Category Archives: Beer

Raising The Bar With My Homebrewing

I have just moved my home brewing efforts up a new level. This now allows summer-time brewing as well as creating an opportunity to brew some lagers. Lagers must be lagered…..yes, I know that really doesn’t paint a clear picture. Lagers are typically fermented at temperatures much lower than “room” temperature and then once bottled/kegged lagered for several months, i.e., held at say 35 degrees F. I can’t do that in my dining room!

What, do you ask is needed to up the efforts? I have purchased a small used chest freezer and a Johnson Controls, A 419. digital temperature controller. The current batch of beer I have been brewing was transferred into my 6L mini Tap-a-Draft kegs yesterday. The conditioning phase requires that this Father’s Day Amber Ale condition for 7 days at a strict 68-70 degrees F and then at 55-65 for two weeks. I cannot afford to cool the house to those temperatures, after all this is summer in Houston.

I had been watching the local listings in the “Kingwood Yardsale” website for several weeks. Yesterday I found a working small chest freezer for $ 70.00. The next step is to buy and install a controller that will keep the freezer temperatures in the range I need for my purposes. The Johnston Controls controller has a very wide range that will more than adequately cover my needs.

Stable fermenting temperatures provide the best environment for the yeast to work its magic. The conditioning process is many times aided by a reduced temperature to allow the beer to best express its flavors. In the past I have used a big plastic tub filled with water in the corner of the dining room. My wife is both tolerant and patient with my hobby but I can now give her most of the dining room back…..it is still a bit of a home office for my consulting business.

The Controller set at 68 degrees F

The Controller set at 68 degrees F

The 3 six liter bottles. I added a lot of my glass bottled home brew to create some additional thermal mass to aid in managing temperature swings. I will also use this as my "cellar" after this current batch has conditioned. I added about 60 bottles of beer ....... Seems to be wrking pretty well.

The 3 six liter bottles. I added a lot of my glass bottled home brew to create some additional thermal mass to aid in managing temperature swings. I will also use this as my “cellar” after this current batch has conditioned. I added about 60 bottles of beer ……. Seems to be wrking pretty well.

Two of the 3 six liter bottles sitting in the freezer this AM.

Two of the 3 six liter bottles sitting in the freezer this AM.

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly
Bishop

Beer Trumps All

I spent last week in California, more precisely, Coalinga, Paso Robles, Bakersfield and San Ardo.

In Coalinga we stayed at Harris Ranch Inn. Great beef, great ranch style rooms and good beer to. Tuesday night we shifted locations to Paso Robles, 27 minutes south of San Ardo oilfield. We were in the midst of some of the finest red wine growing and nearly 300 wineries, from little tiny to very, very big! Just a note, we should have had a 27 minute drive but due to cattle guard issues with a local rancher and some drilling activity we had to drive another 8 or 10 minutes north, hook back across the Salinas River and meander through some  lush produce fields adding 15 minutes to the drive. We witnessed seemingly endless vistas of vineyards, cattle grazing on the rolling hills, cabbage harvests and lettuce planting….This stretch of Highway 101, El Camino Real that parallels the freeway is the most amazing display of the earth’s bounty.

Harris Ranch Inn pool vista. Actually pleasant arounf the pool - the wind from the Harris Ranch feedlot was not tracking toward the hotel!

Harris Ranch Inn pool vista. Actually pleasant around the pool – the wind from the Harris Ranch feedlot was not tracking toward the hotel! Thank Goodness

The altar at the San Miguel Mission near Paso Robles. Built in 1794!

The altar at the San Miguel Mission near Paso Robles. Built in 1794!

