Summer is here and the time is right for massive consumption of that fermented beverage we all so dearly love . I ’ ve been taking a real liking to the Hefeweizen style and Schells Hefe in particular . Not sure why , I ’ ve never really liked the Hefe ’ s . Maybe I have had too many Oatmeal Stouts over the years and my buds needed a break . Guess I have refined my palate or maybe just numbed it from too many brews . In any case I need to get me some soon .
I almost never write about anything political . Yeah right , you say ? Well , ok , maybe I get on a soapbox once in awhile , so I ’ ll try and keep this short . For those in the know , I guess there is some sort of oil leak in the gulf region , at least that ’ s what the black box in my living room says . Anyway , there is now a new beer made by Abita brewing out of Louisiana to help those impacted by the oily stuff . The name of the beer is S . O . S . For those that were in the Military that may bring back some memories but , it does not stand for Sh-t On a Shingle . The Abita brewery says it stands for Save Our Shores . You can go to Abita . com for more info and if you find the S . O . S . brand , all I can say is “ Drink Baby , Drink !!” Didn ’ t some knucklehead say something similar to that ??
We ( The Martin family ) went camping over the Memorial day weekend near a town called “ Murrays-ville ”. Actually the town is called Austin or Spam central . Murray picked us up at our campsite and we took off for Worth brewing and met up with the Terwilligers . We had some lunch and some great beers from Worth and then it was off to see Murray ’ s collection . What a great collection , lots of Grain Belt & Hamm ’ s stuff . Had a couple of beers at Murray ’ s personal bar and then we were off to see the rest of the collection at his storage shed
One place I really liked ( besides Murray ’ s
basement and storage shed , which contained as much or more beer stuff as his basement did ) was a bar called the Wind Drift . It is a bar where everybody knows Murray ’ s name . The bar has some very old and rare beer labels that are laminated ( unfortunately ) into the top . I saw a picnic label for Engesser beer and others that I forget now . I think I was on breweriana overload by the time we hit the Wind Drift . If you ever get to Austin , give Murray a call I ’ m sure he will be glad to show you the sights . Thanks , Murray for everything !!
A Border Batch “ meeting ” was held recently at the Willis Schafer place near New Ulm . Had a big turnout of members ( at least in my view ) and seen some great brewery pieces along with plenty of food and beer . A business meeting was conducted without too many interruptions . Not sure what was accomplished ( I was too busy enjoying a Growler from Olde Main ) so I ’ ll just leave the finer points of the meeting to the Prez . I will say , that these meetings are a great way to meet your fellow collectors and see some really nice breweriana .
The 5 th annual Nordlager show in Cloquet is coming up soon . We plan on attending again this year and camping in the city campground . The campsite is within a block of the Northeastern bar and the St Louis river flows nearby . Guess that ’ s all for now , except for my quote of the issue . “ I believe in looking reality straight in the eye and denying it ”. Garrison Keillor
Jay Martin 16605