think of fasting and alcohol, I think of the first monks that emigrated to Germany and sustained themselves with dopplebock, the ancestor of Paulaner Salvator. The outcome was much more prolific.

Someone needs a history lesson on why Prohibition failed. Perhaps Athens, Alabama can endure another ugly period in time; hopefully, the rest of the Country will never have to and as long as I'm here, I'm going to do my small share to ensure that doesn't happen by brewing beer, drinking beer, and blogging/talking/having a few pints with those that would agree that the world is a better place with beer.

Cheers, beer drinkers!!!

The results are in!

The results of the 2007 Montgomery County Agricultural Fair are in and I did pretty well:

• 2nd place Best-of-Show, Bock (Maibock)
• Honorable Mention, Best-of-Show, Stout
• 2nd place European Amber Lager (Oktoberfest)
• 1st place Dark Lager (Dunkel)
• 1st place Bock (Maibock)
• 1st place Stout

Second year in a row with 2nd Best-of-Show!!! Gonna shoot for the top for next year.