Voting And Vikings

I need you to pay attention here. I have a really cool event on Wednesday that you definitely want to be a part of I am sure. When I was in Europe earlier this year, I was with a few guys from Terrapin. They had already been overseas for a few days, brewing beer in Norway with a brewery called Nogne-O. That is pronounced nun-yuh, like, "That is none ya damn business". I do not claim to be able to speak Norwegian, but that is close enough. So the beer is here now, and we are going to break into it at The Fred Bar on Wednesday night. Some of the brewery guys, including Spike, the brew master who went to Norway to brew this beer, will be there. They are making a slide show, so you can see pictures of these gigantic Norwegian brewers who are actual descendants from vikings. I have seen the pictures. If these guys walked in the room, everyone would stop talking, and anyone in their right mind would be a little scared. But apparently they are really cool people, and their story is similar to that of many American brewers: The Scandinavian beer scene had become dominated by overly homogenized, bland beer. About 10 years ago, like the U.S. in the 1980's, a few pioneers decided to resurrect quality brewing in that part of the world. Now some of the most exotic (and expensive) beers come from Scandinavia. Nogne-O is the leader, at least from the perspective I have here in the American southeast. If you are not familiar with their beer, there will be a few on tap in addition to the Nogne-O/Terrapin Collaboration Imperial Rye Porter. The Fred Bar also has a few Terrapin surprises up its sleeve keg-wise. So expect a great selection of beers, a slide show and a short presentation by Spike. Q & A from the audience is encouraged, so if you have any questions for Spike, this is your chance. He is a great guy and a friend of mine. (Translation: He is cool.)

That covers the vikings, but, you may be wondering, "What about the voting?" Well, our friends at Terrapin never do anything half-way, so Wednesday will also feature a voting booth and ballots. No, we are not doing anything related to the upcoming political election. Bars are no place to discuss politics. Everyone agrees on that. Yet after 3-4 beers, a lot of folks seem to forget that, and start running their mouth. Let me help you out here: No one wants to hear your political points of view. When is the last time someone asked you, with real interest, what you thought about politics? It is the one thing that people feel inclined to share, even when no one else expressed any interest in hearing it. You don't just turn to a total stranger and say, "I like cheese," for example. You might think that your political opinions are more important than someone's opinion of cheese, but trust me, no one else does. No one holds your political opinions in such high regard as you do. And nobody ever got in a fist fight over cheese. At least I hope not. What we will be voting on this coming Wednesday is your favorite discontinued Terrapin beer. Side Project, Monster Tour, Krunkles Series, crazy one-time brews, even the 30 Strong, brewed for Taco Mac's 30th anniversary in 2009. All of them. You can watch the election returns on the Terrapin web site (the voting is going on across their entire distribution footprint), and after the votes are all in and the polls are closed, Terrapin will remake the beer for a future re-release. They are bringing a voting booth and the whole nine yards. That's pretty cool, and I am looking forward to it for sure. But before we finish talking about this event, I just need to know one thing. What are your thoughts on cheese? I am pro-cheese. I am very supportive of cheese's agendas and policies, even though I don't know what they are. Does cheese have an agenda? What are you trying to accomplish over there cheese? What? You're just trying to be delicious? Well it's working. Keep it up.

I have a few more things for you, but I will make them quick. More to follow as we get closer to these events. Here you go:

1. At www.tacomac.com you can sign up for the September 19th Woodford Reserve dinner. This five-course dinner will feature cocktails using Woodford Reserve, and also the proprietary Woodford Personal Selection from my recent trip to the distillery. We will be drinking that last one straight up. There will be a slide show of my trip, but most importantly, Master Distiller Chris Morris will be there to talk about bourbon making, Woodford, horses, Kentucky, cheese could come up I suppose, you never know. He is a very engaging person who is an expert at what he does, and a pleasure to be around. That is the real highlight of this event, and the menu is out-of-this-world too. I am going to post that once I have some more time, but the sign-up is underway now, and there are only 12 spots left. This is the first big announcement about the dinner, and it is almost full already. Wow.
2. Project 12 comes to Perimeter on Wednesday the 22nd and Decatur on the 24th. Stay tuned for more details, but just put these dates on your calendar if you are into beer. And surprises.

That is all I have for you right now. I will be back with more news and events next week. Have a good weekend.