Mark Your Calendars!



Terry's 2000th beer was the Reunion 2011 cask

 Looks like it is going to be a busy September out there beer drinkers! Get your pencils and pens out and start writing down some key dates to remember. Let's begin:

1. Newnan is breaking out some cellared beer to wrap up the summer in style. These are all vintage dated beers from 2010, so they are new credits for Brewniversity members if you do not already have the '10 dated ones on your list. Tonight there will be a keg of Allagash Curieux '10, plus bottles of Brooklyn Local 1 '10 and Local 2 '10. Saturday they have a (small) keg of Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Jack  and Ken's '10. Then on Sunday there is a keg of SweetWater Happy Ending '10. I guess they want to end the month...happily. That is some great stuff guys. Enjoy.
2. On Thursday, September 1st, begin a new month with an old ale. More specifically, a firkin of Burton Bridge Thomas Sykes Old Ale at The Fred Bar. Don't act like you know what that is. Nobody does. I don't, but I sure want to drink some. Basically this is a super rare and expensive cask of really strong beer from England. You probably don't want to miss it.
3. More action at The Fred Bar on Friday, September 9th! This time it is the Gypsy Brewer Take-Over. A "gypsy brewer" is the term for a brewer that doesn't have his or her own brewery, but instead brews their own recipes on other people's brew systems. Most of the time these turn out to be really crazy and exotic brews. What we have for the 9th are 3 beers from Mikkeller, the notorious Danish gypsy brewer, and three more from his American counterpart, Brad Stillwater. And, of course, a collaboration beer brewed by them both. Expect the unexpected, and expect to need a ride home. Drink safe, that's what I always say. I actually don't "say" that in a literal sens, but I advocate safe drinking, so you catch my drift. (In case you were not paying attention, that is 7 different beers for this event).
4. Starting Sunday, September 11th, Deckard's will be adding a new feature whenever the Falcons have a 1:00 pm kick-off: a Bloody Mary bar. For a mere $6.00 you can get a Ketel One Bloody made with Matt's home-made, proprietary mix. Then you can go doctor up your drink with all kinds of gourmet hot sauces, pickled what-have-yous and all that good stuff. If you have never enjoyed a Bloody Mary bar before, well, you haven't really lived. It's a great way to ease into a lazy Sunday watching football. 
5. Thursday, September 13th there will be a cask of Terrapin Reunion Beer 2011 in Duluth. We need it for the SOLD OUT beer dinner that night, so it isn't getting tapped until about 7:30 pm. This is the 8.5% brown ale made with cocoa nibs, vanilla and chili peppers that I mentioned a week or so ago. Wow was this beer great. I can safely say that this will be your last chance to have it from a cask. Don't miss it.
6. Deckard's is celebrating its one-year anniversary on September 17th with their first annual Sausage Fest. No, not like your parties in college. This will feature edible sausages in all kinds of iterations. For $15.00 (plus tax), you will have an all-you-can-eat bonanza of stuffed meats. There will be different ones to choose from, and fun side dishes too, so you can try a selection of offerings from Atlanta's own Spotted Trotter sausage makers. This is not a singular sausage event, it's a Sausage Fest! There will be live music, so maybe you can boogie off a little sausage before you gobble down a few more. But wait! There's more. This isn't Fred's Sausage Page, it's Fred's Beer Page, so let's talk about the beer. There will be tons of Oktoberfest beers to chooses from, including the Bell's Octoberfest, which is not that easy to find at all. Ever. Plus you can get liters of Spaten Oktoberfest and Lager. Prost! Tables outside will be set up beer hall style, so be ready to party with some cool folks, elbow to elbow. Did I mention the firkin of Terrapin PumpkinFest? Half pumpkin ale, half Oktoberfest style, 100% delicious, cask-conditioned freshness. All of the beers are a la carte, of course. Look for a Pay Pal link next week once we get final clearance on all of these details. We will pre-sell tickets for the food in anticipation of a sell-out, so if great beer and unlimited sausages sound like your kind of thing, clear this date on your calendar. (Yes, it is a Saturday in the fall, which means football. No, we did not overlook that. In case you have not been to Deckard's, they have TV's. Lots of them. Nice ones too.) How do you like the slogan I came up with: "Deckard's First Annual SausageFest--Let It All Hang Out!"

Okay, that is a lot of stuff for you to consider. I also want you to mark Wednesday, October 13th on your calendars. That is the date for the Dogfish Head Ancient Ales Beer Dinner at Lindbergh. I don't have time to go into the details right now, but it is going to be out of control. You'll want to be there. If you don't know what "ancient ales" are, look it up. Cool stuff. Have great weekend everyone.

