AHS Bellgian Wit

I finally got around to kegging the Belgian Wit today. My final gravity was 1.013, which gives me a final ABV of 3.18, and 4.05% alcohol. Now for two weeks in the keg. . .

Miller to Use Cool Can Technology

A few days ago I posted about Cool Can technology. I just ran across an article on New Tech Spy reporting that Miller will be the first beer to use the new can. This will give Miller a short term boost in sales, I'm sure. At least until everyone else jumps on the band wagon.

The Ultimate Revenge

Have you ever had a local watering hole that you liked? It was comfortable, and homey. Then it sold. And the new owners decided they needed a new clientel?

Tim Platt of Hampton-in-Arden, England, has. The local pub that he had patronized for three decades recently changed hands and was being redecorated. He complained to some friends in the pub one night, and was overheard. He received a postcard in the mail telling him he could take his business elsewhere.

When the old landlord put the building up for sale, Platt bought it, and is returning the town's local back to its original condition.

There's a Klingon saying, "Revenge is a dish best served cold." And so is beer.

A Spring Beer Festival

For 12 days every spring since 1755, the inhabitants of Erlangen, Germany, forget their daily routines and devote themselves to the serious business of drinking beer - and lots of it. The festival, Bergkirchweih, roughly translates as "the dedication of the mountain church," referring to a church on the outskirts of town.

The Berg, as it is commonly called, has been held every year since 1755 and is Germany's second-largest beer. Although the Berg typically attracts more than a million visitors, far fewer foreign tourists come to the Erlangen festival than to the Munich event, which means there is much more here in the way of local ambiance. This year's Berg takes place June 1-12, but when the festival finishes, the beer cellars and rides remain open all summer.

You can make art out of everything

Have you ever tried to be artistic and drink beer? Me either, but these guys created art out of beer cases.

How to spot a bad beer

Buck Sargeant Skip posted a simple beer tasting guide. Most of the flaws in beer are brewing flaws.

My favorite quote: "A subtle urine flavor? That’s probably just urine."

That reminds me of an old Texas beer joke.

Q: What do you get when you take the P out of Pearl?
A: An empty can.

The "Beer Me" Diet

I hadn't realized I was following this diet! If I wasn't, I'd be huge!

Carlton Draught Ad

You're gonna need a high speed connection for this ad. I wish it had sound, though.

The perks of living in the Bible Belt

In late March, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage got the funding to hire 100 more officers. These guys needed something to do, to they were sent out, undercover, to bars in Dallas, and apparently around the state. They would arrest intoxicated persons to prevent them from driving home. They even went into hotel bars, where patrons only have to operate an elevator, and arrested folks.

Naturally, this set off a firestorm of controversy.

This does seem a bit counterintuiative. The TABC licenses bars, and goes to bars to arrest people. Can anyone say "Speed Trap?"

However, let's lay out the law and see where we get. It Texas you are legally intoxicated at .08% blood alcohol level. If I can believe this chart, If I have 3-4 beers in a hour (which is not to difficult to do), my BAL will be at .08%. At this point, I cannot drive. But there is a charge of Public Intoxication, or PI, and it also kicks in at .08%. That means, walking home from the bar with BAL of .08% is a violation of the law. A bar is a public place, right? That's why you can't smoke there. Therefore, have a BAL of .08% in a bar is public intoxication. If a server provides an alcoholic beverage to a person that any reasonable person would beleive is intoxicated, they are committing a crime. A BAL of .08% is the legal cutoff point. Think you're safe at home? Nope. If you are standing in your front yard and a police officer determines you are intoxicated he may arrest you. (In practice, though, you have to be obnoxious to attract a policeman's attention. And he still has the discretion not to arrest you. If you start to fight the nice man with a gun, your butt is going to jail.) The only place you can get your BAL above .08% and not be guilty of PI is inside your home.

So the TABC is working within the law. The problem is, it's scaring the tourists. Convention and Visitors Bureaus around the state are complaining that this will reduce tourism, and rightly so. The owners of Dallas Night Club in Austin have sued the TABC charging them with intent to close them down. Not to mention that practically every blog on the Web has been mention this program.

The wheels of politics may grind slow, but they do grind. The legislature will investigate the stings, and the TABC has suspended the operation. The operation the legislature gave them the money to start. Finally, the legislature seems to realize that they work for the people of the State of Texas, and are not our parents.

Drinking and driving is bad. Drinking and walking home shouldn't be a crime. Drinking more than 4 beers in a bar shouldn't be a crime. Going to a local festival and having a few beers shouldn't be a crime. But we have to realize, we live in one of the notches in the Bible Belt. And the Religious Right are not as quick to "Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged" as Jesus was. They'd rather tuck a Bible under their arm, hop on a soapbox and denounce the actions of others. This isn't the end. It's just a pause.

Beer Festival calendar

I found this post over at TavelPost.com. It is a round-up of beer festivals around the country. From April to July, there's something going on. Pack your bags and see the world!

Instant Cold Beer - "Science plus Beer equals Good!"

It isn't as showy as the MythBusters Method for cooling your beer, but Tempera Technology has figured out how to get a can of beer from room temperature to 30°. When a seal on this can is broken, dessicant pulls the heat from the beverage across a heat sink. Or something like that, anyway.

There is no indication of how long it will be before we see this on store shelves, nor how much it will cost, but it's still cheaper than constantly refilling your fire extinguisher.

The Beer Clip!

If you have a few bucks in your pocket, you should head over to BeerClip.com and pick up a money clip/beer opener. What a great idea!