Go East Young Man

Driving to my parents' cabin has taken on a whole new meaning. One has to arrive at Highway 63 in Wisconsin, near Turtle Lake. You can take 94 east to 35E north and cross over to Wisconsin via 8 to pick up 63, but why would you? It's much easier to zip east on 94 to 63, giving you the opportunity to stop at Chicone's Liquor Mart.

Chicone's (who's web site is still under construction) is the beer mecca for Minnesotans. They've realized that Minnesota's liquor laws prevent many wonderful brews from making it to the state, thus forcing beer geeks like myself to make the trip to Hudson once in awhile. Thankfully, I have my parents' cabin on the way.

Difficult doesn't capture the struggle of trying to pick out two six packs. Three Floyds, Hair of the Dog, Anderson Valley and Lagunitas are a few of the more well known breweries represented at Chicone's, but you can also find many quality Wisconsin beers you've never heard of. I ended up getting some Smuttynose IPA and Lagunita's Copper Ale, and a bomber of Anderson Valley Abbey Style Ale.

All were amazing, made more so by the fact that you can't find them in Minnesota.

In a Galaxy...

I had one of those Moments I'll Remember for the Rest of My Life today. I'm sure Dylan didn't realize the pleasure of watching Star Wars: A New Hope with him would bring me. Of course, the viewing took a whole new meaning for me as well, and I'm not just talking about knowing that Darth Vader is Leia and Luke's dad, but that does sum up some of the intrigue.

Not surprisingly, Dylan was more fascinated by the cadre of unique creatures and whether they were nice or mean. I mean, how do you explain that the Jawas are just trying to survive, and that Greedo is only trying to make a buck from Jabba the Hut?

New Beer

I've been meaning to hit up the Cellars in Roseville for some new beers, and finally made a trip over there. Ya see, they sell single bottles at 10% off a mixed six-pack, and so even though it's $10, its six beers I've never had.

I first dipped into the Rud Tulip from New Holland Brewing. It's an amber, with a forward bitterness that blends together well with the heavy malts. It was nowhere near complex as, say, Brian Boru from Three Floyds because nothing's like FFF, but it brought up some memories of Brian.

The $3.99 price for a 11.2 oz. bottle of Petrus Pale Ale, aged in oak casks for almost 2 years, intrigued me. I was expecting a sweet pale ale, but just got a mouth full of sourness. I hear this is how it is supposed to taste, but it reminded me of that sour batch of Hazed and Infused that passed through town recently. I'll pass on this again.

Perhaps the most pleasant surprise came from a brewery not known for making quality beers. City Brewing out of LaCrosse, WI is known for light, mass-produced lagers, but their seasonals are worth picking up. Their pale ale is brewed with a mouthful of citrus-ey cascade hops, and can stand up to most pales.

It's been a good week for new beers. My mother-in-law knows me well. She brought with her from France a number of tasty treats, including Korlene, a French organic amber. It was well-balanced, with a pleasant nutty flavor. This would be a standard in my fridge if I could find it here.

Other new beers included a wonderful Triple from Sprecher Brewing, served at the Happy Gnome, and Ben's Irish red, sampled at a quality bottling session with Ben. Although they were both a little watery, his Fat Tire and my ESB will make for good summer pours.

Oh, and I almost forgot, session ended on Monday. Whew. I'm still recovering. That's all I have to say about that.

A spoonful of honey makes the session go down

The end of session is in sight and an agreement feels imminent. I realize how powerless advocates and lobbyists really are on the outside. Or rather not on the inside. As legislative staff, I found that I had many opportunities, working with the advocates and lobbyists, to do good things for people. But there is really a lack of apparent input being sought this year, at least not from the early childhood community.

But fortunately we're in the same boat with health care, property tax relief, the environment, transportation. And the boat has a hole in it. We fought the good fight, working with some key legislators. We positioned ourselves as well as did everyone did, but everyone is getting less. This is to be expected, but it's a little extreme this year, or at least that's how it feels to me.

[Transition]

So thank god for beer! (Was that smooth enough?)

I've been enjoying the Surly Bitter, a glass of flowery hopness you could drink all day. It reminded me quite a bit of Stone Levitation--low in alcohol, high in bitterness. Apparently, there are some casks of it floating around. The Surly that is.

Homebrew update

• I'm bottling the ESB next week (heads up Ben).
• I'll try the Saison soon. It probably needs another month in the bottle, but I need to check the gravity, right?
• I owe a House staffer a bottle of Saison, traded for his mead. It's unfair really, as I already drank his mead. It was like drinking a glass of carbonated honey. Amazing. Not my thing, but amazing.

One trial ends, another begins.

One week left of this legislative session. Some words to describe it thus far:

• Intense
• Engaged
• Tedious
• Shattered
• Exhilarating
• Betrayal
• and of course, Rewarding

One week from now, I imagine I'll be brain-dead, sleep-deprived, wasted and most of all, relieved. We came in looking for $300 million in the upcoming biennium for early care and education, and will likely walk out with $40 - $80 million. It ain't nothing, but it's nothing.

So I planted my garden this weekend and got the yard in tip-top shape for the arrival of spring, as well as the arrival of my brother- and mother-in-law in a week for almost 3 weeks. 3 weeks. We finished half of our basement this past autumn, adding a bathroom and a legal bedroom, and this will be the first time its to be used in the manner for which it was prescribed. I'm honored to offer up the new comforts for my in-laws, not to mention the alleviated stress the addition will bring me.

For the secondary time

Ben and I transferred our beers to their secondary fermenters tonight. My ESB (right) was fantastic. I withheld dry hopping it with East Kent Goldings, as it already 5 ounces of hops in it, and it didn't really need more. Ben's Amber (a la Fat Tire) was a bit watery (a la Fat Tire), but he dry hopped it with about a half ounce of Hallertau (left). His will be a great session beer, no doubt. That's a bottle of Summit ESB on the counter, newly re-released and now available year round in 12- and 6-packs. Yey!

Bottles and bottles

The Saison went into bottles last night! The final gravity was 1020, which, using a handy brew calculator, means the ABV is about 5%. I'm a little surprised that its so low, since I added a pound of candied sugar during the boil. It still needs another 6 weeks in the bottle, so maybe the gravity will change again. Either way, it will be a great session beer for the summer.



While bottling, we drank a bottle of Collaboration, not Litigation from Avery and Russian River. The story behind the beer is almost as good as the beer:

Salvation. The name of two intricate Belgian-style ales, created by us, Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing and Adam Avery of Avery Brewing. After becoming friends a few years ago, we realized that we both had a Salvation in our line-ups. Was it going to be a problem? Should one of us relinquish the rights? Hell no! we said. In fact, it was quickly decided that we should blend the brews to catch the best qualities of each and create an even more complex libation. In April 2004, in top-secret meeting at Russian River Brewing (well actually it was packed in the pub, and many were looking over our shoulders wondering what the hell was going on), we came up with the perfect blend of the two Salvations. Natalie, Vinnie’s much more significant other, exclaimed, We should call this Collaboration, not Litigation Ale! Perfect! we shouted. We celebrated deep into the night, (or is it morning?). Fast forward to November 14, 2006. After talking about it for over 2 years we finally decided to pull the trigger and Vinnie flew out to Avery to brew his Salvation exactly as he does in his brewery. This was blended with Avery’s Salvation December 11th, 2006. We hope you enjoy it as much we enjoyed brewing and blending it.

I couldn't have said it beter.

Conserve water; drink beer

I'm sick of the 2007 legislative session. This is my 11th session, although my first as a lobbyist, but survey says: this session is looooong. Everyone anticipated a slow start, with so many newly elected legislators needing to get up to speed about not only the issues, but about how a bill becomes a law.

But no, it slammed everyone, and now we're in the last two weeks, when stamina is needed most. Conference committees are wrapping up (or, in the case of the Education Conference Committee, just getting started). I worked almost 70 hours this week, including 25 in the last two days, and there's no sign of letting up until May 21st.

Yuck.

Thankfully I have a wonderful, understanding (sometimes) wife, and kids who still recognize me. Although I took Dylan to May Day today, and he definitely tested my tolerance and patience. Payback I suppose.

