Strike Out ALS at Deep Ellum Brewing Company - September 17

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but I find the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) juvenile, and I refuse to participate. But if I were in Dallas on September 17, I think I know of a perfect way to give money to find a cure.

Deep Ellum Brewing Company will host "Strike Out ALS" party on September 17 from 6-8pm. All the proceeds will go to the the Texas Chapter of ALSA, the ALS research organization. Stay dry and warm. Drink beer.

Deep Ellum Brewing to Host Fundraiser for Quokerwodger John Carona's Opponent

It's that time of year, craft beer lovers of Texas. It's time to decide which lobbyist's employee you want to vote for.

In the last legislative session, Quokerwodger John Carona introduced a draconian beer distribution bill that was opposed by everyone but the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas at the eleventh hour, screwing up two years of work on beer legislation. Turns out, one of Quokerwodger Carona's biggest contributors was Barry G. Andrews of Andrews Distributing in Dallas.

(A Quokerwodger is a wooden toy that moves when a string is pulled. It has come to mean a politician who is controlled by someone else.)

Politics create grudges, as I am sure you are aware. That's why John Reardon of Deep Ellum Brewing Co. is hosting a fundraiser for Quokerwodger Carona's primary opponent Don Huffines on February 19. "I'm choosing Don for the simple fact that it's time for a change. Twenty-three years is too long for any politician to be in office," he said in this story. He also pointed out that brew pubs, wineries and distilleries can sell their products at the end of a tour for off-site consumption. Only breweries are not allowed to do that.

So if your a craft beer lover in Dallas, go raise money for Don Huffines next Wednesday.

If you're not in Dallas, join Open the Taps, the grassroots consumer group that represents our interests in Austin. They will have the information you need to choose your candidate.

Deep Ellum Brewing Encourages "Rape Culture"

Deep Ellum Brewing Company bought a delivery van. The painted it with the image of their Dallas Blonde Ale, and their slogan "Goes Down Easy." They posted the picture on their Facebook page.

Someone got offended.

So of course, the offended person privately contacted the brewer, expressed their opinion calmly and quietly.

Nah! Just fucking with you. Genevieve Cato went full on ballistic on the blog Burnt Orange Report, "... shouldn't we expect more of our local Texas breweries than to rely on rape culture to sell their beer?"

If all double entendres are perpetuating the rape culture, shouldn't "Three's Company" have been banned by now?

There is a school of promotional thought that even bad news is good PR, and instead of calling the brewery and chatting with the owner, she put them on the National Stage, drawing more attention to something she found offensive.

John Reardon, owner of Deep Ellum Brewing, said in his blog post that he thought the little joke about oral sex was funny, and added that if you interpret it as Rape Culture that's your fault. "...if you somehow link all oral sex to violence against women, the problem might lay with you," he added.

Reardon will be removing the slogan from the van, but leaving it on the cans.

I'm glad I have a small audience. Imagine if Genevieve had run across the blog post about my last batch of Old MILFwaukee...

Deep Ellum Job Titles

I ran across an article about Deep Ellum Brewing Company and their fun job titles:

• Jeremy Hunt – Yeast Whisperer
• David Hauptman – Hop Czar
• John Wiewel – Sales Samurai
• Terry Leonard – Van Diesel
• Christian Rasmussen – Thorgrimsen Keg Viking
• Josh Mowell – Numbers Guy
• Chris Eiland – The Vansporter

Deep Ellum IPA - Reviewed

At the Big Texas Beer Fest last weekend, one of the longest lines was a the Deep Ellum booth, and I can see why: great beers and great variety. Before we hit the festival, we stopped at the Spec's up the street from the hotel. I didn't have enough money to buy everything brewed in Dallas, so I picked up some Karbach, Firewheel, and Deep Ellum beers. (And yes, I did pick up some Firestone Walker.) More reviews to come.

Deep Ellum IPA

Appearance (0-3): Pours up a slightly hazy orange with along lasting white head. 2 points

Aroma/Bouquet (0-4): Nice citrus aroma, some malt sweetness. I put some behind each ear, it smells so good. 4 points

Taste (0-10):  Good medium body mouthfeel, with good carbonation. The hops tend to dominate, but the malt  is right there to support it. The citrus is there in the taste, but subdued. Finishes with a bitterness at the back of my tongue, but not too bad. In fact, it tastes an awful lot like I should have bought a case of this stuff! 9 points

Overal Impression (0-3): O! M! G! A nice West Coast-style IPA brewed here in Texas! This is one of my favorite beers. I would bathe in this stuff! There aren't enough exclamation points on the Internet! But, according to my rule, it is not distributed in Paradise. If it were I would give it three points. 0 points

Total: 15 points

Deep Ellum Brewing Company Bottles Now on Sale

On Friday, September 21, Deep Ellum Brewing Company bottles went on sale for the first time. At 5 p.m. four Sigel's locations and Spirits Liquor Company started selling the first 185 cases.

I know where I'm going next time in Dallas!