My workmate, Murray and I had worked in the region this past December. While in Paso Robles we dined at the pub associated with the Firestone Walker Brewery. Great beer and now great food to boot.  We treated ourselves in December to a bottle of Parabola, a barrel aged Imperial Stout. We shared the 2011 “vintage” – I think it is ok to use that term since we are in an incredible wine growing region! The 2011 bottle was amazing! We both agreed that it treated the senses to a mouth feel, taste and aroma that could be used to describe a great Port! I would love to have hauled an unopened bottle back to Texas but they wouldn’t agree to sell one to me for that purpose. I tried to explain that I was Bishop Decker, world famous beer drinker and blogger extraordinaire! I guess my fame is restricted to Texas!

Murray's good side with his 4 beer sampler at Firestone Walker Pub.

Murray’s good side with his 4 beer sampler at Firestone Walker Pub.

Surrounded my great wines, vineyards and wineries, so what do Murray and I drink? Beer!! We had the DBA, the 805, a 4 beer sampler – see Murray’s good side, and of course the Parabola. Rules seem to have change or maybe Murray and his west coast of Canada charm worked some magic – the rascal convinced them to sell him a bottle of the 2011 Parabola in a “to-go” box. In fact it was the last bottle and stamped as the No. 2 bottle from that batch.  We shared the 2013 bottling on the advice of our server….he said the 2012 was a bit too sweet. The 2013 is superb!

The Parabola 2013

The Parabola 2013

I treated Murray to a dinner with my Mother on Wednesday night at her favorite seafood place in Morro Bay. She ordered her favorite meal – the chicken breast – FYI the old gal doesn’t eat fish. She was her usual perky self at 84-ish. She conducts a Tai Chi class 3 days per week – as much a social gathering as it is fitness – a mix of mind and body. PS – Mom, Murray thinks you are pretty special. I hesitated putting that comment in because it could go to her Head!!!!

Friday we trekked back to Bakersfield the long way, through Santa Maria, similar vistas as the 101 north of Paso Robles but now strawberry fields add to the mix. We took Highway 166 through Cuyama…endless vistas of carrot fields! We continued our beer sampling at Lengthwise Pub out on Calloway in Bakersfield with their Centennial IPA.

Saturday on the plane very early, fingers crossed for an on time flight….My youngest son was graduating High School with over 600 of his classmates. The event was held in one half of Reliant Stadium…the same place that the NFL Texans play their games! At the celebratory graduation I tried a bottle of beer from Bear Republic, Red Rocket Ale – I really liked it!!!!!!

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
Red Rocket Ale is a bastardized Scottish style red ale that traces it’s origins to our homebrew roots. This full bodied and hoppy brew finishes on the palate with sweet, caramel malt flavors. 2009 California State Fair – SILVER 1999 Great American Beer Festival® Other Strong Ales or Lagers – SILVER 1998 Great American Beer Festival® Other Strong Ales – SILVER

JBD_3414

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly – I am sipping on a Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale as I write….made with fresh hops…Murray has promised to bring me some fresh hops for my home brewing efforts next fall – Grown on the island of his residence, Salt Spring BC – said that he would supply me a kilo of the good stuff! A KILO OF HOPS Y’ALL!!!!!

Dinner at son Joe's graduation - he is far right, my big maroon body with my Red Rocket Ale is near right.

Dinner at son Joe’s graduation – he is far left, my big maroon body with my Red Rocket Ale is near right.

Bishop

American Craft Beer Week

At least this reflects something positive on the news wires this week! I apologize to Nathan Berrong who writes Eatocracy’s Beer column, “Berrong on Beer” beacause I am stealing a piece out of his column’s headline…. when I think about craft beer or homebrewed beer I have a new phrase to use when offered a “real” beer – I can exclaim, “Ale Yeah!” So this being American Craft Beer Week – thanks to Mr. Berrong and I stand up and shout “Ale Yeah!”

This is a great opportunity to set down your Coors or Bud or other variation of yellow fizzy water and broaden your horizons. The variety of offerings in the craft beer section of the store is very broad.You can take a small step out and go with a Blonde Ale of some sort. You may surprise yourself and find that Amber Ales can be surprisingly easy to drink…..don’t be misled that an amber color equates to “dark” flavors….. Dive a little deeper and try a Brown Ale.

