MNB, dog terrorizers
Home again! After about a week and a half away from Atlanta, it’s good to be back. I was looking forward to a cold beer and a couch-full of football to unwind a little. So I went to the fridge ? and lo and behold ? new beer! My roommate The Goche took it upon himself to bring back 3 full growlers from Belt Creek Brewpub in Montana. Montana, you say? Yes. Montana, which is pretty much Canada, known for their bison and, of course, beer.
So now I find myself on the couch, watching Auburn vs. Clemson (Go Auburn, of course), sipping on a Belt Creek Hefeweizen. More on the beers later, but for now, I must share with you how disconcerting it is to have a dog stare at you ceaselessly for days. Being the amazing roommate that I am (ladies take note), I took Steven’s dog Donut with me on vacation. She’s been a bit out-of-sorts. All of the travel has her wondering when the next big abandonment will come. She won’t let me out of her sight. Yes, even now that we’re home ? and from under the coffee table ? she manages to keep dibs on me.
This picture was not staged in any way. She just stoops down and stares at me. I’ve been laying here on the couch for about an hour. Still, she stares. She’s been through a lot recently. Maybe I should pour her a beer…
A blogging experiment…
We’re pretty innovative. You know that. And you’ve come to expect nothing less than perfection from our blog. Which is why we’re trying this new thing (for us, at least) from PhotoCrank. In theory, you should be able to click on any picture we post and add your own caption and/or read other people’s captions. Practice on the picture above.
If you don’t like this feature, let us know and we will ELIMINATE IT PERMANENTLY. Travis, tread lightly.
Truth be told, I don’t know if Travis has the technological know-how to figure this one out… we’ll see.
Boscos brewpub in Nashville: some good beers… and some bad beers
Nashville doesn’t have many options when it comes to finding a fresh beer brewed on-premises. Of course, neither does Atlanta. I’ve been to Boscos in Hillsboro Village before, but last night was the first time I ordered their beer sampler ? 8 draft brews, including 4 seasonals. Last time I was at Boscos, I was a bit harsh on them.
Having tasted their full lineup in one sitting, I may have jumped the gun. Granted, they brew a few unexceptional beers:
- Their hefeweizen (which was interestingly one of their seasonal selections) had an acidic aftertaste
- Their Scottish Ale was simply atrocious. Git yoself a Drafty Kilt, fool.
- Their German Alt beer was a bit one-dimensional
However, Boscos also boasted some very good brews:
- A strong IPA brewed with Cascade and Centennial hops
- A seasonal pale ale ? both hoppy and biscuity
- A passable milk stout (though not up to Duck-Rabbit standards)
- A dern good doppelbock
Will I go back to Boscos? Obviously. With one micro and three or so brewpubs, Nashville makes my local beer choices easy. Will I look forward to it? This time, yes. Their food has always been good, and now I’m looking forward to a full glass of that IPA paired with… something… good.
Creek jousting at my parents’ cabin turns sour
Please forgive the lull in posting. I’ve be n hanging out in the mountains at my parents’ cabin (AKA watching Steven Seagal movies), so I’ve had precious little time to blog. And we all know we can’t trust Jeff or Joel to blog. Jeff doesn’t even know we have a website yet.
Chris and Jerre, a few buddies from high school, came up to partake in some fresh mountain air and Steven Seagal. Whilst hiking yesterday, Jerre challenged Chris to a jousting match. That’s when things went pear-shaped, as the Brits say.
In the middle of a friendly dead log fight, Chris got real and came over the top. Jerre blocked, but Chris’ “weapon” was broken in twain. The broken piece clocked Jerre in the face. Needless to say, it was amazing. Even more amazing? The fact that I got it on camera (click picture for a close-up). I’ve taken the liberty of circling the part of the stick that came in contact with Jerre’s nose as it ricocheted into the creek. Nice.
A Bryan Adams Christmas
As if Christmas wasn’t awesome enough already…
My brother, thinking of the brewery, got me an old poster of our patron saint, Bryan Adams, for Christmas. Jeff, make room in the garage!
No Brewing Tonight
In light of the fact that it is Christmas Eve we will not be brewing tonight. If you show up at Jeff’s you’re likely to be disappointed as there is only flat beer (we’re out of CO2) and Jeff sitting around a fire playing christmas songs on his guitar. I did find this sweet video on YouTube however…some people have way too much time on their hands (like Jonathan).
Stirring it Up
I’ve been becoming a bit of a health nut over the past few months. Don’t fear – I’m still drinking plenty of good beer (Guinness is good for you..Right?) but I’ve cut back on over-processed foods in favor of organics, whole grains, and flax seed (keeps you regular). Anyhow, my wife’s cousin works for a very cool bookstore called Rock Point in Chattanooga and gave me an advanced reading copy of Stirring it Up: How to make money and save the world (comes out Jan 8th if you wanna get it) by the CEO of Stonyfield Yogurt. It’s less of a single organized story and more of a collection of numerous stories of what Stonyfield and other companies are doing to create sustainable businesses with minimal environmental impact. My major takeaways are:
1. Government cannot solve our environmental problems (or many problems at all for that matter). Businesses have the creativity and technology and consumers have the buying power to bring about change. Example: the consumer demand for organic produce is now starting to force large suppliers to change from pesticide driven farming to sustainable organic farming…all with zero interfer nce from the government.
2. While going “Green” has long been a term associated with whackos it is far from the truth. Being efficient stewards of energy resources and the environment can actually mean lower costs AND higher sales (by leveraging the marketing) – ultimately the aim of every business. One example cited in the book is New Belgium brewery in Colorado – they pioneered the use of a steam based brew kettle which used 65% less energy AND also aids in producing more consistent beer. In addition to this 20% of their power is created onsite by treating their wastewater and utilizing the escaping methane to produce electricity.
While I’m not turning into a full-fledged environmental whacko what I do think I’m realizing is the increasing need for businesses to step up to the plate and start to think about how we can be more efficient. Our generation has the resources and technology at our fingertips like never before in history yet we are by far the most wasteful. There is something extremely beautiful and good about striving for efficiency. Now I’m not quite yet sure how we can apply some of this to our MNB sessions yet. We do produce some occasional methane (especially Jonathan) but capturing it may be difficult…