My garage isn't this bad, but it's frighteningly close!
Well Friday has finally arrived and all I can say is it’s about time! It’s been one of those weeks where the candle has been burning at both ends and in the middle. I’d love to kick back and relax this weekend, but Mother Nature has conspired with my garage to keep me productive. It’s going to be a glorious weekend here in New Jersey, and I’ve run out of excuses why to not clean the garage, pick up the branches in the yard, and basically be a responsible homeowner. Yuck.
But I have a plan to keep things fun and interesting. It starts with Victory Lager, a crisp, bready and delicious sessional treat. Where things go from there, I’m not sure, but as the weather warms, I am starting to lose interest in all the barrel aged goodies in the beer fridge – too heavy. Perhaps a Dale’s Pale Ale or two and an Arrogant Bastard while I soak in the sunshine. I also have some Elijah Craig 12 that I might nip into.
There’s also a slim chance that my wheat beer extract kit will arrive from Northern Brewer and I’ll get the chance to fire up the Bayou Burner in the driveway and brew me up a tasty treat. Fingers crossed.
How about you? Any plans to take advantage of the weather in your area? Any beer or whiskey related events to attend? Anyone brewing? You know what to do – let us know below and have a wonderful equinox weekend!
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
OK, first of all it is technically the equinox weekend, but who in the hell celebrates this, unless you are some sort of Wicken and will be dancing around in your woods at night naked! Garage cleaning I’m all over that, but work has crowded in and pushed it to next weekend. No, I will be spending the better part of the weekend right here finishing a financial report that is due Monday. I also will be watching round two of the NCAA tournament online at CBS Sports.com! What a great thing they have done putting every March Madness game on the Internet! It is awesome. Beer wise, I thought I was going to drink an Avery Fifteen last night, but my son’s overnight plans put a damper on that. So I will hit it this weekend however. I’ve also been craving Old Weller Antique, aged 7 years in Oak and 107 proof! I’m gonna be digging on some of that too.
Nothing special planned for the weekend – I have some Hairy Eyeball (had one yesterday, awesome stuff), Elysian Loser and plan on hitting the store to see if Exit 16 by Flying Fish and Founders KBS has finally arrived – went Wednesday and went 0 for 2 finding those two beers; hopefully tomorrow I fare much better.
If you go to Boonton, make sure you ask for Kevin, Rob. He’s keeping the KBS in the back room with a three bottle limit per customer. You won’t find it on the shelves.
He also had a case of Nemesis on Wednesday, but I’m not sure if there’s any left.
I will do that…thanks for the heads up!
I just grabbed a bottle of SN 30th Anniversary ale which I’ll probably open tonight.
That looked pretty good, and I almost picked it up, but I think the fact that it was a stout kept me from getting it. Really getting into lighter beers as the weather warms a bit. Come back and let us know how you liked it.
Hey Don, I hope it stays cold there a bit longer – the box that should be arriving today has some dark gems inside! Maybe go inside and turn on the AC before you open the box.
I might have to do just that, or perhaps just make an exception, or five.
Or like nine. The other three are IPAs…just sharing that little Nugget – I know you want to be surprised.
Glad to know you didn’t forget the Sink the Bismark, and I’m sure a few of the dark ones are TNP.
You’re closer than you think, bro…
Going to clean and watch some b-ball this weekend while drinking some dog fish Burton Batton. Had it at the brewery last year and its the first time i have found it at a store around me so i am excited to try it again. I am with you on the heavy stuff though, when it gets warmer i tend to stay away from stouts/porters.
I wish I could get into college basketball, but it doesn’t do anything for me. However, I am willing to pretend to be really into it if it means I get to sit on the couch and drink beer! Go Garbonzo (or whatever)!!
That’s Gonzaga, and it is the college for which your Nephew wants to play Basketball! I suggest you get into the game. It is a great one!
Until my son (who’s almost 5′ and just turned 8 and has a nasty game in the paint) is playing, I don’t have that much interest. But maybe it’s time to get him into it, so he can have a desire to play for Gorgonzola as well.
You have a lot of options out east! Gonzaga is really one of the few for us, and is only a 45 minute flight away. Which is a very important thing for his Mother! You really should get him into a league. Probably too late for Spring, but next year for sure.
He plays in the Cupsaw Lake league where they don’t keep score and defense is limited to the paint area (they call it “the box”). Not exactly college prep, but it gets him out the door on Saturday mornings. When he’s a bit older there’s more competitive stuff to do.
We were watching college bball a couple of weeks ago and he pointed to the screen and said “hey – they’re playing defense all over the court!” He doesn’t like being confined to “the box” and wants to press hard in transition. I think he likes getting in the other kids heads and making them make bad decisions with the ball. Funny thing is, he’s the sweetest and most mellow kid you’d ever see, but he’s all business on the court. It’s actually hilarious to watch.
Feel free to talk about beer everyone – Don and I are just planning our boys’ futures on the blog here. Carry on…
Per the Sip with us Sat, I’m drinking some Cali stuff. I think I’m also going to break into the bottle of Black Tot that Peter sent me, too.
I’m hoping for a Troegs Dreamweaver with dinner tonight. It will depend on if the beef and ale has it on tap. Over the past two weeks, I did get to try George Washington’s Tavern Porter–after reading about it on The Brew Club and Wells Banana Bread Beer which was hysterical. I’m planning reviews. Really, I am.
I hope you are all enjoying your weekend! We are. It’s 72 and sunny here. The kids just went to claim their first day of spring free water ice at Rita’s.
I wish I’d known about the free Rita’s deal, we would’ve hit it this afternoon.
FedEx just surprised me with a Saturday delivery of my wheat beer extract kit. Guess what I’ll be doing tomorrow… 🙂
Yep, every year on the first day of spring, Rita’s gives away a free water ice. I think it goes until 10pm…and we just got back from dinner and they had Dreamweaver on tap.
Good luck with your brewing!
OK, I guess I’m the only one out of the loop here, but what the hell is a “Water Ice”? Sounds like I get it free every day out of my freezer.
Thanks, Rachel. Tomorrow should be a blast.
Water ice is also called “Italian ice.” It’s kind of like a slushy but better. Check out the Rita’s website: http://www.ritasice.com/ Hey Don, they have franchise opportunities. You can start the craze in Idaho. Just curious, do you ever visit Jim between the months of March-September? Maybe he could bring you to Rita’s the next time.