Now there are some lessons to be learned…A Pale Ale can have a very broad spectrum of flavors and aromas. The spectrum is influenced by the varieties of hops and yes by the malts too, yes there are a myriad variety of hops, which lend the beer the bitterness and aromas. The hops are my real focus when sampling Pale Ales. If you are a bit of a geeky numbers person find the IBU designation on Pale Ales. If the number starts creeping north of 40 or so it indicates a more “hoppy” beer. I like the Pale Ales designated as IPA – India Pale Ales – they are higher in both alcohol and bittering – historically made to survive the boat trip to India. The style has survived and thrived. If you didn’t figure it out, I love IPA’s.

The choices for broadening your beer experience include Stouts, Porters, Wheat Beers, Belgian Styles and more. If you see the word “Imperial” in the name be prepared for a higher ABV – Alcohol by Volume. Some can even approach wine levels…10-12% and sometimes more. Then the craft industry is using barrel aged beers and “oh my” the complexity of flavors goes through the roof. Firestone Walker in Paso Robles California has a barrel aged Imperial Stout labeled “Parabola” that is just out of this world….unfortunately it is not sold retail!

From Mr. Berrong’s article here are some suggestions he gleaned from others;

The Brewer’s Association, a not-for-profit trade group that represents small and independent brewers, is the driving force behind ACBW. Below are some tips from them on how to get the most out of this year’s beer week:

• Conduct a craft beer tasting or pairing. • Visit your favorite local brewery, restaurant or tap room and enjoy local craft beers. • Host a tasting at home featuring craft beer from small and independent producers. • Tweet your pride for U.S. craft brewers using the hashtag #ACBW. • Seek out other like-minded folks by attending an official ACBW event. Use the official ACBW events page to find an event in your area. The link below takes you to the full article.

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2013/05/13/berrong-on-beer-ale-yeah-its-american-craft-beer-week/?hpt=hp_c4

My weekend sampling will include my homebrews – a Pumpkin Ale, Imperial Stout flavored with roasted oak and bourbon, a 4.2% Pale Ale and my share of a batch of Raspberry Wheat Ale. I will also be racking my Father’s Day Ale over into my secondary fermenter this weekend. I will look to local beers to add to the weekend mix….Mom I will not drink all of them – just a nice smattering of beers. Karbach, St Arnolds, Southern Star, No Label, Buffalo Bayou and ????

Guys, your GF or wife may enjoy some of the Belgian Wit Beers that have a hint of orange peel and coriander – they also tend to have a broad spectrum of how spicy they come across. I have to pat Coors on the back because their Blue Moon Belgian Wit has helped many of the fairer sex wander away from Miller Lite!

The list of beer styles is extensive…I have only scratched the surface – follow the link below to see what beer nerds love…beer styles listed and IU ranges for reach style.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/2009/01/24/beer-styles-ibu-chart-graph-bitterness-range/

Plan your week and your weekend….be adventurous!!!

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly

Bishop

Never Stop Learning – About Beer

As a Homebrewer, I am always reading, learning, experimenting and deepening my knowledge around this noble craft. Non-brewers, it is also important to continue exercising the brain and learning more and more about beer is a perfect topic.

My friends over at “Good Beer, Better Hats” posted a great educational article that I think every beer loving individual should cruise through. It features 24 wonderful factual items and for my edification, there is a rich history of women and their role in the history of beer. So, with Mother’s Day just around the corner I think all beer drinkers should read the article and also give thanks to the nurturing and critical role that women have played in the rich history of beer! So, pour yourself a cold one, sit back and tickle the brain!

http://goodbeerbetterhats.com/2013/05/09/infographic-24-things-you-didnt-know-about-beer/

Drink Local – Drink Responsibly

Bishop

Karbach Brewery and Beer Butt Chickens

Please be advised that I am still enamored with all things beer, ale or homebrewing involved. Work sometimes gets in the way of my Beer Blogging efforts but the desire never wanes. I worked in Lafayette Louisiana two weeks ago and was introduced to an Abita Seasonal. The Abita Spring IPA is outstanding!!!!! My wife and daughter are drinking a very Abita like Raspberry Wheat Ale tonight that was a shared effort with my friend Mike…..he did most of the work and I absconded with 2.5 gallons of a very nice tasting beer. I carried mine home in my 6L Tap-A-Draft mini-kegs. Sorry Mike…I couldn’t wait and charged up the mini-keg and my wife is happy. She says it is smooth and silky on the tongue!