The parade, as usual, was inspiring. Paper mache, metal, and plastic bottles conveyed a positive message. Conserve water. Be raise awareness. Don't use bottled water. And, as usual, the sun came out and gave everyone the May Day they deserved.

Late nights in conference committees inevitably leads to closing out the evenings a local watering hole, which usually means the Muddy Pig, the Happy Gnome or Sweeney's .

One such evening landed me and a colleague at the G-nome, where they happened to have a variety of Big Sky brews left over from the beer dinner the night before. I had a version of their IPA, conditioned in bourbon barrels for 10 months. It really took the edge off of the hops--almost too much so. It was still interesting, and unlike any other beer I had had prior.

I wrapped the evening up with Flat Earth Brewing's sophomore release, Element 115, a California Common in the style of Anchor Steam. It's hard to compete with Anchor, but the 115 gives it a good run for it's money. I look forward to more releases from Flat Earth.

I'm sure the next two weeks with bring more late nights and more unique beers at one of St. Paul's top beer bars. It's a very small (molecular-sized) price to pay for missing my family.

Homebrew week

Well it's been a homebrew week, brewing, bottling and of course imbibing, because I recently heard that next to cleanliness, the most important part of making the stuff is drinking the stuff. It's good that someone finally put this into writing, as here I've been neglecting to sample various wares whilst brewing.

Ben and I got together Sunday to discuss love (well he did anyway) and figured, why not brew a couple batches? He went with a Belgian-style amber similar to Fat Tire, and I decided to embark on my first off-kit batch, choosing an ESB similar to Fuller's. I increased the amount of hops slightly, sure to cover up any imperfections. Fuggle hops are a nice mellow hop, which I grew for a brief time. They lacked any color besides green, which would be fine, except it was a lot of green as they took over the side of my garage. So I'll pay the dollar or so per ounce, and have some lovely purple vine to look at instead. It goes better with orange honeysuckle anyway.

So 3 ounces of fuggles and about the same amount of east kent golding hops should make for a solid ESB. I'm really interested in being able to distinguish between the multitude of hop varieties, and making your own recipes seems like a good way to accomplish this goal.

Back to brew day. As the wort was boiling, we drank some of the brown that Ben and some of his friends had bottled that afternoon. Very smooth, with a nice hop overtone. It will be even better when its cold and carbonated. All went well, and we'll be transferring the batches to their respective secondary fermenters this weekend. Which means I'll also be emptying the Saison into bottles this week to free-up a carboy.

Wrapping up brew week, I shared a bottle of stout with a friend, courtesy of a lobbying colleague. It was pretty amazing, and a great session beer. I'm looking forward to trying his pilsner this summer.

Final thought: This week has made me think that there are enough homebrewers working in government to start a Homebrew Caucus. So I'm starting it. Shoot me an email if your interested in joining.

Growlers, move over! 750 ml bottles are coming!

Under current law, brew pubs can sell growlers--half gallon jugs--of selected beer, and a bill moving through the Minnesota Legislature will allow brew pubs to sell 750 ml (wine bottle-sized) bottles of beer to the public. A provision to regulate the size of samples served by brew pubs was removed. Sponsored by Senator Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook), the bill is included in the Omnibus Liquor Bill, meaning it's almost guaranteed to be signed into law.

Apparently there's a brewer in Bakk's northern Minnesota district who operates a bed and breakfast along with a boutique. His plan is to sell Belgian-style ales, which are typically served in 750 ml bottles. Guess I know where to stay next time I'm on the North Shore.

The Good, The Bad..the Veto, the Beer

This week, the Minnesota Legislature begins holding conference committee hearings to work out the differences between House and Senate omnibus bills. This consists of long hours and lots of waiting around, and this year it's mostly for naught, as the main funding source for all these bills--tax increases--will likely be vetoed. It's pretty exhilarating to spend all this time for nothing. I'm psyched. I especially love not seeing my wife and kids very much, when the prospects for success are only slight. It's truly a great feeling.

Thank god for good beer then. The cask Summit EPA at the Muddy Pig--the IPA wasn't ready--was simply amazing. The complex fresh hop flavors of Summit rise to the forefront, offering a flowery and suprising citrus undertone. Sometimes I forget how great Summit EPA is, especially when it's served fresh, and even better when it's on cask.

Also note that Summit ESB is back on the shelves. I've been drinking Red Hook ESB lately (on sale at Big Top until the end of the month), so the timing is impeccablel; it tastes much better and it's Summit.

Get a grip, Rep. Olson

I thought I missed the cask Summit IPA at the Muddy Pig tonight, but apparently its been rescheduled to Thursday night. My bad if you showed up. If you didn't then come on down now.

No, I'm just getting home from an 8 hour debate on the House Omnibus Education Bill, and I've concluded that Rep. Mark Olson has some issues he needs to deal with. From requiring that schools must allocate an equal amount of time for the discussion the theory of biological evolution and the origin of man as referenced in the Declaration of Independence to replacing portions of the international baccalaureate with curriculum and instruction on the United States Dclaration of Independence to making sure that students understand that English is America's first language, Rep. Olson needs to get a grip. His rants about freedom and quoting of the Declaration of Indepence are just a bit much, and in fact delve into ridiculous arguments--no, rants--against early screening and referral of kids with mental problems.

Who's going to run against him?

Amazed and defused

Customer service is not something you get a chance to see direct from microbreweries, especially ones that are expanding the definition of "micro." I mean, how often to you have to deal with the actual brewing company? Well one my favorite breweries, Boulder Beer Company, brewers of Hazed and Infused, Mojo IPA and Singletrack Ale, let some serious bacteria get into one of their fermenters or something. I had this Hazed and Infused at two different parties, and it was FOUL.

So I contacted Boulder, and they contacted my buddy who bought it, and they were real serious about correcting the problem. Of course they reimbursed him, but I was more pretty impressed with their commitment to selling a good product. Cheers, guys!

Cheers also to St. Paul Cave Dweller for alerting me that The Muddy Pig will be tapping a keg of cask Summit IPA at 6 pm this Wednesday. That's tomorrow. At The Muddy Pig. 6pm. Summit IPA on cask. Maybe you should go.

Lost in beer

Indulge me for a moment: Did you see "Lost" tonight? What. The. Fuck. Brilliant answers and even better questions. Ya love Julliet and then you don't--she just wants to get home!! I hate the Jack--Sayid tension. The end is in sight!

Ok, enough of that.

So I opened a Harp tonight, ready to get on CB and the blast the hell out of it. "Why do people drink Harp?" I was going to write. "What a horrible beer." I actually did write it. But half way into this post, I took a sip, and it was a different beer. Light, balanced, a little nutty aftertaste. Unoffensive and welcoming. And then it hit me, that's what wrong with it. I prefer some character. Some adventure. Malted barley. Fresh hops. Ya ever heard of 'em?

Ahh, TV and beer. TV and beer.

Speechless

Oh boy was I in heaven tonight. Mad props to Valerie for picking up a six pack of--are you ready?--New Belgium Tripple and Stone Levitation on her trip to Colorado. New Belgium Tripple and Stone Levitation.You probably know New Belgium as the brewers of Fat Tire, one of the most overrated beers ever. If you want to see what this Colorado brewery is all about, check out anything else by them. Perfect Belgium ales, and the Tripple is no exception. Come east!

You probably don't know Stone. From California and yet to hit Minneosta or Wisconsin, they're all about extreme. Even Levitation at a mere 4.4% still wallops a mighty hop punch, like a Surly Furious, except you could actually have 3 or 4 in a sitting. Great session beer.

I'll savor these brews for awhile. Or try anyway.

Signs, buttons and lists

The St. Paul DFL ward conventions kick off this weekend, with major endorsements in Wards one (Carter vs Montgomery), four (Hesse vs Stark vs Shubring) and six (Hang vs Bostrom). I'm in ward one, which is Frogtown, Capitol Heights, Cathedral Hill, Aurora St Anthony and a couple other neighborhoods. It's an easy choice for me, with incumbent Debbie Montgomery being reluctant to fully support light rail on University Ave and opposing the smoking ban. C'mon, really?