Beer Dinner Alert!

Hey everyone, you may want to run over to http://www.tacomac.com/ to check out the menu for the September 13th Terrapin beer dinner in Duluth. I sent it out to our Chancellor level Brewniversity members yesterday, and it is already almost half full. What I can I say, it's an awesome menu. People love Terrapin. This event's a winner.

But wait, there's more....One lucky winner drawn at random will win an extra special prize package that evening. Each attendee will have their name entered into the drawing as many times as the number of tickets purchased. You pay for four people, your name gets entered four times. Buy a single ticket, your name goes in once. Get it? Gotta be fair. The winner gets two tickets to the Terrapin Hop Harvest party at the brewery on Saturday, Sept. 24th. What? You don't want to drive back from Athens after you've been drinking? No problem. You also get a hotel room for the night as well (The Foundry, it's nice). Afraid of getting a DUI in Athens? You won't, because your prize also features transportation from the hotel to the brewery and back. All you have to do is drive to Athens and have a good time. Can you handle that? I knew you could.

If you were wondering what the Hop Harvest party is all about, I will tell you. They will be harvesting their own hops grown at the brewery (duh). There will be live music, beer everywhere, brewery tours, a cask tent, games and a ton of cool, fun-loving people. There is not only the big tasting area inside the brewery, but a huge outdoor area that is fenced in. You can bring your dog if you want! It's also an afternoon event, so you can be safely tucked into bed at a decant hour and back home early on Sunday.

Did I mention that this party will be the first tasting of the 2011 Terrapin So Fresh And So Green, Green? Yep, you'll want to be there for that I imagine.

That's all I have for you folks. Oh wait: Southern Tier 2XIPA cask @ Perimeter on Wednesday of next week. Heavy Seas Red Sky At Night cask @ Decatur next Friday. Bye!

Hooray For Monday Night! On Wednesday....

That's right folks, this is your reminder about the release of two Monday Night Brewing beers into Taco Mac land tomorrow (that's Wednesday in case you are not an "alert" reader). Stop in to the Perimeter store tomorrow (or today or yesterday, depending on when you are reading this) around 5:00 pm to try Eye Patch IPA and Drafty Kilt Scotch Ale on draft. Some of the guys from the brewing company will be there as well. Got questions? Ask those dudes. Neck ties and defiantly raised fists not required. See you there. Bye.

So...Today Didn't Exactly Suck

Looks like a Two-Deep, zone defense......

Yep, that's me, taking the snap from a Falcon's player. Well, a dummy in a Falcons jersey at least. That would be in the lobby of the Falcons' training camp in Flowery Branch, GA. I "had" to go up there and record a radio ad with Falcons defensive tackle Kroy Biermann. It's a pretty easy connection to make: He's "Bier-mann", and I'm the beer guy. Taco Mac is the Official Game Day Headquarters of the Atlanta Falcons. For those of you who don't understand the billions of dollars involved in NFL football, or have never heard of what is called an "attorney", let me help you out. You can't just say that you are the official home of an NFL franchise unless you have the expressed, written consent of.....If you watch football, you would get that joke. But it's true. You can't go around claiming to be the "official" anything of a professional sports team without actually having clearance from the team to do so. If you did, you would find out very quickly the meaning of "attorney". And don't event think about using any of the licensed names, images and trademarks of the NFL either. What about the NCAA? Same story. You have to pay to use the words, "March Madness" for example. Why all of this litigious craziness? You. The fan, if you are a fan. (If you aren't, then you probably either stopped reading, or skipped down to the beer events at the bottom ny now anyway.) More specifically, your wallet. See, advertisers want what's in there, so they need to convince you that their beer, cars, pizza, deodorant and athlete's foot medicine are the ones that you identify with, and will therefore purchase

This is you at the store: "Damn, my feet itch."

This is your brain: "Bam! Tough Actin' Tinactin!"

You (ignoring that initial impulse): "Let's look at the different brands and make an educated selection based on the active ingredients and convincing claims of superiority over the competition made on the labels."

Your subconscious brain: "Gee, I love the [insert favorite team here]. I identify with them on an internal level, and therefore I am subject to prefer other people, automobile manufacturers, insurance providers and generally anything else associated with [insert favorite team here]."

You: "Hmmm....Extra Strength....? Prescription Strength..? # 1 In Customer Satisfaction....? I can't decide."

Your brain: "Bam! Tough Actin' Tinactin!"

Your subconscious brain: "I saw that on TV! And it was during the game! I need Tough Actin' Tinactin."