Abita Spring IPA....my vote would be to add it to the full time line-up

Abita Spring IPA….my vote would be to add it to the full time line-up

Ok – back to the title – My wife went to Sam’s Club and brought home a couple aof big fat roasting chickens and a hankering for Beer Butt Chicken. I normally use cheap beer in cans for the effort but decided to go gourmet with the recipe. In the fridge were a few cans of Karbach. I said, “Why not!” I use about a half of a can for each chicken. I pulled a chilled glass out of the freezer poured half of each can into the glass – it was then I realized that I had sinned. See photo below;

DSC_3062

Oops – Sympathy for the Lager mixed with Rodeo Clown IPA!

I will have to admit that the two beers blended in the glass sitting on the counter were complimentary. Maybe Karbach could see if a blend may be commercially viable. They blend wines don’t they? It was a busy kitchen day, over on the left is my chunky strawberry jam. Into each can I add my secret rub seasoning….not really secret – I am a simple man so I used garlic salt and a hometown blend from Luigi’s Deli, Oh, by the way, I have tried using the Luigi’s on scrambled eggs for my son the way his Aunt Denise does and I fall short….she must be hiding things from me. I think she still resents that I am the favorite child!

I really like these combination pan and stands for holding the chickens upright. They  also captures the dripping grease preventing massive flare-ups. That can ruin your day and your chicken. We found these at Walmart. A bit of advice….spray the metal parts with lots of oil. it will help with clean-up! Now slip the chickens over the stand and beer can like so.

Dressed and ready to go to the BBQ!

Dressed and ready to go to the BBQ!

I try to keep the grill in the 400 F range as they cook. These big boys took about 75 minutes before the legs and wings had that floppy looseness that indicates they are done. I also removed juices from the catch pan at the bottom using a turkey baster before they over flowed and caused a flare up. The chicken was so moist that it pretty much fell off of the breasts.  The serving photo was not taken….the meat disappeared too quickly for me to get the shot.

On the grill and ready to transform into yummy goodness!

On the grill and ready to transform into yummy goodness!

Now, in answer to my wife’s question after the new beer kit arrived, “Yes Dear, we have room for more beer.” Secretly I hope that I am right. I will document my efforts today! It is a Father’s Day Ale.

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly

Bishop

Getting my Groove Back

After a break in brewing and writing I am getting back into the blogging groove and actually the beer making process. Sunday morning I met with fellow brewer Mike and his wife Annette. Mike made a piece offering beer, a lawnmower beer, a lighter alcohol beer with a starting gravity of 1.040 plus and a final around 1.013 or so. Works out to something very close to 4%. Annette can safely consume one beer prior to mowing the lawn for Mike. This not a beer that I would drink a lot of, it is a Raspberry Wheat Ale, but it is one that my wife would enjoy! We split this batch. Mile kegged 2.5 gallons or so and I took the remainder and split it between my 2 – 6 L mini plastic kegs. The sample I tried without the raspberry flavoring added was pretty darned good.

I may be brewing on Sunday, a Father’s Day Ale. A dark Amber Ale that will come in around 6.2% ABV. I may include some specialty grains stored in  the freezer that I may use to add some character to the beer. I will keep y’all posted.