The Better Ballot Campaign is off and running as well, trying to get support for instant run off voting in local elections. I frankly don't really care passionately about it, but will be attending a beer election to demonstrate how it works. Interested? This Thursday, April 12, 7pm - 11pm at 443 Holly Ave.

I love it when my two worlds collide.

Spring will wait

This weekend wrapped up the much needed legislative spring break, marking the half way point of the 2007 session. I feel like I could use another week, as this year has been balls to the wall since day one, and I expect it to continue until May 21. At least it will be cold and wintery for the rest of the month, making it easier to sit through long committee hearings.

The extended winter also has made it difficult to switch to lighter beers, but I am trying. I made it to Town Hall Brewery this weekend for their limited release Wine Barrel Aged Saison, tapped in honor of the end of prohibition. Fermented for a year in a Honey Wine barrel, it was really like no other beer I have ever had. A little sweet, even a bit sour, but extremely pleasant to drink. I could see drinking this on a hot July afternoon, but unfortunately, they only had one keg.

While there I also had their legendary cask IPA, one of the best beers made in Minnesota, which prompted me to buy a growler of the non-cask version. They were also kind enough to let me have a sip of one of their guest taps, Duchesse de Bourgogne, a wild ale from Brouwerij Verhaeghe in Belgium. Yeah, that's right, I said, "Brouwerij Verhaeghe." It was amazing.

Finally I transfered my Saison to the secondary fermenter:

I shoulda taken a picture of the actual transfer, with the tubes and all, but I was transferring beer. As expected it's much clearer than when it went in the primary. And, as expected, it's already drinkable and a fine ale. But it deserves another couple months, to mellow out the hops and develop a little more character.

More beer, no politics

So I was going to write about this great beer and better experience I had at the Happy Gnome last night with a little quadrupel from the Netherlands called Koningshoeven , formerly La Trappe, but Jane beat me to it. I'll only add that I looked at a 750 ml bottle today at the store for less than we paid for a 10 ounce pour. Still a fucking incredible 11.5% abv beer, but still fucking expensive on tap.

On the lighter side of things, I bought a 12-pack of Red Hook this weekend, beer of the month at Big Top Liquors in St. Paul. Always a sucker for the sampler, I got to try two new refreshing beers, the Copper Hook and Blonde Ale. Paired with their solid ESB and their average IPA, at $9.50, this is a good mixer for cautious palates.

St. Paul's old and new

Today I swung by one of my old haunts, Thomas Liquors on Grand and Prior in St. Paul, to pick a bottle of Mephistopheles. Part of Avery Brewing's The Demon of Ales series, Mephistopheles is a double stout pulling 15% abv and 107 IBUs. Yikes! At eight dollars for a 12 ounce bottle ($18 at select bars), it's going in the basement for a few months.

Speaking of select bars, be sure to order a Flat Earth Pale Ale the next time you're out. Flat Earth Brewing is St. Paul's newest micro, committed it seems to pushing the brewing envelope. Their pale ale is a very drinkable Belgian-style ale, and is absolutely fabulous.

Go blow yourself!

For the first time in months, I made a visit to Town Hall Brewery in Minneapolis on Friday. I was looking forward to the Masala Mama IPA or one of their tasty cask brews. But alas, they were out of both of these. As much as one can "settle" at THB, I did just this for an amazing India Brown Ale, which reminded me a little bit of Surly Bender. I also sipped on a Pot of Gold Potato Stout, a stout brewed with--you guessed it--potatoes. Don't scoff; it was as solid as a stout as they come.


In homebrew news, the airlock on my Saison blew off on Friday afternoon, requiring me to leave a conference early to clean up the kitchen. See, as yeast eats sugar, it produces foam and gas, which has to go someplace. Generally a simple airlock will suffice (see photo), allowing air to leave the carboy but not re-enter (oxygen is the leading cause of bad beer!). I'm guessing all the extra sugar I added was to blame, and it couldn't leave the container quick enough, so it forced the lock (and the extra foam) to shoot out the top, and onto my floor and wall. So from now on I will use a blow off tube, which goes from the carboy into a bucket of water. Lessons learned.

'Tis the Saison

The Saison is in the primary fermenter! I strayed from the original recipe and added some Belgian candied sugar for more flavor and alcohol (yeast + more sugar = alcohol). The original gravity--the first measurement to determine alcohol content--was aboout 1058, so this should weigh in at 6-7%.

Darren was along for the ride and helped me drink my second to last bourbon barrel porter. I shoulda waited to open the first bottle because it is so much better now than it was two months ago. Expecting this, I'm saving the last bottle for next winter.

As is the custom we imbibed on a specialty brew during the brewing, choosing Maudite from Unibroue, a strong amber ale. Unibroue, from Canada, only brews Belgian-style beer, and is always wonderfully consistent and cheaper than their Belgian counterparts. La Fin du Monde is another favorite.

Spring is in the air

Yikes! Almost 3 months since my last post. The 2007 Legislative Sesssion has wrangled me away from Capitol Brewhaha, but it's worth it, as the state will hopefully do some good things for kids. In an attempt get the blog back on track, I need a new hook, for my readers and for me. Because this is really about me. So I'm following Jane's lead, and will be doing shorter, to the point, posts, but still keeping with quality you've come to expect. On to the beer.

I've recently completed some time with high gravity ales (read: lots more character and alcohol), which in turn lead to the start of a nice collection of Belgians, Barley Wines, Bourbon Barrel Ales to cellar for a couple years. The cold and snow are leaving, and with them, the heart warming nine- and ten-percent extreme beers.

In preparation for Spring, I'm making the switch to some lighter beers. So I picked up a sample pack of Sam Adams. Six different kinds of beer, and I found not only their flagship Boston Ale and Lager, but also a couple Honey Porters, Scotch Ales and Brown Ales. A few surprisingly well-done darker stronger beers to help with the transition. Nice. Also check out their six-pack of homebrew competition winners for a great sampling of beers.


Also in preparation for the warmer weather, I'll be brewing a Saison this week. Just in time, since my heavenly bourbon barrel porter is running out. I'll keep you updated.

Back to the sampling!

I Think Everybody Knows

High gravity beers, the Surly Beer Dinner and homemade concoctions coming soon. While you wait, peep the world premier of MC Dylan, my first You Tube contribution. Check out the purple and gold....

***Update***

The video was screwing up the formatting, so follow this link to You Tube to view the video.

November is....

What can I say? I've been busy figuring out how the organization I work for fits into the new make of the Minnesota legislature. It should come as no surprise that I'm pleased as beer-spiked-punch (ok, that's gross). The leadership posts of both the House and Senate are filled with advocates of early care and education (ECE): Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, former chair of the K-12 Committee, has always touted the benefits of ECE; Assistant Majority Leader Tarryl Clark lobbied for Head Start for years; Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher has long promised promoting ECE when she's speaker; and House Majority Leader Tony Sertich was in past years a huge advocate of affordable child care.

In other words, my job became a lot easier with the results of last Tuesday, and even more so after the bodies picked their leaders.

Election season also means that it's winter beer season. Mmmmm, winter beers. Winter beers, in case you don't know, are usually darker ales, somewhere along the lines of a porter. But some breweries take the opportunity to try something new. Take Bells for example. They introduced their Winter White a couple years back, and I have to say I'm not a fan. I like White Ales, and no one does 'em finer than Bells, but not when it's 20 degrees out. Schells is another that likes to experiment with their Snow Storm. They did a cherry porter a couple years ago, a brown ale recently, and this year a Sweet Stout--which by the way is perfect, as most of their beer are.

Summit Winter is a real standard bearer for winters, as far as I'm concerned, but I have to say I was pretty disappointed this year. Instead of their usual dark spicy goodness, they brewed a brown ale. Granted, it was good for a brown, but I was really let down. Two other great solid winter ales this year are the Snow Cap by Pyramid and Wassail by Full Sail--although the latter was much better, in my opinion.

But by far The Best Winter Beer Every Year is the Anchor Christmas Ale. While the recipe is different every year, you can always taste nutmeg, juniper and, hm, coffee or chocolate or hazelnut or something. Incredible.

