I know it’s the 4th weekend so many of you are probably taking off early today, so here it is for the weekend! It is Independence day weekend and it is typically celebrated with friends and family by barbecuing and blowing stuff up, hopefully not the family cat! The reason I say this is it almost happened to me once as a kid. Jim and I were living in Fairfield, Iowa and my next door neighbor and I were throwing some M-80s he had picked up from our neighboring state Missouri (thank God for fireworks states). Well at least that is the way we felt, I’m pretty sure the cat was cursing them. Well we happened to light an M-80 and throw it into the vicinity of the cat. We didn’t even notice the cat until it came running up to the M-80 as the smoke from the fuse twisted in the humid air like a string being pulled across the living room floor.
Fortunately for Mr. Cat (yes that was his name) we saw the calamity that may have occurred, and we yelled at him to stop and ran towards the M-80 to get him to stop his impending pounce. Well the cat did stop about a foot from the M-80 just as it exploded. Mr Cat jumped about 4 feet in the air, did a complete 180 in the air and sprinted into the next yard! Well with the exception of loosing one of his 9 lives and a little bit of hearing for a couple of days the cat came through intact. So be careful if you are messing with fireworks. Know where your animals are.
So what will you all be drinking? I have some great IPAs that will be a part of my mix. Maharajah from Avery, I have a Dales, and and a couple others too. I might crack open the Sublimely Self Righteous from Stone as well. How about you? What are your plans? Going to blow anything up? Whatcha Drinkin? As usual let us know, and please don’t end up like these unfortunate party goers…
Too Much Smirnoff Ice…
Too Much Mescal…
Too Much Egg Nog…
Too much garbage can punch….
Way too much Bud Light…
Have a happy and safe 4th!
-Don and Jim
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
We’ll that’s the first time I’m hearing about this!! What the hell dude, you almost blew up my cat?!! That would explain why he never liked you…
Actually he started life as Miss Kitty until we took him to the vet. He came home Mr. Cat, and a gelded one at that.
The Cat was fine. Plus we determined his gender, not by a trip to the vet, because they couldn’t tell either, but one day I saw something pink hanging between his legs. That was the clue! from that day on he became Mr C.
Why the hell did we trust a vet that couldn’t tell if a cat was male or female? I guess I was wrong about that , and him liking you, too. Apparently he liked you very, very much if you were seeing pink!
Well, when you live in Fairfield Iowa it isn’t like you have a lot of choice in vets. We had one, and the next one was in Ottumwa about 30 miles away. I happened to see his little pinkness in the kitchen, not on me. He was on the floor.
You were always good at petting cats, Don. I think you took that whole animal husbandry thing a bit too far.
Oh, and I’m drinking beer this weekend. I’ve grown a bit obsessed with Founders Cerise, which is like a cherry pie in a glass, crust and all. When you’re in the mood for one, nothing else will really do.
Hi, my name is Jim, and I like fruity beers…
Yeah…enjoy your Founders. I’ll just sit here with none of that. Come to think of it I do have a Sam Adams Cherry wheat, perhaps that will have to be in the mix.
I always love a good M-80 story – I don’t know that the younger generation can appreciate such silly stuff. I guess when you have Xboxes and iphones, who needs fireworks? I picked up a sixer of Schlafly Export IPA (an English IPA) and anxious to try it after reading an article about them in the latest issue of BeerAdvocate mag. I also hope to pick up a couple of bottles of Flying Fish’s latest in the Exit series – Exit 6, a Belgian style ale with New Jersey rye.
Is it true that New Jersey rye is actually seeds picked out of rye bagels?
That would be caraway seeds Jim.
My plan is to not acknowledge you so I don’t look like an idiot.
Wait, oops…
I’m not sure but evidently there’s a rye farm somewhere in South Jersey.
Don – I picked up a bottle of Bulleit bourbon last week and had a taste the other night with some friends – very nice; thanks for the recommendation! I’ll have to go back to your recent post of the 5 recommendations for noobs and pick out my next bottle. And no, it won’t be Knob Creek.
Glad you liked the Bulleit Rob. I think it is a great high rye Noob bourbon. Try the Old Weller Antique if you can find it. I’d love to hear what you think about a serious wheat bourbon.
I’ve only had one English IPA https://beerandwhiskeybros.com/2010/02/24/drinking-in-the-super-8-round-3/ It was Belhaven’s Twisted Thistle IPA. It was good, but different than many American IPAs. It was very piney, and overall just not as big as many american IPAs. I think the difference might be in brewing technique, as I think many of the English IPA recipes were actually born from the idea of using Hops as a preservative for the beer as it made its way to India from breweries in England, rather than the American thought of seriously overhopping them for that hoppy flavor that many of us love. It was good but different.
Agreed, English IPA’s are a lot different than the American version. I’m curious to try this one.
I’ll be on the lookout for the Old Weller. Isn’t Maker’s Mark a wheat bourbon? What are your thoughts on that one?
Rob, I think I’m the only person on the planet that can’t stand the stuff. To me it has no flavor and all heat. But others swear by the stuff. you can read a very early review…My first one actually, here https://beerandwhiskeybros.com/2009/08/15/whiskey-1-makers-mark/
The cats in bikini picture was odd, but cute, now we’re hearing about cat pink things and stuff. I’m going to go see what the Whiskey and Beer Brothers are up to instead. Those two guys, Jon and Dim seem more wholesome, but they never post pictures of passed out drunk people.
Yes people, mind your kids and pets when messing with things that go boom!
Anyway, I have a lot of beer to catch up on this weekend, a little extra time off from the office so I’m just looking to relax. (Definitely going to have The Hairy Eyeball though)
Just for the record Scott, Jon and Dim are Mormons and they don’t actually drink whiskey or beer. They will pour it and take pictures of it, and maybe even give it a sniff (especially when they’re all pumped up after watching DVDs of the old Donnie and Marie show). Also, they can only use the Internet for researching their family tree, so unless they have a fall down drunk in the family, they’ll never come across pictures of people passed out. even if they did, they’d probably just think they are enthusiastic nappers.
And I hope you can still find the Hairy Eyeball in your fridge, what with all the dust on it.
I’m drinking in sweet freedom. Actually, I’ll probably drink some homebrew.
Home brew sounds like the ticket Mike. You probably have a whole room full of the stuff by now.
Yeah my swiffer duster will be a big part of the weekend too! Jim, you should be a writer for a comedy show. Your shit cracks me up!
Filled some growlers at Chuckanut Brewery with their Dunkel Lager (Gold Medal at GABF 2009, and pretty much every other contest its partaken in). Very much looking forward to pounding a few pints of that along with my fresh local oysters tomorrow. Mmmmmmmmmm
Sounds great Evan. Now that BP has ruined Louisiana oysters forever now, it is good to know at least we are covered here in the Northwest. Dunkel Lager sounds great. Have a great time and blow something up!