Big Brew 2004!!!

Today is National Homebrew Day and happens every 1st Saturday of May as dedicated by Congress. I chose a Sooner State site to link to. However, due to a slight scheduling conflict (final exams) we will celebrate by brewing a batch on the 8th. I am sure Congress will understand and its the spirit of things that matters. Until then Cheers and hug a homebrewer.

Our Tastes-- Dutch Windmill

Been drinking Dutch Windmill beer lately. A Pilsener colored on the dark side of straw, starting with a pure white head that fizzles quickly leaving little to no Belgian lattice. It is relatively easy to drink and has that "European" smell such as that of Grolsch (or any other Dutch beer). But its most redeeming quality is that it comes in one fantastic short-necked green 12oz. bottle perfect for filling with EPA:) Have a few of these and tell the next girl you meet in wooden shoes ik houd van u

Don't Forget the Derby

This Saturday is the Kentucky Derby (which holds a special place in my heart for many reasons). So if you are in the mood for a great Derby drink head over to www.makersmark.com and download the Mint Julep, it is absolutely wonderful even if your horse doesn't place. My pick-- Rock Hard Ten if he's allowed in, if not I'll go with Action Hard This Day or even Imperialism but probably The Cliff's Edge

TnDC Deepsea Fishing Trip 2004!!

In the hopes of snagging a fat Ling TnDC will be holding its 2nd annual deepsea fishing event off of Dauphin Island again with Charlie Beach and Sneaky Pete on May 24th. Charlie said the Kings and Amberjacks should also be there and the Red Snapper plentiful!! T-shirts are in the works and as soon as the final design is done I will try to post them. We will miss Jello this year but have talked about making another run towards the end of the summer. Baby Jeli is keeping him sleep deprived;)

Montgomery Biscuits AA ball

Was able to attend the home opener of the Montgomery Biscuits this weekend as well as the 2nd game. Some highlights included the landing of a BlackHawk in the middle of centerfield and a couple of F-16s ripping away at the sky for the lines waiting to get in. The biscuits are the 2nd minor league team in line behind the Durham Bulls (AAA) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Wasn't able to get a ball cap either night but the beers were priced rather well. Enjoyed a burger and a pitcher before the game with John McJohnson-- Old Creek chapter and a pitcher after the game at the Montgomery Brewing Co. with him and some strange girl I met (and I do mean strange;). I'll have to admit the Old Montgomery Blonde was better than I remembered. Blanked the Stars 8-0, then lost to'em 3-2 in 11.

Product testing cont'd

We tried the Guardian Angel strips out last night they work fairly well. These strips were "donated" and seem to be a little old so the results I think were a bit slow, BUT accurate. Wayne managed to slip his way up to a BAC of about 0.4 and Steph was well within the normal range (must be b/c she got here about midnight). The results were easily confirmed by the color chart.

Brew Batch #1

This one has been the best batch I have ever brewed and/or bottled. It racked off wonderfully and almost every bottle was clear by the end of the night. I miss counted the number of bottles initially and was scrambling for some "short-fatties" and the usual long necks, so I am going to have to go back and drink some more Old Dutch Windmill (yea). Wayne & Caleb-- from the Valley chapter, showed up and helped with a massive bottling operation that yielded 54 full bottles!! Enjoyed a couple of stoagies and listened to the Donald say, "You're hired" to Bill. See people that smoke cigars do go far in life;) E-train and Steph eventually showed up but I am still contemplating whether or not this newbie and seasoned vet should get a nostalgia bottle. (probably so) Played some hellacious darts where the 12 did us in every time. All in all this may the be the best one yet. Used the colored crowns from www.baderbrewing.com So the EPA batches to follow will be green-on-green using the short-necked 12oz.
FG 1.006+0.001@68.6F bringing the percentage to 6.86% which is right in line with Chris and our new buddy at 205-657-5029 knows The Marines and 5-0 are coming for ray ray and eddie g. Hope that deal with Gustavo went well.