I subscribe to others in the blogging world and find this weekly effort great fun to read. Check it out;

http://www.weeklypint.com/

Here is another fun read about our love of beer…..some nice photos too.

http://thegirlandherbeer.com/

Another fun read

http://i-love-beer.blogspot.com/

 

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly

TTFN

Bishop

 

Session Beer Is Conditioning

My session beer is conditioning and my wife has asked my several times, “When will it be ready?” I take that as a very positive comment. She has sampled it on several of the steps…Primary fermenter to the secondary and again when I bottled it.  I have been attempting to capture the step by step process to share here but work got in the way. I am really trying to keep that nuisance of work impacting my hobbies but it does pay the bills!

I think I mentioned a while back that this was a SMaSH recipe. Single Malt and Single Hops. It was intended to beer and not too hoppy. Based on my wife’s feedback it meets the  minimal hops criteria and it is light in color…..she usually equates flavor with color but her education on better beers is opening her eyes a little.

I started off with the guys down at the Backyard Homebrewing and Education Center. Laid back bunch of folks and passionate about beer – puts them near the top of my list! If you are a local – check them out. I used to go down to Defalcos on the southwest side of Houston. They are a good bunch of folks too but too far away.

I left the beer in the secondary an additional week – mostly because I was lazy and busy….any excuse will do! That is not necessarily a bad thing. The beer is beautifully clear……a color that my wife likes and very easy to drink…..based on the samples and needs another few days hun! We can drink it his weekend, March 9-10.

The single malt extract is being weighed out.

The single malt extract is being weighed out.

Nice selection of grain along the wall..... next batch will be all grain. I think I have said that before.

Nice selection of grain along the wall….. next batch will be all grain. I think I have said that before.

Something to make the visit to the store worth the effort!

Something to make the visit to the store worth the effort!

Nice color....for my wife....final gravity down to 1.011...Perfect!

Nice color….for my wife….final gravity down to 1.011…Perfect!

Drink Local, Drink Responsibly –

TTFN

Bishop

 

Karbach Brewery Tour

Sorry for the delay in getting out this post. Life sometimes throws some lemons your way and even with the best intentions to make lemonade, life gets a bit overwhelming! An old saying that I picked up in Texas, I’m sure it is used elsewhere, is to realize that “This too shall pass!” And, yes it does but sometimes the pace of the passing is painfully slow. I do need to remind myself that I can look in the forward direction and influence what is yet to happen!

About the tour……My good friend John tagged along with me – We were really pleasantly surprised, surprised in several ways. The crowd was so much larger than I had expected…see slide show below. The atmosphere was like a festival, games, food, scenery, interesting people and obvious enjoyment of the day. The beer was not much of a surprise, I have enjoyed Karbach offerings for quite some time. A little over a year ago I sampled the Hopadillo and Sympathy For The Lager at a pub down on Richmond. I am an IPA fan and the Hopadillo was added to my list of favorites. I bought the Tshirt……should have listened to my buddy….If I spend a few more hours( the number may actually exceed the several hundred figure), in the gym I think I could look good in it!

Dave Graham – a marketing guy gave the tour that John and I went through – 90+ % of the crowd was there to sample, soak in the atmosphere and sample the brews, thank goodness – otherwise the tour portion would have been exceptionally tight! Take a look, plan a visit or look for the beer on the local Houston area shelves.

http://www.karbachbrewing.com/home

Good to know:

  • All guests planning to sample our brews must have a valid form of identification and be 21 or older
  • Children are welcome, but must be accompanied and supervised by a guardian at ALL TIMES (kids found wandering without parent will be given espresso and a free puppy)
  • We welcome you to bring your own food/chairs but please do your best to see to it that your garbage ends up in the trash cans
  • Absolutely NO OUTSIDE ALCOHOL is permitted inside the brewery or on brewery property

I sampled the Pontificator, Weekend Warrior(nice smooth beer), the Hopadillo and the Weisse Versa Wheat. I believe John had the Rodeo Clown, Weisse Versa Wheat and the Weekend Warrior. He had one token left over and gave it up to the gal that worked the mobile catering truck – brisk business and ran out of food early – must have been good. She looked like she needed a good beer.

