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Post by imnotveryclever on Jun 8, 2012 22:09:23 GMT -8
Prohibition left us with some wonky alcohol regulations all around.
If you're into that sort of thing Beer Wars in a pretty interesting documentary (streaming on Netflix) about the struggles craft breweries in the US face with the beer -> distributor -> store -> consumer system and how the big 3 (bud, miller, coors) are desperately throwing money around via lobbyists to keep the current (outdated) system in place and their profits at the top. Spoiler alert: there are 20 different varieties of each crap beer not because the big 3 want to give you choices but because they want to take up the most shelf space. You think it's a documentary about beer, but it's actually about how fucked up the way our government works is.
(I like unnecessary parenthetical asides.)
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Post by imnotveryclever on Jun 8, 2012 21:32:28 GMT -8
I'm pretty sure it's an allowance for commercial shippers with a license and they have to know and comply with all sorts of state and county regulations.
From UPS
From FedEx
And USPS
It's lame all around, but it's way better to go with the guys who will simply not deliver your box if it somehow leaks or opens versus the government agency who can possibly come after you for a federal offense.
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Post by imnotveryclever on Jun 8, 2012 21:21:07 GMT -8
So I never managed to meet up with any of you guys, but thanks for the pre-festival encouragement to suck it up and go. I had an amazing time and went through my weekend almost overly prepared.
Balancing a good time and no babysitter was interesting though. Pregamed a bit too much on Monday and don't remember my walk from camp to the gates or if I managed to catch any of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. But I came to in the front of the pit for Joy Formidable, so it all worked out. At least until my drunk ass decided to pee into an empty beer cup between them and Feist instead of losing my spot. It worked, but I don't think my pit neighbors appreciated it much.
Came home, slept for a day and then battled crazy sickness. Sasquatch plague, sinus infection, whatever. Maybe I'll actually meet you folks next year.
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Post by imnotveryclever on Jun 8, 2012 20:22:36 GMT -8
I know some of you are on beer trading or beer group mail groups. How does that work? Can you just mail beer at will or do you have to get a special OK to send beer via mail? I am interested in some of those Montana breweries that I have never tried before and was interested in trying to coordinate a trade at some point Sending beer via standard mail (USPS) is a federal offense. Don't do it. Sending beer via UPS or FedEx is against the rules, but not illegal. Wrap and pack your bottles up well and tie 'em all up in a big plastic bag then put them in a box. Make sure you can shake the box with no sloshing noises, or throw a few pennies in the box to cover the noise. That said, it costs around $20-$30 to send a box, so make sure it's worthwhile with the added costs. It's a fun, but expensive hobby. Oh, and Ro, sorry the Pinebox didn't live up to my hype. It definitely doesn't have the same vibe Chapel did, but I love having a decent beer bar on this side of town. An easy stumble home.
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Post by imnotveryclever on May 23, 2012 14:44:00 GMT -8
I'll trade you a Bottleworks 13th Anniversay ale brewed by Stone for something The difficult thing is that none of the Montana breweries bottle anything of that stature (as far as abv and probably price). What I plan to do is bring an assortment of brews and should the opportunity to swap arise, I will gladly swap. I guess anyone interested should plan on the same. I figure if we end up meeting on Friday we'll still have plenty of time to make some deals without risk of total consumption. I guess that's probably the easiest way to deal with it. Cheers. Fair enough. I'll take a better look through my stuff and see what I'm willing to part with and bring it along. Even if trades don't end up 1:1, sharing beer is fun and I feel like I owe this board for helping me feel prepared for my first Sasquatch. So I don't mind coming up a little "under" on a particular deal. And yes, FD, you're still awesome.
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Post by imnotveryclever on May 22, 2012 22:53:45 GMT -8
@pea, I've felt the same way about Stone lately. In general, a lot of brewers seem to be be going for the hype and the gimmick of something rather than just making a great beer that might just be amazing in it's simplicity. I miss when Dogfish used to distribute Indian Brown out here. That was my old standby. Oh well. Now I opt for Boulder's Hazed and Infused when I see it.
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Post by imnotveryclever on May 22, 2012 22:29:20 GMT -8
A little gimmicky with the whole 13 hops and 13 grains thing, but it's a little over 11% abv and packs a punch.
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Post by imnotveryclever on May 22, 2012 22:22:06 GMT -8
I'll trade you a Bottleworks 13th Anniversay ale brewed by Stone for something
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food!
May 21, 2012 23:07:08 GMT -8
Post by imnotveryclever on May 21, 2012 23:07:08 GMT -8
I've definitely been stirring. At this point, they're still hard (read: actual gummy bear consistency) in the middle. We'll see what happens. Did the freezer do anything really? I've never tried that.
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food!
May 21, 2012 22:07:29 GMT -8
Post by imnotveryclever on May 21, 2012 22:07:29 GMT -8
I started mine Saturday night. Here's hoping they absorb through in time. Guess I could always pack em in the cooler to give them a little extra time. If I see you and still have some, you're definitely welcome to them.
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food!
May 21, 2012 21:35:56 GMT -8
Post by imnotveryclever on May 21, 2012 21:35:56 GMT -8
My whole house smells like marinated meat. Tomorrow it will smell like bananas. This dehydrator is getting a workout. Drunken gummis are also marinating in the fridge.