Back to Bells for a minute. If you don't want to try their White, please do not miss their Hop Slam, one of their limited release brews. As the name suggests, its full of hops. Like 10 percent alcohol slam worth of hops. Yeah, it's about $13 a six pack, but if you like bitterly hop-o-riffic brews, then don't pass this up.

So, in closing, it's an all around good November. And I'll try to get in at least one other post by Christmas...

Get Surly in a can

That's right. Beginning today, Surly Bender and Furious are available to the masses. Or at least more of the masses. For months, Omar at Surly had said "No bottles, never." Oh he's a tricky one! Four packs of 16 ounce cans can now be found in your local liquor store.

Listen to some music, then doorknock your ass off

So where were you the morning of October 25th, 2002 when you heard the news? First you heard about Paul, then Sheila, then Marcia, then "campaign workers," then Mary McEvoy, then Tom Lapic and Will McLaughlin, then the pilots. I believe my mom called and told me, but frankly it's all kind of a blur. Dylan was born 10 days earlier, and I was intimately involved in the DFL State Senate races. My grandparents were coming over to visit that afternoon, and I was trying to take in the deaths of three of the most influential people in my political formation, Paul, Sheila and Mary. But I held it together and doorknocked my ass off. Ironically, it took Joe Soucharay's touching column (seriously) about Paul a few days later for me to be able release the floodgates. Like most of my friends, the next 13 days were some of the most sad and bizarre and exciting ever.

And this Wednesday is the 4th annual Wellstone World Music Day. If you're able, go check out some live music. Or have some friends over to play music. Or at least put on your favorite CD and remember.

Then go doorknock your ass off.

Summit admits errs, lets fans sneek a peak

Summit Brewing has recognized their mistakes in planning last month's Big Brew, apologizing for the long lines in ads published in several weekly news magazines. President Mark Stutrud went one step further in a letter to supporters, offering them opportunity to keep tabs on their work via a webcam of the Summit Ratskeller.

Great message guys, and even better marketing. I'm back on board.

(I never really left!)

Hatch: Our Pitbull

Many of my friends have sworn off Mike Hatch, embracing Hutchinson as a more comfortable choice. And it makes me ask, is comfortable 4 more years of republican control? Mike's a pitbull, but he's a pitbull with a heart. And more importantly, he's our pitbull.

And really, who cares about what kind of guy he is? The fact is, Hutchinson can't win. He's been hovering at about 6% for three months now, and I just don't think the same people that voted for Jesse are going to vote for Hutchinson. So all the votes of my friends (and people like my friends) might push him to, say 8% or 9%--hell I'll even give him a shot at 17% for conversation's sake. But I just don't think he has it in him to pull off an upset.

He will however tip the election to Pawlenty. And is that what you want to be a part of? To my Minneapolis friends, you're already voting for Ellison; doesn't that solve your core liberal itch?

And it's hard for me, working in early childhood. Hutchinson is the only one who has laid out any resemblance of a plan, offering to put $100 million into early ed programs. Even Pawlenty and his staff have not been horrible to work with. And I gotta admit that Hatch just hasn't seemed like he's very interested in making it a center piece of his campaign.

And that's just fine with me.

So to those people considering voting for Hutchinson: get off your high horse, and think this through. Give it some good thought about what it really means. This is a close race, and while I don't like to ever ever accuse anyone of "throwing away" their vote, that's essentially what you'll be doing with a vote for Hutchinson. But even more so, this state needs a pitbull, a pitbull like Mike Hatch to get it on the right direction.

Ruff.

Summit Big Brew = loooong lines

I hate to be a hater, especially since Summit has been doing some amazing things in their industry recently, like introducing a bunch of new beers, including some cask style ales. But when asked what most people will remember from this past weekends' Summit Big Brew, I would hedge to guess that most people will say, "the long lines." For both beer and bathrooms. Half hour lines for a $5 pint of beer. Fifteen minutes to use the can. It seemed liked Summit didn't think people would be interested in drinking beer at their 20th anniversary party. Or more likely that they didn't think over 10,000 people would show up on a beautilful fall day to hear some great music.

(Not one to offer criticisms wthout some solutions, here are some suggestions: After you solve the quantity issue--more kegs, more servers, more porta-potties--how about a free beer token for everyone with a ticket? Or better yet, reduced prices, especially if you have to wait in line for 30 minutes. )

And the music. I missed the early side of it, namely Tapes N' Tapes and the Alarmists--next year think of offering re-entry--but the Suburbs and Soul Asylum rocked it. We should have left after Soul Asylum, but hindsight being blah blah blah, we had to see Cake. I've seen Soul Asylum like 20 times, so I was ready to get my world rocked by Cake. And when they were playing they did just that. But then the lead singer would feel the need to talk for about five minutes between each song about the mirror ball that didn't work or how musically-uneducated the audience was. Way to kill the groove, guys. More play, less talk.

Well live and learn. Next year--if there is one--will be the Best Beer/Music Fest Ever. The potential is huge, and Summit deserves to meet it. I'll even volunteer to serve beer (actually I did this year and no one got back to me....)

Update

As some of you know, I recently changed jobs. The interim at the Legislature is painfully slow, especially when you work for a retiring member, and hence it left me a few spare minutes to work on the blog. With the new gig, I'm crazy-busy (thankfully) and that's the reason for the slow down in posts. It will return to its normal pace soon, I promise. Until then, have a beer and watch one of the many political debates happening these days.

Cheers.

Oh goody! Munster here I come!

When you think of Indiana, what usually comes to mind? Corn? Hoosiers? Maybe Dan Quayle? But not beer. Not at least until you visit Munster. Which brings me to the second phase of my research.

Case Study Two: Munster
A recent much-anticipated trip to Munster, Indiana (really an ex-urb of Chicago), which the main purpose of was to visit my sister and her family, the quantity of quality beer to be had was literally mind-numbing. Granted, this was in large part because my brother-in-law shares in and rivals my love of water, hops, yeast and grains. I tried no less than a dozen new beers, many of them rarities and exclusive to Munster. I had my first introduction to New Holland Brewing, which coincidentally just arrived in Minnesota. I puckered up trying some wild beer for the first time (didn't know the stuff existed). And of course I made the pilgrimage to Three Floyds Brewing Company.

New Holland Brewing, as best I tell, doesn't make a bad beer. Of course it makes sense being from Michigan. Their stout, amber and IPA are all beers that make you stop and notice what's in the bottle. I tried a couple and brought home a 22 oz. bomber of Dragon's Milk Ale, barrel-aged and weighing in at 9% ABV, only to realize the liquor stores at home had just began carrying New Holland. Guess I'll have to drink it now.

Speaking of "big beers," (nee high ABV) they were a large part my time in northwest Indiana. If you're feeling adventurous and whimsical, find a bottle of Sanctification from Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa, CA (good luck). Imagine taking controlled bacteria and putting it in your beer, but it turns out fantastically unusual. There's a whole line of "wild beers," made by adding wild yeast like Brettanomyces, Pediococcus or Lactobacillus. This particular one tasted kinda like fermented lemon mixed with a pinot grigio or similar sweet wine. Not horrible, but not something I would drink three or four bottles of, or even an entire one, by myself. A nice summer apperitif. I guess a lot of beers from Belgian strive for this effect, but add fruit like raspberries or peaches. Yummier.

One of the best breweries in the country--that's right, best--is Three Floyd's. They don't distribute to Minnesota anymore, but a short trip to Chicone's in Hudson, WI will hook you up. But screw Hudson, I went to the source. Dinner and drinks at the brew pub enabled me to have three different pints and sample five more. From the Belgian Drunk Monk to the lovely Kolsch Calumet Queen to the solid pale ale Alpha King, Three Floyds makes every style unique and better than its competition. I took home the Rabbid Rabbit, a 9% saison brewed with chamomile and rock candy, easily one of the best beers I've ever had.

But one of the highlights of the trip to Munster (besides spending time with my nephew) was BIL and R hooking me up with another bottle of Dark Lord, the Most Sought After Bottle of Beer in the Country. A crazy maybe 13% or 15% dark creamy burnt caramel chocolate coffee stout brewed in very small batches--like it's only available in bottles at the brewery and sells out in one day. Mad mad props to BIL and R. New Years baby.