Check the weather, gather up some friends and enjoy a nice outing.

Karbach color coordinated single speeds. How cool is that!

Karbach color coordinated single speeds. How cool is that!

Yummy stuff maturing and developing flavors - wine barrels and bourbon barrels...can't hardly wait!

Yummy stuff maturing and developing flavors – wine barrels and bourbon barrels…can’t hardly wait!

More crowded crowd

More crowded crowd

Crowded crowd

Crowded crowd

Dave doing a couple of things that he does well, speak to the crowd and quaff a cold one!

Dave doing a couple of things that he does well, speak to the crowd and quaff a cold one!

All kinds of creatures ;-)

All kinds of creatures 😉

A samplin of the crowd

A sampling of the crowd

My favorite brew in the bean bag version.

My favorite brew in the bean bag version.

Great technique?

Great technique?

Some more of the crowd

Some more of the crowd – I can do that – Yeah Right!

John taking a gander at the grain bags waiting their turn to become elixirs of the gods.

John taking a gander at the grain bags waiting their turn to become “elixirs of the gods.”

Even the critters are welcome

Even the critters are welcome

Drink local – Drink responsibly, Be your brother’s keeper

TTFN

Bishop

Bakersfield Beers, Big and Bold

I had a quick trip to Bakersfield California last week, Not much free time but I did manage to get out to the Lengthwise Brewery Pub out on Calloway on Sunday night during the football game. I had my two beer work night limit, one was the Midnight Restoration Ale, it was nice, and then I had the Centennial IPA as we called it an evening.

Bakersfield has a number of good establishments that are catering to the craft beer drinkers. I have heard lots of good things about the brewery up Kernville and as far as I can figure, Lengthwise is the only local brewery. Frugatti’s on Coffee Road has Firestone on tap, great beers brewed in Paso Robles,  Fat Tire seems to be everywhere, some of the San Diego beers are pretty easy to find as well as the Sierra Nevada beers. The Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is the standard and well known and well loved. I am a big fan of the Torpedo IPA. Pop over to the website and wander through their offerings. The beer description pages are very detailed and the food pairings piece is pretty cool. If you are an IPA fan the “Hoptimum”  is awesome, checking in at 100 IBU’s…. http://www.sierranevada.com/beer/

My last night in Bakersfield last week included a dinner at my sister-in-law’s house. Her husband and to a certain extent, my sister-in-law are oenophiles. I have nothing against the affliction, I believe that it is curable and those that can’t be cured can still live a full and productive life.  I believe they just need to broaden their horizons! I swung by the Calloway Lengthwise Pub on Calloway to pick up a couple of growlers as a gift for the hosts. My wife had sent me a note informing me of a new tapping on sale that evening – the Double Centennial IPA. I picked up one growler of the Double and the other was the Golden Ale – a light refreshing ale that isn’t too heavy.

My sister-in-law tried a pint of the Golden Ale after dinner and she was on to her second pint as I left to head back to the hotel….. I knew she was versatile! Beer lovers are too often caste as a bit crass and low brow…. but, to the informed, the depth and breadth of the beer drinking experience matches, at a minimum and probably exceeds, that of the wine world. Read the article in the attached link for a grin and an attempt to provide a more appropriate moniker for those of my ilk. Unfortunately I sometimes reinforce the beer drinker stereotype with my coarse behavior, language and I occasionally burst into inappropriate song on a few rare nights each year. http://www.realbeer.com/library/authors/smith-g/beer_lover.php

I will try to pick a day this week to brew a session type beer – 4.5% ABV or so, light in color and body. My friend John sent me a note….his Christmas gift – beer of the month delivery is in his possession – he needs some expert help assessing the quality of the shipment. It may be an effort but then again it might be worth the effort.

