"My Hands Felt Just Like Two Balloons"

Short & sweet today everyone. I just have a few event updates for you, then I gotta get back to work. Write these down:

1. Beer & cheese pairing at Deckard's on Tuesday the 26th has only 5 seats remaining. You can see the last post for details and a link to pay. At $25.00, this thing is a steal. Don't be cheesy--sign up!
2. Fred & Peter's Scary Beer Dinner is next Wednesday the 27th in Duluth. Only 4 seats remaining. I had to make a last minute substitution to my roster. Founders Harvest got benched for Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Jack & Ken's. My bench player is fresh off a gold medal performance at this year's GABF, so sorry Founders, you need to sit this one out. Sometimes your best player may be on the bench. Tom Brady was riding the pine behind Drew Bledsoe. One is a future Hall of Fame-er, and the other is barely a, "Oh yeah, whatever happened to that guy?". Tom Brady happened to him, that's what. Jack & Ken's is a super hoppy black barley wine. What? Yes. On draft.
3. Taco Mac at Crabapple has a cask of Heavy Seas Winter Storm set for Friday, 10/29. I will be in San Diego that day, but Kevin Fox from Heavy Seas will be there. He's a great guy, and the Winter Storm firkin is going to taste great. Can Crabapple come close to the 30 minute record it took Cumming to drain a LH Twin Sisters cask? Show up and find out. 
4. That same day (10/29) our Newnan store has their 5th Anniversary. They are sitting on a cask of Rogue Shakespeare and a keg of the Founders Harvest (not to be confused with Drew Bledsoe, which is not a beer). They also have some 1 liter bottles of 2009 SweetWater Festive. Nice.
5. The weekend of Friday, November 12th is looking pretty awesome right now if you live in the NW part of metro Atlanta. Kennesaw has their 2nd Anniversary, and there will be a firkin of Terrapin Moo-Hoo. Not familiar with Moo-Hoo? Well it isn't out yet, but it is a chocolate Milk Stout. I am not a gambler, but if I were, I'd bet the house that this thing is going to be incredible. We will also be doing an event on Saturday the 13th in Canton. It is called Lenny's Three Ways. We will have He'Brew Lenny's RIPA on draft, in a firkin, and on the beer engine from a cask-conditioned keg. They also have '09 and '10 He'Brew Rejewvenator kegs. Can you spell "des-ig-nat-ed dri-ver"? I can. We may offer some of these in an 8 oz. pour so that you can get the feel for everything without losing the feeling in your brain.
6. Most likely we will be doing a book signing/meet & greet with Shmaltz Brewing Co. (He'Brew and Coney Island brands) founder and president Jeremy Cowan. He has an interesting story to tell (I mean, he got a book published about it, so...) and is a really engaging guy. And there will be special beers, of course. The plan right now is to do this on the 12th (Friday), with the location TBD. Depending on flight arrangements, we may need to move this to Thursday the 11th. Stay tuned.

In other news, there are a fair amount of things up in the air. That's not news, really. Things are always up in the air. Birds, for one. Well, I guess they are not always up in the air when you think about it. It is safe to say that at any time of day, any day of the year, somewhere in the world a bird is up in the air. But all birds? Doubtful. Maybe if there was a catastrophic disaster around the globe, like if--and this is a big if--all of the birds in the world would be up in the air at the same time. If a meteor struck the Earth, for example, shaking the entire planet violently and instantaneously, then all birds that were not dead would be up in the air at once, right? Except penguins. They can't fly. So...so much for that theory. Clouds are always up in the air. Right? Is fog a cloud? Does fog touch the ground or does the heat from the Earth keep the fog just above the surface of the planet? Rainbows are up in the air, but they aren't real. They're just refractions of light; hallucinations basically.

Well we can ponder what is or is not "up in the air all the time" all day if we want. And you can't say "outer space" is up in the air. I already thought of that, but there isn't any air in outer space, so that's disqualified. You can't be "up in the air" if you are just "up above the air". Big difference. OK, moving on.....But what about some sort of element that exists only is the stratosphere? Like ozone? Can or does ozone exist only up in the air and nowhere else? Not locked in some prehistoric rocks. Not trapped in a volcano or emitted by the ocean? Sorry, but I was asleep during most of my science classes at every level of learning. That shit is boring. My apologies to the scientists and science enthusiasts out there. Not my cup of tea.

So what kinds of beer stuff is up in the air? There is a second cask of  He'Brew Lenny's RIPA on the way,  casks of Lagunitas Wet Hop Pale Ale and Barrel-Aged Cappuccino Stout en route as well, plus a second Moo-Hoo cask. Details TBD once we get a little closer to the arrivals. We are also planning a huge, week-long event at 4 stores in December. For now all you need to know is that we will be tapping 8 different kegs on 8 consecutive days at 4 different locations, and all of the beers are special. The stores are evenly distributed to allow all of our customers outside the city to participate. No ITP stores are involved in these events. It is going to be something that you don't want to miss. Starting 12/1, clear your calendars for a while. Trust me on this one.

I hope to be in touch before I leave for sunny San Diego next Friday. If not, I will definitely return with a lot of great photos from Stone, Lost Abbey, Green Flash, Ale Smith, Ballast Point and Pizza Port. If you are watching the Chargers/Titans game on Halloween (4 pm EST) watch for me. I'll be the guy that looks like the guy whose picture is at the top of this page. In the meantime, there is a slide show from Boston at the top of the slide shows to keep you busy. Talk to you soon.