Three Floyds is undergoing some staff changes, but hopefully they can maintain the level of excellence that is looked forward to--and expected--from them.

All the outlining Chicago cities have a similar feel, but Munster--besides being in a red state--is a pretty nice town. Of course it's made better by its proximity to the city and a family named Floyd. Study results: 9.5/10. Woulda been a 10, but c'mon, what's a 10 anymore?

Duluth or Superior? You decide.

You may have the noticed the unusually long lag time between the last couple posts. While it could be attributed to generally laziness (it wouldn't be the first time), it's actually because I was engrossed in some in-depth research for Capitol Brewhaha. While covering politics is certainly amusing, it is no where near as fulfulling as the effort it takes to find and learn about beer.

Case Study One: Norshore
My research first took me to Duluth and, more impressively, Superior, WI. I was dragged up north by a friend of mine who is soon to be married and wanted to usher out his single days where, I'm told, many of his better ones were spent. A visit to Duluth-Superior is not complete of course without a cashew burger and a fine beer at the Anchor Bar in Superior. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for New Glarus beers, I ordered a Spotted Cow from New Glarus Brewing. As the saying goes, when in Wisconsin....The more I drink this the more I enjoy it--it's a great session beer, and perfectly accommodates just about any meal.

I was anxious to continue my studies back at our weekend accommodations, where my keg of homebrew was finally going to be tapped. But thanks to the persistence of Altronix, a stop at Twin Ports Brewing was in order. Let me take this opportunity to say that the next time you're in the Duluth-Superior area and looking for some great microbrews, please pass right on by Fitger's Brewhouse, cross the bridge and go to Superior. Both have great beers, but the commitment to service and the happiness of their customers is on a much higher level at TPB.

Case in point: TPB doesn't normally don't open for business until 4pm on weekdays, so when our party of 12 pulled up at about 3:30pm, and employee (manager?) Steve Knauss was locking up and leaving the parking lot, after apparently just checking on some of the beer, we thought we were screwed. But no, he rightly sees the potential, turns around and opens the bar early. He proceeds to gives us free samples to help us decide what to order and puts on some good tunes, ensuring us that our satisfaction is his top priority. But the cherry on top was a private tour of the brewery. Granted, it consisted of standing in their one room brew room and him explaining the brewing process to us, but it was by far the best and most complete tour I've ever had. While I wish I could give you more insight into their beer--their amber ale sticks out in my mind as amazing--but really, the amazing quality of the beer was surpassed but the top notch service we received.

Compare this to Fitgers, who despite being told on several occasions over several weeks that a group of 20 was headed their way on this particular night, and subsequently giving us assurances that they could accommodate us, in the end, they couldn't. They didn't even try. Nope, they were understaffed on this Saturday night, and I guess didn't need our money. Needless to say, we ended up somewhere else for dinner.

But I digress. Back to that homebrew. I had agonized over transporting a five gallon keg of beer 150 miles, leaving it sit in a hot car for 4 hours, all the while keeping it cold. This was accomplished by keeping it in a garbage can with--get this--ice. Amazing stuff, this frozen water. Still, 7 weeks of cleaning and waiting and bragging, and the pressure is on. Literally. We got back to the resort we were staying at--nice blinds BTW--and I hooked the keg up to the CO2 tank, adjusted the pressure, and let it flow.

My heart raced, because the last time I sampled it, it was a bit off. Tasted a little moldy and mildewy. But this time? The time that mattered? The Bitter End was perfect. The smell was full of hops with caramel undertones. Even though I wasn't really sure how much pressure to put on it, the carbonation was right on, giving it a nice head and a velvety appearance. But what really made the difference? The taste. It was thick and chewy, and that hint of wet cardboard was washed away by the hops (although even my hop-timid friend JL had two glasses, so I knew it wasn't too over-the-top). The only problem with the beer was the amount; 5 gallons doesn't last too long at a party, and it was cashed by night fall.

Many more beers were sampled over the course of the weekend, but none could match the quality (and experience) at Twin Ports Brewery or the personal touch offered by The Bitter End. And that concludes the Norshore Case Study. Results? Duluth is a fine city to drink beer in, but don't neglect Superior.

Up next: Case Study Two: Munster, IN

Moving to...Mississippi?

By now you've probably seen the new Pawlenty for Governor TV ad...it's flashy, short, positive, and generally a great ad.



It should come as no surprise that T-Paw can produce a good ad, given the fact that he has $2 million in the bank--I saw the ad and thought to myself, "Oh f**k." Not so much because Mike Hatch has a lot to compete with, but mainly because it's filled with BULLSHIT.

As Roving Reporter recently pointed out:

" 'Funding schools at record levels' is technically accurate, but if he wanted it to be technically and literally accurate, he would need to add the word 'low' between the words record and levels. Tuition at the U has increased nearly $20,000 in the time T-Paw has been "funding schools at record levels." But I guess this was a stroke of campaign genius, because since we have a less educated workforce, we have a lot of new minimum wage paying jobs replacing all the high paying professional jobs this state once attracted. So, yes, we probably have more jobs than we did when he took office, but the number of jobs that pay a liveable wage has gone down dramatically under his watch.

If he wants to be governor of Misissippi, I encourage him to move there, and not bring their standards of living to this once great state."

Well said RR, well said.

Awesome; I F***in' Drank That!

A recent thread on the Northern Brewer beer forum reminded me of all the clever things you can put into crappy beer to make it better. Who'd ever think to add orange juice, Fresca or tomato juice to beer? How about a shot of whiskey? Sunkist and ice are a great addition to that warm, flat keg of Miller Lite left over from a party. Or really added to any Miller products, flat or not, warm or cold.

But by far some of the oddest--and best--mixtures come by experimenting with Guinness. We're all familiar with a black and tan and the snakebite, but how about adding an egg or champagne? My good friend from Chile introduced me to the heavenly malta con huevo, which consists of an egg, 1/4 cup sugar or to your liking, and a can or bottle of Guinness, thrown into a blender and mixed until frothy. Last night I had a Black Velvet, an appropriate name for champagne mixed with Guinness.

Which brings me to the real reason for today's post: to find an excuse to somehow talk about the recently released Beastie Boy concert film, Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That!, which I watched last night while drinking my Black Velvet (how do you like that transition, eh?).

I'm not one to be able to sit through a concert on the big screen, let alone a TV, but Awesome was awesome. The premise, and what made it so damn good, is that, according to the website:

"On Oct. 9, 2004, the Beastie Boys handed out 50 cameras to audience members at their sold-out performance in New York's famed Madison Square Garden. These 50 different passionate perspectives, shot from the point-of-view of the audience, take the viewer deep inside the world of a live Beastie Boy show, prisimatically and kinetically capturing the experience of a live musical performance like no film has ever done."

Word.

The editing is excellent and more than makes up for the amateur shooting. Those with some knowledge (or not) of turntablism and DJ-ing will be in awe of the mad skills of Mix Master Mike, clearly the best DJ the Boys have ever joined forces with. His live mixing leaves nothing to be desired, utilizing random samples from 80s hip-hop classics as well as fresh new beats.

Of course the real stars are the triple threat. Even as they approach their 40s, they don't miss a beat or a line, and keep the party going til the break of dawn, y'all. (Isn't that a great photo? They're like 17!)

So if you're looking to get your B-Boys jones on in style, mix up some Guinness and champagne and pop in Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That!

Grandmas for Kelley

I spent some time talking with my grandmother this weekend, and inevitably our conversation turned to the dangerous realm of politics. It's always tricky engaging your 86 year-old grandma in a political conversation, urging her to cast aside her lifelong affiliations and vote for "the other guy." Nonetheless I continue to try.

I started with an easy target: Dallas Sams. He's a pro-gun, pro-life, anti-gay marriage democrat from Staples, MN, and my grandparent's state senator. I figure if I, a life long democrat, committed to liberal ideals, can support someone like Dallas Sams, then surely my conservative grandma can. I've never gotten a commitment from her, but I continue to sell Dallas as a helluva nice guy and a great state senator. It's dems like him that continue to keep the Minnesota State Senate in democratic control.