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Post by imnotveryclever on May 18, 2012 21:55:17 GMT -8
Last night I dreamt that I was waiting for my friend Quincy (not a real person) to come meet up with me so we could drive to Sasquatch, but then I hadn't even packed yet and I kept having to leave my house to do things instead of pack. And then my mom and younger sister showed up to drive me somewhere so I could be closer to where ever Quincy was and we could leave sooner. But about 30 minutes into the drive I realized I still hadn't packed and my car was back at my apartment and now Quincy and I had no way to even get there.
I woke up at 4 am and had to resist the urge to start packing for Sasquatch right then.
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Post by imnotveryclever on May 17, 2012 20:55:05 GMT -8
I guess be prepared for this?
JACK WHITE ATTEMPTS NEW WORLD RECORD
Jack White has again decided to take on the tremendous challenge of making it into the Guinness Book of World Records.
During the rest of the performances on his current tour supporting his new album "Blunderbuss" (which incidentally is currently in the running for the world record of "the fastest named album in history" *pending), Jack White will every night on stage attempt to break the world record for most metaphors in a single concert.
The attempt may prove very exhausting and at times even dangerous, but the results could prove to be glorious and possibly even vainglorious. White and Third Man Records are certain that the extremely scientific and intricate analysis of the metaphors that occur will be examined in accordance with Guinness' usually very thorough methods probably, or at the very least if somebody answers the phone at the pub.
Third Man Records encourages all attendees of said concerts to please not interfere or interject with any metaphors that they witness occur during the show as to not disqualify or worse yet, trivialize the metaphor in question. In addition all concert attendees are encouraged to entice as many metaphors to occur during the show that they possibly can as long as they don't endanger themselves or Mr. White.
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Post by imnotveryclever on May 16, 2012 8:45:40 GMT -8
I would like to know further of this "running through" 'cause it sounds seriously awesome. So a Randall ("Randall the Enamel Animal") is this beer infusing system original made by Dogfish. You can see the set up in the picture I posted, but the tap lines are connected to those little chambers that are filled with various elements of your choosing. From the horse's mouth: "Randall the Enamel Animal is the original gangster organoleptic hop transducing module. Basically, it's a sophisticated system that allows the user to run draft beer through a chamber of whole leaf hops, spices, herbs, fruit, etc. so that the alcohol in the beer strips the flavor from whatever you add and puts it in the beer." We first developed Randall back around 2002 to beat our West Coast brethren in a hop-centric beer showdown called The Lupulin Slam. We thought we'd just build that one and that would be the end of it, but right out of the gates fellow beer geeks and brewers asked us to build Randalls for them -- so we did." The guys at Pine Box spent a couple week building their own instead of paying for official ones, but it all works the same.
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food!
May 15, 2012 22:02:32 GMT -8
Post by imnotveryclever on May 15, 2012 22:02:32 GMT -8
I'm thinking I should use my roommate's juicer and go to town on cucumbers just before heading out and then bringing along seltzer water to make tasty refreshing beverages to help balance out too many beers
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Post by imnotveryclever on May 15, 2012 21:57:09 GMT -8
Beer Week is destroying me and my attempts at a gluten free diet. The "Can You Handle my Randall" event at the Pine Box last night was probably the most fun I've had at a beer event. They had the Elysian milk stout running through coffee and vanilla bean, fremont's summer ale running through thai basil and lemon grass, an ipa running through a mango-based fruit salad, dogfish's black and blue running through rum soaked cherries, etc. In my eagerness to try all the tasty creations I may have overdone it.
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Post by imnotveryclever on May 10, 2012 21:56:41 GMT -8
For the St. Bernardus, their Christmas Ale is pretty damn tasty. I've got a single Westy 12 I'm waiting to try. I feel like drinking it alone would be a waste. Gotta find a Belgian fan or two to share it with. Maybe a tasting with Orval and Chouffe or something.
Ro, I had that Elysian split shot espresso milk stout tonight. Highly recommended to any of you Cappuccino Stout fan folks.
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Post by imnotveryclever on May 7, 2012 9:14:10 GMT -8
I think I'm overwhelming myself and freaking out about the logistics of this whole thing. I'm on the verge of selling my ticket and just going regular camping with friends that weekend instead. Solo and first time combined just seems like too much. You're not very clever. Yes, yes. I suppose I did set myself up. I'm just really good at overwhelming myself. Currently trying to "obligate" myself into going by buying things like a camp stove and canopy. Honestly, at the risk of overshare, if I feel really isolated and alone when I am surrounded by people I'm pretty prone to anxiety attacks. If I can relax and just have fun I'll be fine. If I let my social awkwardness (self dubbed mild aspergers) get the better of me, I'm afraid I'll ruin the whole weekend for myself.
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Post by imnotveryclever on May 5, 2012 10:28:29 GMT -8
It was the only one I was really seeing on Craigslist. I was skeptic but figure I'd defer to people who knew more. Will not be purchasing. Thanks!
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Post by imnotveryclever on May 5, 2012 1:30:21 GMT -8
Would this type of canopy be useless at the gorge?
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