V O L U M E 2 7 I S S U E 3
P A G E 3
Ahh , sweet , sweet summertime . Got the lawn mowed , garden planted , grill polished and the garage cleaned up . Now I ’ m in my lawn chair having a cool Schell ’ s Firebrick and dreaming about the next Brewerianna show . Which for us will be the Nordlager show in Cloquet on July 7th at the famous Northeastern Hotel and Bar . I just can ’ t say enough good things about this show . We plan on camping again this year and I think the Legend and maybe Tom T . will be joining us . Try not to miss this one , you will not be disappointed .
I had a mildly exciting find recently . A guy at work had a couple of beer signs and a few cans he wanted to get rid of . Seems he tried to sell this stuff on a garage sale for 10 bucks and nobody bought it . So he asked me . Well , I took a look at it and there was nothing worthwhile to speak of . Except , then I picked up a bottle to gander at . It was an embossed beer bottle from the Purity Brewing Company of Minneapolis , circa 1908 - 1920 . So I offered him 5 bucks and a deal was made . I know it ’ s not a big find but , it is a neat bottle . I have the bottle and if anyone really wants it for their collection , let me know . I ’ m sure we can trade a beer or something .
At the 2003 BCCA Canvention in Pittsburgh , Shoeless Bob , Teri and I , we made our way to a liquor store to stock up and bring home some east coast beers . Well , Teri saw a case of Saranac Caramel Porter from Matt Brewing in Utica , New York . We also had a fantastic tour of this Brewery , which is a whole other story . Anyway , we bought a case of it . We had never drunk it but , it sure sounded good . It turned out to be an awesome beer and has become a “ Holy Grail ” beer for us . Of course out here on the frozen tundra of Minnesota a person cannot get it , since there is not a distributer in this state . So , having connections in Iowa , such as you know who . Mr . T went and ordered 4 cases special from Cyclone liquors in Ames . To make a very long story short , Tom and I split the booty and Teri and I ended up getting our stash from the Stubie residence in New Ulm town . I think Stubie was watching that beer like a mother Eagle watches her young . When we got to Stubie ’ s I tore into a six pack with the veracity of a ravenous Jackal . Yum .
Might as well get my Budweiser rant out of the way . I mean Budwater . Anyway , I have wanted to go and visit Millstream Brewing in Amana , Iowa for quite some time . Over Memorial Day weekend they have a “ Cajun Fest ” in Amana . So , that sounded like a good time to go . Well , as I was reading their website , ( Cajunfest . net ) I thought I ’ d e-mail and ask what sorts of beers were available at this event . My thought was that they should at least have some Millstream products but , my gut instinct said , Bud is probably the man at this fest . Sure enough , I got an e-mail back saying “ This event is sponsored by Bud and NO other beers are allowed and you will have to drink Bud or Hurricanes ”.
To tell ya the truth , I was sorta looking for a fight , and I e- mailed back with both guns blazing !! I then got another reply back that said “ Give us a break , the fest brings in about 10,000 people and in this way we feel we are supporting our local business .” Now , I can ’ t really argue that all those people do not help the local economy , because I ’ m sure they do . But , my question is this . You have a brewery right in your own backyard
( which of course is Millstream ) and then the fest is the exclusive right of Bud and then you say you are supporting your local businesses ??? Something ’ s wrong here , at least in my beer soaked mind , it ’ s wrong . To me , it would be like , having a Cajun Fest in New Orleans and then not allowing the local Crawfish to be part of the Gumbo . It would be like , having a German Fest in New Ulm and having Bud sponsor it , to the exclusion of Schell ’ s . It would be like ......... I ’ ll stop now . We did not go that weekend but , we will go some other time when Budweiser is not in town .
In the same vein , ( I can ’ t quit now , I ’ m on a roll ) I was reading an interview on Miller Brewing Company CEO , Joe Blow . Guess his real name is , Graham Mackay . Anyway , of the many questions that were posed , probably the one of the most interest to me , was his take on the craft beer resurgence / industry in this country . His response was , that it is going to fade , it is inevitable . Of course I can ’ t predict the future and he can ’ t either but , I somehow doubt his prediction . To me at least , once a person gets a taste for the “ good stuff ”, I just can ’ t see going back to drinking watered down tasteless beers . I mean , why buy fizz water when you can get just as good and in most cases better beer from your local brewer . Just my thoughts .
OK , I ’ m done with my ranting . For those of YOU that are BCCA members and have read and / or looked at , YOUR latest BCCA newsletter , then YOU should know by now that the Schell ’ s Firebrick beer can is up for “ Can of the Year ” honors . In order for Schell ’ s Firebrick to get the “ Can of the Year ” award , YOU the BCCA member , MUST VOTE FOR IT . YOU , can do this by , either filling out the ballot in your BCCA newsletter and sending it to the BCCA headquarters , ( just filling out the ballot and not sending it in the mail , will not work , it has been tried and failed ) or for those that have Internet access , ( and know how to use it ) YOU can vote online . If YOU can ’ t do either one of those , then YOU are out of options . So .... Please take the time and VOTE .
Now for the words of wisdom , that I so happily dispense with sheer pleasure . I was reading a book review about wine by Natalie McLean and I substituted the word Beer for her Wine . Here are a few quotes . Hope you enjoy . “ I ’ d love to say that I was born with an exceptional palate , but I think I was just born thirsty .” “ Much as I ’ m drawn to its nuances , I probably would not be writing about Beer if it were not for the buzz .” “ Beer is as much about camaraderie as taste , when we share good Beer with good friends , we also share what makes us human : sensual pleasure , conversation , and connection .”
Till next time , Jay .
Jay Martin # 16605