Drink Local – Drink Responsibly

TTFN

Bishop

 

Travel and Tasting and Invoking the Saints

I have been busy working for the past several weeks. A bit too busy to blog but not so busy that I couldn’t sample some good beers. In my last beer blog I told you that I was in the frozen Colorado and Utah areas. Rangely Colorado is so small that it did not surprise me that there were no micro or craft breweries. I still like to sample local fare so I had to expand the sampling zone.

The last night in Rangely, Thursday January 10th we dined at the motel restaurant. I quizzed the waitress on beer selections and they carried several by New Belgium in Fort Collins Colorado. They had a seasonal beer called, Snow Day Winter Al, a darker beer that was pretty darned good. When I looked at the web site to pull up the details on the beer, I found a story behind that sort of matched current conditions. The genesis for this beer was a massive snow storm that hit Fort Collins in 2003. Well, not quite matched, but being from Houston the 10-12 inches of snow overnight is massive enough for me.

From New Belgians website – “Snow Day carries the subtle chocolate and caramel flavors of a new brewing malt known as Midnight Wheat. The Styrian Golding, Centennial and Cascade hops bring the backbone of hoppy bitterness to complement the roasty undertones. This beer is the deep garnet of a roasted walnut and presents a creamy tan head, floating artfully atop. Snow Day is bold and hoppy, drinkable and strong. It reminds you to enjoy the unexpected.”

Looking back toward the town of Rangely from the college campus.

Looking back toward the town of Rangely from the college campus.

I am very appreciative of breweries that give you an understanding of the ingredients – I helps me to better define my palate as well as get the creative juices flowing for a cloning effort……not like Dolly the cloned sheep but more like cloning/crafting of a reasonable facsimile!

The next night we were housed in Vernal Utah. I knew enough about Utah to expect good craft breweries in the state but knew nothing of Vernal.  I have sampled beers from Uinta Brewing on several occasions and enjoy their beers. Here is a partial list of breweries of all sorts in Utah. In Vernal we found a brew pub that wasn’t listed  – The Quarry.

http://www.beer100.com/brewpubs_o_to_z/utah.htm

Our waitress at the Quarry, bless her heart, ( if you know southern slang – Bless your heart means –“You are an idiot but I like you and care about you so I don’t want to hurt your feelings.” Now she wasn’t really an idiot – just very poorly informed. She had no clue about the beers on tap or in bottle for two reasons; 1. She was brand spanking new! & # 2. By her own admission, she only drinks Tequila! My guess she probably is pretty entertaining and maybe clueless at parties, bless her heart! She thought that there were just two in-house brewed beers on tap. I drank the house Brown Ale and it was pleasant, better than Newcastle but not exceptional. I then took a look at the beer list and saw that they had a Wasatch offering in bottles, Devastator Double Bock, a strong amber ale. I asked for the Devastator and she brought me a draught beer……I gave her a quizzical look! Bless her heart, I had used the Wasatch Brewery name when I ordered and she saw a Wasatch handle and drew a beer – the Wasatch Bobsled Brown Ale….I offered up a lesson and showed her the beer list and descriptions and suggested she invest some time with the samplers to improve her knowledge…. I drank her mistake, it wasn’t too bad and she then brought me the Double Bock….

Leaving Vernal on Saturday morning was a challenge. The weather at minus 14 F, had everything backed up. I was really feeling sorry for a young couple that were trying to get to Denver on the same flight we were on……rabid Broncos fans trying to make the 2:30 PM kick-off. Scheduled departure was 6:30 AM that was pushed back to 8:45 AM. Ok, still plenty of time. They finally got the plane warmed up, baggage loaded and pulled up to the ground gate. Ooops……. Bad weather in Denver so we sat back down and waited some more. They kept the engines idling consuming fuel and guess what????? They were now low on fuel….they shut down the engines, we were finally allowed to load up while they were adding fuel. Then the fuel truck broke down, 200 pounds short of a safe load! Too funny. Not! It was becoming less funny for me because I was now in jeopardy of missing the second flight. Great Lakes Airlines (high marks for customer service) changed my original flight to the second departure time to Houston and now it looked like I was destined to miss that one! I invoked a short prayer to the two Patron Saints of storms, St. Scholastica and St. Walburga, and I hoped they would be gracious enough to allow the storm to linger in Denver just long enough, no harm, but just enough to delay my next flight. Insert sign of the cross along with crossed fingers. I bet none of you knew about these two saints did you!