So when I read in the paper that Steve Kelley had been endorsed for Attorney General by the DFL this weekend, I thought it would make a good teaching moment.

Kelley is the opposite of Dallas Sams in terms of the issues, in terms of style, really, in terms of everything. Steve is a wonk's wonk, and is just the kind of guy I want looking out for the State's best interests. As a bonus, he's great on all the issues I care passionately about: the environment, transit, early childhood education. And he can beat Rep. Jeff Johnson, who comes across as a partisan, party-focused Republican (which is why his website talks about how "the office should not be about partisanship and political advancement.") Kelley, as chair of the Senate Education Committee, has been in front of the spotlight and has proven he can stand the heat.

But before we get to that, we have a primary to get through. Let me just say I am generally biased towards DFL-endorsed candidates. So if, by some fluke, another dem had been endorsed, I'd likely be making the case for them--well maybe not here: Kelley is the only candidate I personally know and is a pretty nice guy. But back to that primary. Solicitor General Lori Swanson and former Congressman Bill Luther will be the other deems on the ballot, so I should probably offer a word or two on them.

I don't have anything against Swanson personally or politically. My only caution with her was when I saw her on TPT's Almanac. She was representing Hatch on driver's license data privacy. Hatch was right, and I agreed with Swanson here, but Eric Lippman from the governor's office tore her apart and got her waaaaay off message. It will happen again. View the video here.

I think Bill Luther is a tough politician, and would make a strong attorney general. But he just comes across a little smarmy and, well, icky. Call me petty. Oh, and there was that shot of him drinking in a Capitol office, in the same Fox 9 "story" as ousted state representative Scott Waslik. Granted, he wasn't a voting member of congress or any other body, but the video is there, and could be damaging. And Rep. Johnson will use it. Again, petty.

No, my vote will go for Kelley, I want the class nerd, the guy who was president of the honor society--the guy who can understand and effectively explain Minnesota's complex health system--as the next state's Attorney General. He has a massive organization in place from his failed run for governor, and is ready to run a tough campaign on the issues that matter. I believe he can do it.

So there's my case for Steve Kelley for AG, Grandma. He's smart, likeable and comes off nice on the TV. What else can you ask for?

Ahem.

President Bush, we're watching.....Don't f**k this one up.

Dashed Hopes: Summit Cask Update

I've never gone through so much trouble to try a beer and end up being so disappointed. Saturday I was all pumped about Town Hall Brewery having two Summit beers on cask, so my wife, the queen that she is, let me drag the family to Minneapolis for lunch and beer. I asked the server to try the Summit cask beers, and she brings me what was clearly not a Summit, but a steam beer (what is legally called a "California Common"). Friggin' amazing, but I didn't stuff the family in the car for a road trip across the river to try a regular tap.

After throwing a bit of a fit, the server, bless her heart, sent the manager over to ease my brewing worries. Apparently, all the websites failed to mention that this was in conjunction with Saturday evenings' Fringe Festival shows in the area, and that the kegs wouldn't be tapped until about 6pm for Fringe-ers to sample, and for the general public at 7pm. Fair enough, I thought. I'll just stop back later. An 8pm arrival would ensure me a sample, he said.

So me and a couple buddies show up at about 8pm, swagger up to the bar and order a round of Summit ESB on cask. "Nope sorry, just ran out." Apparently, Town Hall Pint Club meets Saturday evenings, and they, in conjunction with Fringe Fest attendees drained the keg in two hours. We weren't sure to blame Summit or Town Hall, but someone had slashed our expectations. Thankfully, the Great Northern Porter was still around, and while much better as a winter ale, its smoky coffee-maple overtones were amazing, even in August. If the ESB matched this, which I would expect it to, then Summit lovers have something to look forward to.

And what better way to enjoy beer on an August evening than outside? We proceeded to take our beers out on the patio, and were immediately approached by a server who said we need to pour our drinks into plastic glasses if we wanted to sit outside. Fine, ok, I suppose. But she hands us fresh-out-of-the-dishwasher-HOT TO THE TOUCH-glasses. C'mon, she didn't really expect us to pour our already warm beer into a 120-degree plastic glass?!

So we sat at the bar to enjoy our fine porters, watch the Twins sink the Royals, and drink more of Town Hall's finely-crafted beer. It's amazing how a good brew can solve most of the days' problems.

Cluck cluck

Are those chickens I hear in the distance, on their way home? The clucking reached a feverish pitch last Wednesday as St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman announced his 2007 budget plan, which included at the crux of it an 8.5% property tax increase, off-set by a reorganization of libraries and rec centers staff and hours. This comes as our elected officials at Ramsey County are considering a 5% property tax increase, and voters are going to be asked to approve $30 million for our schools this fall. It takes a brave soul to have one of your first major acts in office be a tax increase on homeowners, especially given what has transpired at the state in the last few years.

But back to those chickens. I half-expected them to head over to Mayor Coleman's house. I mean, the citizens of St. Paul elected a democrat after all. Is it really a surprise he wants to raise our taxes? But no, some of them made their way to former Mayor Norm Coleman's house, realizing that under his 8 years of rule there was a price to be paid for "holding the line on taxes," while at the same time increasing city services and handing out major subsidies to a few businesses. Some of those chickens were looking to roost on the East Side, at the home of the previous mayor, Randy Kelly, who had an affinity for fees and assessments rather than an honest budget discussion.

And the bulk of the chickens ended up at 1006 Summit Avenue, pecking at the steps of the Governor's Mansion. State cuts to local government aid have crippled many cities like St. Paul, forcing leaders throughout Minnesota to enact massive cuts and property tax increases. It was perhaps one of the most clever moves by the Governor, precisely because it lacks transparency, making it even more complicated to explain to the average citizen.

That's the real challenge come November: connecting the dots and ensuring the voters know where those chickens are going. And recognizing it's going to take honesty and the ability to make difficult decisions about our future to get our state back on track. As the Mayor said in his budget address, "Politicians who stand before you and tell you that there are simple answers to complex problems are either lying to you or they don't really get it. Solving a....deficit cannot be done without making tough choices."

Indeed.

Summit Cask

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Enjoy Summit beer? Then head over to Town Hall Brewery in Minneapolis and sample some Great Northern Porter and ESB on cask. What the hell is cask, you say? Cask is the process of storing the beer in the container it will be served from, as the fermentation continues throughout the serving process. Also called "real ale," the resulting drink is a much fuller and often smoother beer, served at a balmy 52 degrees. Beeradvocate.com compares cask ales to "a whole food experience" while the bigger American breweries produce the Wonder Bread of beers:

We suggest “real ale,” which is essentially ale that is still alive and evolving with its continuing fermentation processes. High in vitamin B (from yeast), real ale is not filtered or pasteurized. It contains no artificial additives or preservatives, and it's as close to a whole food experience as you can find in beer. We're talking some old-school beer in the raw!

I for one am pleased as punch that in the last few years Summit has really expanded their beer lines and tried some new, experimental things, like producing cask ales. But if you're going to wait to visit Town Hall in a few days, think again. Once tapped, and the beer is exposed to oxygen, it needs to be drank within a few days. It's pretty amazing--the beer you start to drink is not necessarily the beer you finish! So really, Town Hall and Summit need you to help drink their beer this weekend.

Town Hall Brewery is located at 1430 Washington Avenue (Seven Corners area) in Minneapolis.

Nobody beats the biz

Um, ok, waaaay off topic here, but didcha hear the news? Biz Markie is playing a show tonight at the Dinkytowner...FOR FREE. I suppose I could go to Drinking Liberally tonight at the 311 Club, but c'mon, connecting with fellow lefties to talk politics, or witnessing a fore father of hip-hop make a fool of himself? As intrigiuing as rehashing the sex-capades of Sen. Coleman's father is, I think I'll be at the Dinkytowner.

The DJ/MC/human beatbox who brought you such hits as "Just a Friend," "Vapors," and of course who could forget "Pickin Boogers," is back from the underground. The Biz has reclaimed some fame via appearances on several Beasties Boys albums and on the acclaimed Prince Paul-Dan the Automator side project, Handsome Boy Modeling School.

