Mary Jane IPA - cool name. good but not great beer.

@ Rock Bottom in Gaslamp Quarter drinking Liquid Sunshine.

Super Heros

Carrying on with the post-Halloween news.

Irony Tastes Like Beer

James Miller, 20, of Cincinnati, Ohio dressed as a breathalyzer test for Halloween and the fuzz picked him up for suspicion of driving under the influence. That's right, he's not even the legal drinking age (we're assuming Ohio is on par with the rest of the country). The story goes something like this:

"Oxford police arrested James P. Miller after allegedly finding him driving the wrong way down a one-way street with no headlights at about 1:30 a.m. Nov. 1., according to a police report.

Miller, who was allegedly stuffing his mouth with chewing gum, told the officer he did not have anything to drink that night, according to police."

The conversation went something like this:

Miller: I swear ociffer, I haven't been drinkin'.

Officer: You were driving with no headlights.

Miller: Well, uh, jeez, it's easier to see with the natural lighting.

Officer: The wrong way down a one way street.

Miller: I didn't see the sign 'cause it's dark.

Mr. Miller blew a .158 and is pictured above. We could not locate a picture of the breathalyzer blowing into a breathalyzer. That is probably just being greedy but we looked anyway.

Sierra Nevada Wins Green Award

This week, Food Engineering Magazine held its inaugural Sustainable Plant of the Year Awards and Sierra Nevada took home top honors.

Here is why they won (according to the FEM article):

"To reduce energy, heat recovery equipment has been installed to capture excess heat from boilers, fuel cells and kettles. Energy-efficient controlled lighting is used throughout, and electronics and equipment were chosen to minimize the use of energy. Monitoring equipment keeps track of the process and facility energy expenditures, and employees were trained to save energy.

The facility has its own co-generation fuel cells, which generate up to 1.2 MW, and they can be powered by either natural gas or biogas byproducts captured from the brewing process. Waste heat is converted to steam for maintaining brewing temperatures. Food-grade carbon dioxide, recovered from the brewing process, is used for carbonation in bottling, keg pressurization and counter-pressure in holding tanks and provides all of the CO2 the plant requires.

Measures to conserve water—critical in California—include automated CIP systems, efficient cleaning and rinsing systems, scheduling, internal flow meters, hose bib retrofits and education. All these efforts and more keep water usage to about 290,000 gallons per day.

An on-site wastewater treatment plant processes all brewery water, has a two-stage aerobic and anaerobic capability and produces biogas for heating and electricity generation. The brewery is a firm believer of intermodal transport, with rail doing the long trips. In 2008, SNBC diverted 68,000 tons from landfill and avoided $4.5 million in waste hauler charges. Just about everything imaginable at the plant is recycled—from spent grains and yeast to cans, bottles, packaging material, batteries, compost and construction debris."

Whew, that's a lot of reading. You may also recall that Sierra Nevada has a contract with the folks at E-Fuel Micro Fueler. EFMC is the company that makes fuel from beer and is partially owned by Shaq. It's safe to say that Sierra Nevada is one of the greenest brewers out there and other brewers should take notice and follow suit.

Smell A Rat

We found this posting on craigslist and thought it would be fun to share (bold added for emphasis). Can you spot a flake or a con artist a mile away?

Micro Brewery anyone?? (Eagle Point)

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Date: 2009-10-30, 2:50PM PDT
Reply to: sale-ryurm-1444837149@craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

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This Renaissance Brewing system can generate in excess of $50,000 in profit per month as it stands. It is a truley amazing piece of equipment, and capable of brewing any style of beer that much larger systems can brew. It is also scaled down in size so that it can be used in an area as small as 6' x 6'.

I really do not want to sell it, but could be persuaded for the right price. I paid a tad over $75,000 for it, but when you consider how much it will generate for it's owner per month, it would have been a bargain at $250,000. I am actually interested in locating the system somewhere and sharing in the profits generated by the system. If the model works...I would of course pay to duplicate the program in as many locations as makes sense.

If you have a sense of adventure. I'm happy to sell it to you, or???? Maybe we could create an incredible local beer brand following. I'm open to idea's.

I can spot a flake or con artists a mile away, so don't waste my time if you're broke or have a lousy credit rating.

Email me with your thoughts. If I like the way you think...I'll be in touch.

If you think this is a bad idea...ask Mike or Brian McMenamin in Portland what they think.

• Location: Eagle Point
• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Oh My God! - They Kilkenny!

Our good friends at The Dubliner are the first in the country to offer Ireland's Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale on draft. Think of Kilkenny as a sister to Guinness. It has the same creamy head but the brew is a starkly-Irish red ale. It's a bit sweet with a somewhat dry finish and not as heavy as Guinness. Frankly, it's just like Guinness in terms of feel but Kilkenny tastes like an ale rather than a stout. If you're looking for an alternative to Guinness this is it.

The Dubliner has been voted Washington, DC's best Irish Pub for good reason. The place feels like Ireland. It's dark, everything is wood, and the bartender has a goofy accent. The food is typically Irish pub food. The beer selection is what you expect from the Irish - always a variety on tap ranging from your Irish favorites to domestic standbys. And they have history too. So much that Morning Joe broadcast from the Dub on Inauguration Day. Next time you're around Union Station, stop by for a Kilkenny and have the fish n chips.