I anxiously awaited touchdown on the Denver tarmac so I could fire up my “iPhone United Airlines app” and see if my plane was still at the gate. We touched down at the scheduled departure time…..come on hurry up……the app finally came up and the flight was delayed. Yee haw! The Saints came through for me! I still had to boogie from the far end of terminal A to the train and over to terminal B. I was saddened that I didn’t have any layover time….The far end of Terminal A, just beyond gate 61, is a New Belgium establishment with a handful of their best beers on tap, possibly a Snow Day. Maybe next time!

I made the flight…….. it was on one of the new 787 Dreamliners….they are pretty darned sweet. In hind sight that may have been unlucky! We made it safely to Houston. FYI – The economy seats recline nicely as the bottom portion of the seat slides forward just a bit. They are really comfortable, even for a big guy like me.

Finally arrived in Kingwood Texas, tired and thirsty. I had one of my Dirty Honey Blonde homebrewed beers, put my feet up and watched the Forty-Niners whip up on the Packers. Tomorrow was a big mountain to climb for my local Houston Texans. I felt like the Patron Saints may have smiled on me today so I thought that it wouldn’t hurt to pull in some more high level assistance. Sunday morning before leaving on my next job I sent up the following prayer to the Saint of Lost Causes, St. Jude.

O most holy apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus — People honor and invoke you universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, for I am so helpless and alone. Please help to bring me visible and speedy assistance. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my ( this is the place to state your request –desires for the Houston Texans to find the strength and wisdom to beat the pants off of the Patriots), necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly  and that I may praise God with you always. I promise, O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you by publishing this request. Amen. Blogging is kind of like publishing the request isn’t it.

I guess I went to the well one too many times. The Houston Texans may have been too hopeless!I now pray that I haven’t been seen as too greedy!

I do have a theory that no good deed goes unrewarded. On the plane from Vernal to Houston was a woman who was also heading to Houston and on to Jackson. She was a bit of a novice when it came to  traveling through Denver. Denver can be a pain in the butt! She also needed to connect to a flight out of Houston to Jackson, Mississippi. I was able to help her tag along behind me and wind up at the gate just moments prior to the door closing on the flight to Houston. I felt like I had done a good deed. Upon landing in Houston I pulled up the flight status for her next flight and helped her on the way….she was probably bumped to the last flight out but likely got home on Saturday….I felt good. The Saints of storms must have sensed my good intentions.

I wonder if St Jude was eyeballing me to see if I had earned his intercession. I may have to apologize to the Texans Fans……I probably didn’t do enough to help them secure the win! Maybe the Texans didn’t do their part?????? Does St Arnold have any stroke….they make good beer! Maybe I need to invoke the local Saint via local beer….There is always next year!

By the way – St Arnold is real –

The Legend of the Beer Mug

It was July 642 and very hot when the parishioners of Metz went to Remiremont to recover the remains of their former bishop. They had little to drink and the terrain was inhospitable. At the point when the exhausted procession was about to leave Champigneulles, one of the parishioners, Duc Notto, prayed “By his powerful intercession the Blessed Arnold will bring us what we lack.” Immediately the small remnant of beer at the bottom of a pot multiplied in such amounts that the pilgrims thirst was quenched and they had enough to enjoy the next evening when they arrived in Metz.

Enough trivia – I am a little thirsty and I am in the parched desert of Midland Texas – Thanks to HEB I have some good choices! Tonight, Lost Gold IPA by Real Ale Brewing in Blanco Texas….it is damned good in my opinion!

Drink local and drink responsibly

TTFN

Bishop