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.