Show starts at 9 p.m., but you better get there early. Did I mention IT'S FREE? (And if it does sell out, check out Keston and Westdal, a great jazz infused electronic duo, at the Kitty Cat Klub just down the street. Also free.)

The Queen is easy

There's a little brewery in Dallas, WI trying to produce some mighty fine beer. They used to distribute their beer themselves, driving a refridgerated van around the Twin Cities. Maybe they still do, but judging by their availability, I'm guessing times have changed. You can now find them in most fine beer establishments and retailers around the metro area.

Viking Brewery mainly focuses on German-style beers, lots of lagers, but also produces Belgian and English beers, and delves into some experimental stuff, like their Hot Chocolate Stout brewed with cocoa, milk sugar and cayenne pepper. I've only worked through a few of 'em, and they're either a great hit or a slight miss. I recently tried their Weather Top Wheat as I was going through my wheat stage, and found it perfect. Nice balance of sweetness and bitterness, with a touch of honey to balance out the malts.

Tonight I picked up a four pack of Queen Victoria's Secret from 1st Grand Ave liquors. The clerk raved about it, emphasizing how much he loved bitter IPAs, so I was anxious to try it. The open was soft and easy on the nose, and I knew when I poured it that it wasn't going to wallop me over the head with an extra dose of hops. I kept expecting a nice head to form, but it never did. It seems sometimes, with small breweries. they just can't get the carbonation right. What's so hard about adding some more sugar?

The pour made me lower my expectations a little, and so I knew there wouldn't be any magic when I went to taste it. Given that, the Queen turned out to be a light, airy, English-style IPA, with some pleasant citrus undertones, making it an accessible beer, even for the bitter skeptics. The hops are definitely the highlight of the beer, and the simplicity of the elements makes it easy to distinguish the various strains.

Ok, not really, but I grew Fuggles hops for a couple seasons, and it was easy for me to pick them out. Unfortunately, they took over my garage and I had to get rid of them. Tasty fellers tho.

Queen Victoria is a good beer to introduce a friend to IPAs, but this is not really what an IPA snob would want to drink over and over again. I had a reunion with a Snake Dog this past week, which is a solid IPA. In other words, the Queen ain't no Mojo or Devil. Still, they're a small family run brewery, and are worth checking out. You just might get that perfect bottle.

Pawlenty to students: 'I'm sorry'

Tim Pawlenty: "Yeah, we balanced the budget on the backs of college students, and I'm sorry, and I promise I'll fix it if you re-elect me."

Ok, he didn't really say that, but close: "The tuition-level increases were too high. Keep in mind that we had a budget crisis of historic magnitude in 2003. It's now 2006, and we've gotten to the point where we are adding back to higher education, and we will again." Read the full story here.

Hoping that 18-21 year olds are forgetful and disengaged (read: stoned and irresponsible), and won't remember the double-digit tuition increases imposed on them come November, the Governor is now trying to make good and redeem himself. First he proposes free tuition for the top of the class, and now he says it's time to forgive and pay 'em back.

Ok, I say, but what about all the kids and families you booted off health insurance? What's your plan for them, Timmy? Oh right, some of them can't vote. And if they did, they wouldn't be voting for you.

Oh, that Timmy is a sly one. Let's not him get away with this. Make sure students remember who their friends are, make sure they know cute news conferences and empty promises don't pay for a four year degree.

The Bitter End is coming

You might think that making a good beer depends on the correct amount of hops (boiled for the desired amount of time) or the particular strain of yeast used, but as any experienced brewer will tell you, it really comes down to the soap.

I brewed my first batch of beer in about a year a couple weeks ago (three weeks and three days ago to be exact--it was during a heat wave, when I love to do nothing more than stand over a boiling pot of wort), and I'd forgotten, as I always do, what a pain in the arse it is to clean and sanitize all the equipment. Luckily I've never experienced that legendary armpit taste or achieved the brewed-with-skunk effect I have heard stories about. I've had my close calls. Once, I had to fetch a spoon which had dropped into a fermenter full of hefeweizen (I called the brew "Eric's Arm"). It was said someone found a hair in their beer, but I believe it had more to do with the fact that the fermenter exploded and sat in the open air for several days. Either way, hair or no hair (or maybe because of the hair), the beer turned out pretty incredible.

But you want to take no chances with cleanliness--in general, a good rule to live by. And now I am faced with a problem of my own creation: a keg which has sat uncleaned for two years. I thought about just skipping the keg and filling bottles, but it's just so much cooler to serve homebrew out of a keg. Besides I am taking the beer to a party in Duluth, and accounting for one large steel keg is a lot easier than saving (and reminding the consumers of the beer to save) their bottles.

Nope, this weekend I will have the pleasure of disassembling and scrubbing my keg system. I never knew a keg had so many parts! Valves, hoses, o-rings, couplers, regulators and of course faucets. Of course this is easier than washing and sanitizing up to 48 bottles. If you're ever in the same predicament as me, Yellowdog has a great website with step-by-step instructions.

The beer, which I am affectionately calling The Bitter End, is a dry-hopped IPA, using four different kinds of hops--two ounces of the ever-popular Cascade no-less. I sampled a bit during its transfer to the secondary fermenter, and it was delicious. Sure, it was warm and flat, but it was mine. I can't wait to share it.

Introducing Mantooth

Mantooth is a friend of mine who at this juncture wants to remain anonymous. Therefore I will take the credit or blame for anything great or irresponsible he does. He offered Capitol Brew-haha a nice wrap-up of yesterday's activities.

Posted by Mantooth:

Kudos to Capitol Brewhaha, who got mad props from mpr.org's " Polinaut" (ne Tom Scheck) for being one of the first to report a significant development in the race for state attorney general - a race that has been nothing but a steady stream of significant developments over the past six days: Sen. Steve Kelley will run for AG.

Kelley joins Solicitor General Lori Swanson and former-Rep. Bill Luther as serious contenders in the DFL primary. Unless, of course, you agree with Nick Coleman and think that Jennifer Mattson's experience on the "field hockey and lacrosse [teams] at Barnard " has adequately prepared her to be our next Attorney General.

Coming off a run for Governor that ended little more than one month ago at the DFL state convention, Kelley should be in the best position to quickly pull together a fully functioning campaign in the sliver of time between now and the Sep. 12 primary. However, Swanson obviously has the support of Mike Hatch which would prove valuable should he choose to divert his attention - and, more importantly, campaign personnel - to the AG race. It's not like Hatch has been spending a lot of time worrying about his own primary challenger. And, one could argue that he can afford to be even more disinterested given that the noise from the AG race is bound to drown out the Lourey campaign for at least the next several weeks.

Bill Luther likely has too much going against him to be a legitimate threat to take the primary: he can't use the left-over cash from his last Congressional bid in this race; his last campaign employed tactics that were way more questionable than those that allow his attempt at a return to public life, and; he seems to be out of step with the current make-up of the DFL - not unlike MIke Freeman, who's decision to continue a Quixotic campaign for Hennepin County Attorney apparently cleared the way for Luther to enter the AG race. While it seems unlikely that Luther will make it to the general election, he could still come out of this a winner if he is able to garner enough support to position himself as a kingmaker. If that is that shoudl come to pass, I suspect Luther would back Swanson as Hatch is more likely to be in a position to repay such a favor quite handsomely come January.

Change is a-comin'

With the increase in traffic to Capitol Brew-haha yesterday, I've been doing some things to the public image of the site which I've been meaning to do for awhile. Mainly small tweaks in things like font size, adding and deleting some code, and individualizing the site with some images, but potentially acquiring some new drinking partners to add their $0.02 on beer and politics (but hopefully not on my life).

So pour a cold one and enjoy!

Shake up SD 44

So Rep. Ron Latz is running for Steve Kelley's seat (source: Polinaut), and I've just heard from a reliable source that Mike Freiberg, committee administrator for Sen. Leroy Stumpf, is likely to be one of many running for the Latz seat.

Steve Kelley for AG

For once you heard it here first, or at least second*....Steve Kelley is filing for attorney general.

Update: David Lillehaug has thrown his support to Kelley (source: MN Publius), and Bill Luther is also going to file, which means Mike Freeman is out (source: Centristy).