No photos past this point!

And $7.99 later, you are the proud owner of the officially endorsed athlete's foot cream--whether it works worth a damn or not--of the sports team of your liking. But damn it, this is your brand of athlete's foot cream, and all of the other ones can suck it.

That is how our brains work, and the advertisers know it. So the next time you see an especially poignant, touching*, or hilarious advertisement, check your wallet. Someone's trying to get in. Now you may be asking yourself, "Self, why is Fred calling out the entire advertising business, when he himself does ads on the radio?" Good question. But the answer is simple: Because football and Taco Mac are awesome. I don't mind pimping out either one. If you don't like football, that's fine. I am sure that you enjoy spending every weekend afternoon in the fall and winter all by yourself. Whatever floats your boat. But the rest of us are pretty entertained watching giant-sized people collide in a frenzy of violent and exciting action. Frankly, sports has always been about drama, not balls, pucks or nets, and people have always loved drama. Ever heard of a stage play? It's what people watched before movies and TV. Sports is no different. Good guys, bad guys, a quest of some sort. Rings are involved. There are setbacks, redemption, victory snatched from the hands of defeat. All of it. Occasionally the hero loses, further vilifying his enemies, until they meet again in a contest so steeped in history, that it is just dripping with drama. And on and on it goes. Once you can accept the cheerleaders as the "damsels in distress", my analogy is complete. Just go with it.

But like I said, an advertisement featuring Taco Mac and football is not the same as Tough Actin' Tinactin. Taco Mac has 100's of different beers, and that is, in a word, awesome. But I don't need to tell you about all of that. And if you're not on board with the whole football thing, well, that's your business. Plus, I have my suspicions about things like athlete's foot medication and dandruff shampoo. Why, for example, would a dandruff shampoo want to cure your flaky scalp? Then you wouldn't need their product anymore. I suspect that their shampoo cures your dandruff for a very short period of time, then gives it back to you before you could go out and buy another bottle of a different shampoo. Then they get you thinking that you have "problem dandruff", and now you need their "Extra Strength" formula. You know who needs dandruff shampoo and athlete's foot cream? People that don't bathe enough, that's who. Flaky scalp? Take a shower maybe. Fungus on your feet? Try soap.





Sy Sperling

 In closing, I have no ethical qualms about selling people on the attributes of Taco Mac, because I'm not just the president of the Brewniversity, I'm also a client.

So you can see that training camp was fun. Kroy Biermann was really cool, and he was a good sport about doing our radio ads. I couldn't get any autographs or anything though. These guys are working hard out in the sun, and this was a closed practice. I had to have credentials to walk around the building and on the practice field (no photos on the field allowed), and that basically means: Don't act like some sort of awe-struck idiot and freak out around the players. From the field we got to watch them run some two-minute drills, which was also very cool. Julio Jones was out there running routes, looking like a beast. We were escorted around by a big-time front office guy, so I got to ask all kinds of questions about the inner working of an NFL franchise. Luckily I am somewhat educated on these things, so I didn't look like a dumb ass. Plus he had a Detroit Red Wings helmet on his desk, so we are both from Michigan, and therefore bros. Did I mention I got to meet team president Rich McKay? Yeah, today didn't exactly suck folks.

I look I need a beer, don't I?



And now, here are some beer events:

1. Wednesday you can get your hands on two new brews from Georgia's newest brewing outfit. At our Perimeter store we will have Monday Night Brewing Co.'s IPA and Scotch Ale for the first time. The guys from the brewery will be there, and everything kicks off around 5:30 pm. Yes, I said a NEW brewery from Georgia.
2. This year's Reunion Beer 2011 by Terrapin is starting to arrive. The Fred and Taco Mac Decatur will have firkins of it next Saturday the 13th (3:00 at TFB, 5:00 at Decatur). This is a high-gravity brown ale with some cocoa nibs and chili peppers in it. Crazy. Can't wait to try it. The event at The Fred is also to commemorate the 2,000th beer of Brewniversity student Terry Becker. He's been tip-toeing around the beer selection at 1,999 for a month or so waiting for something special. Here you go Terry.
3. On Wednesday the 17th we have a firkin of Southern Tier 2XIPA at Perimeter. I have told you at least 3 times how great this beer is in a cask. This is your last chance for a while. I know for a fact that this is the last of a chunk of firkins that came into town for the ST beer dinner in July. If you've been snoozing on the last few, time to wake up.

Have a great weekend everyone. And don't forget to Rise Up!



Where in the hell is Samuel L. Jackson when you need him?