*MN Publius posted the news a couple minutes before me, but we both had our separate sources. I posted the news before seeing Publius' post. They're good guys and work hard for their sources, and I would never take credit for their scoops.

AG replacement

After Matt Entenza's sudden withdrawl from the race for Minnesota Attorney General (his best move of his campaign), the DFL will need to scramble to come up with a good crop of candidates from which to choose an endorsee. The more the merrier at this point, I say.

Just speculation, but how about Steve Kelley for Attorney General? After his classy and expectation-blowing performance at the DFL state convention, he proved he has what it takes to motivate and energize voters. Oh yeah, he's also a good attorney and one of the better thinkers in Minnesota politics.

As long as he doesn''t have any parking tickets or conflicts of interest with his wife....

Music for Life

A little PSA here for those looking to buy some new music and contribute to a great cause.

Once a year, Clare Housing, a Twin Cities non-profit organization for people living with HIV/AIDS in the Twin Cities holds a massive CD sale at Calhoun Square to raise money for their organization. This years' "Music For Life" fundraiser is this weekend, July 21-23, 10am to 9pm on Friday and Saturday, and 10am to 7pm on Sunday. The music is very reasonably priced, and while you sometimes have to wade though lots of crap (tribute albums to every band you've ever heard of, best of albums for bands you've never heard of), it's well worth it. Last year I spent about $30 and walked out with most of Pearl Jam's catalog, a bunch of Uncle Tupelo and the current releases from the Gorillaz and White Stripes.

If you can't go, but want to contribute something, you can donate those CDs (and DVDs, LPs, cassettes, VHS, video games, etc.) that you never use anymore. Contact Lee Haugee (my mom) at http://us.f345.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=leehaugee@clarehousing.org or 612.236.9527 for more information, for pick-up of larger donations or to volunteer.

***Update***

I forgot to mention that there will be live music at the event on Saturday.

• Dan Israel 12:30-1:30 pm
• House of Mercy Band 2:15-3:15 pm
• Ellis 4:00 - 5:00 pm

Hope '06

When I walked into room 125 at the Capitol and the site of Ford Bell's U.S. Senate withdrawl announcement today, filled with soon-to-be-unemployed campaign staffers and I'm sure some loyal volunteers, there was indeed a sense of, oh, longing? Sadness? Even a little hope maybe?

Hope not so much for the things that Mr. Bell stood for--I mean, what good progressive doesn't think the troops should get out of Iraq or that the government should implement a single-payer health care system? Ok, we might differ on when the troops should leave the Middle East, or which populations exactly will be eligible for health care, but generally speaking we're on the same page.

No, hope because it increases Amy Klobuchar's chances of winning. And more importantly, hope that the U.S. Senate will fall into Democratic hands. And hope that the Democrats will step strongly into their leadership role and set a real policy goal for Iraq, begin a renewed discussion about health care, and maybe even hold impeachment hearings.

Agree or disagree with Klobuchar on the nuances of her positions compared to Bell, she is going to be a tough opponent and a solid U.S. Senator--exactly what Minnesota and our country needs. Hope.

Now, someone needs to have a discussion with Becky Lourey....

More Music

I've *finally* updated my "Current Musical Endeavors." Check it out on the side bar to your right. Leave comments (if you have 'em) here.

CAKE to headline Summit Big Brew

That's right. CAKE is going to headline Summit's Big Brew festival.

In other Summit news....A quick update on the Summit ESB...In addition to it being on tap at the Happy Gnome (which just updated their tap list--thanks to MNBeer for the heads-up), it's also showing up at numerous other locales around town. Summit was kind enough to share with me some of their distribution list for the ESB.

• Lyons Pub in Minneapolis
• Old Chicago in Uptown, downtown Minneapolis, Roseville, Plymouth and Minnetonka
• Williams Pub uptown Minneapolis
• Sweeney's in St. Paul
• Tournament Players Club in Blaine
• Sample Room in NE Minneapolis
• Grumpy's Bar in NE Minneapolis
• Happy Gnome St. Paul
• Majors Sports Cafe in Bloomington
• The Loon in downtown Minneapolis
  

Summit also had this to say: "This beer’s draft presence will be somewhat limited. Our production is skewed heavily towards bottled beer, not draft." Ah well.

And this: "As for the Big Brew, the headlining musical act will be CAKE. Other bands include Soul Asylum, the Suburbs, Tapes n' Tapes, Richard Thompson, The Alarmists and Big George Jackson and others. Tickets will go on sale in August 7 for the event. "

Wow.

Where have all the candidates gone?

Say there's a huge event that attracts Minnesotans from all over the state. There's free music, good albeit overpriced food and fireworks every night. Wouldn't you think this would be a great opportunity for candidates for statewide office to, at the very least, have a couple volunteers in t-shirts roaming the grounds?

My three-and-a-half year old son and I went to the Taste of Minnesota last Monday to see Soul Asylum. (Which he loved. He wanted to get "closer to the players," so we did. He lasted about 3 songs before he complained about the noise level, and in the end, he was more content to stand in the back and show off his dance moves.) We were there from about 5:30pm until after the fireworks, and didn't see a hint of political activity. I suppose that's opportune phone time, but geez, send a person through the crowd with stickers every couple hours. Klobuchar and Kennedy don't have that great of name ID yet, so every bit helps, right?

On the flip side, if it weren't for the experience of bringing my son to his first rock concert, I never would have gone. The Taste is loud, dirty and poorly laid out. Food is overpriced, the vendors suck, and with a few exceptions, the music leaves a lot to be desired (really, the only reason I'll ever go again). I miss the days when it was on the state Capitol grounds. I guess it's understandable why a campaign volunteer wouldn't want to be there, but it seems like a pretty easy way to get a little recognition.

We'll have to wait until the next big state event--the Fair--to see how well-organized the campaigns are.

One for the Family

As some of you know, I have extended family overseas. From time to time, I post pics of my incredibly gorgeous boys for them to see. If you came to read about beer or politics, just scroll down to read the latest, or wait a couple days for us to resume regular programming. Or, you can just enjoy these photos like the rest of us.....

Dylan doesn't always share so well with Adrian.

A nice blankie solves most of the days' problems.

With Dylan's help, we finished the job five minutes ahead of schedule! Shout out to WW for use of the truck.

The first Saints game in 10 years I've been too that we've won. I need to bring the boys to more of 'em. Thanks D for the tix.

Yummy.

A natural.

Another Score for Summit

While this July 4th marks 230 years of our country's independence from overlords subjecting their views and will on the citizenry--not much has changed--this July also gives cause to celebrate 20 years since the first keg of Summit beer was sold.

Like many great occasions, this one snuck up on me. I remember looking forward to it some months ago, but was pleasantly surprised when someone offered me one of their commemorative brews at a party a few days ago.

ESB, or Extra Special (or Strong) Bitter for the uninitiated, is an English style beer, typically clocking in at about 6% ABV. The trick to an ESB is ensuring a nice balance between hops and malts--think a cross between an American ale and a bock. If I was, er, "trapped" on a tropical island somewhere and had to pick one style of beer to have it would be ESB. Needless to say, I was really excited to learn the 20th anniversary beer from Summit was going to be an ESB.

My plan was to open a bottle and write a review of the beer, from the initial opening, describing the smell and color of the pour, the taste and "mouthfeel," the way it slid down my throat and the aftertaste. But alas the beer I opened (and the one after that) are already gone. I'd open a third, but I do have to work tomorrow, and me thinks the Summit ESB is a tad over 6% ABV.

But damn, are they drinkable. I knew it would be so after the first pour, smelling the malts mix with plenty of hops (fuggle?). I was relieved that the mineral aftertaste quickly dissipated and I found myself taking another sip. That pursued balance found in great ESBs makes it a clever girl--smooth and confident, inviting and longing, especially knowing, at least at this point, that she won't be around for very long. And so she hits you hard, knocks you on your ass after few rounds, and knows you won't forget her when she's gone.

Mark your calendars for September 30, 2006, when Summit celebrates their 20th with the Big Brew at Harriet Island in St. Paul.