Home Again?

{This is one of my postings I have retrieved from my archive file. I wrote in on April 18, 2010}

They say you can never go home again. I suppose that is essentially so. As I look back I find it increasingly more difficult to determine where if anything is my home. It was a profound feeling for me to walk into the small classroom at Wallace Baptist Church where I once sat as a small child so many years ago. It seemed so large then. It was equally nostalgic to stroll the same paths under the live oaks at the "Old War Skul". Revisiting my home town of Shreveport a few days before my daughter's wedding was bittersweet and once again walking the Streets of Bakersfield was pretty strange yet cool too.

The Mrs. The Third and I lived in and around the small town of Tomball, Texas from June 1988 until September 2005. During that time I worked and lived in Southern California for 2 years. But 15 years of our lives were spent there. Three of our children started to school there. Two graduated from the local high school. It was what I called my home town.
Nearly five years have passed since we left and we have only visited 3 or 4 times since.

If you recall, I wrote a blog last year and I posted it on March 8. It is titled "The Rest of the Story" I suggest that you revisit that post. I wrote about a very proud moment of my life. The trip I am about to detail was to attend the Annual Gumbo Karoke at St. Anne Catholic Church. The guest of honor and principle celebrant at Mass was Daniel Cardinal DiNardo. Since the event/fundraiser was my brainchild, several people where looking forward to my attendance.

Around 5 AM the Mrs The Third left our home here in Hooterville and drove back to our old home town. As we got closer and closer we would marvel at all of the new growth and development. As we drove the same streets we had traversed so many time I realized that things seemed pretty run down. I was disappointed. Just as that small country church class room had looked different from what I had envisioned, The town seems to look weathered and some how sad. Buildings were boarded up and grass was growing high. Trash was on the sidewalks. As we drove down South Cherry Street we noted our dream home did not look as appealing as it once did. Around 8 AM we pulled into the parking lot of our former church. We drove to the rear of the old Parish Hall and began to see the usual familiar faces of our friends, Mark and Darrel and Louis. For a fleeting moment it was if I had never left and once again we were cooking something together. This time is was chicken and sausage gumbo. Yes there was noticeably more gray hair but it was still good to be back. I watched as another man was walked in the same shoes I had walked in over 8 years ago.I saw him assemble a small group of young boys and watched as they prepared for the night's festivities. The wife and I only stayed about an hour. We were getting in the the way of the cooking. We left and drove to downtown Houston and visited the oldest micro brewery in Texas, St. Arnold's. See, I still write about beer.
We each received four tokens each for a free sample of beer. We only used four total tokens and gave the remaining four tokens to a guy setting near to us. I chose him since he was wearing a LSU tee shirt. Geaux Tigers!! We left St. Arnold's and drove up Interstate 45 to nearby Conroe, Texas. Once again we marveled at the amount of change we saw. We arrived at Southern Star Brewery and once again received four free tokens for samples. We stayed there and drank a couple of beers each and then we proceeded back to Tomball to attend Mass and then the 8th Annual Fundraiser for the Archdiocesan Ministry for Persons with Disabilities.

It was good to visit with our dear friends but I realized that although St. Anne would always be a part of me and I would be a part of it as well, somehow I truly was no longer connected to it. I suppose you could consider that sad but I feel pretty void

We left early in order to be back home around midnight. I shook hands with my friend Deacon Garry and then spoke to Cardinal DiNardo and jokingly said "keep an eye on this guy" he laughed and and said "you bet I will"

Then we left. It has been around 4 or 5 months since then and as I write this, I realize that it truly is not home to me anymore.

But I realized one thing. Everyone needs a home. I hope I find one.

Down the Road Guys....


The Third

Billy Beer?

Note: This is another "draft" that I am cleaning out of my files. I originally wrote it back in November 2010

November, 2010
In 1977, a supplier of beer making equipment in Rochester, NY, solicited his congressman to legalize home brewing. The bill passed through the House and Senate without fanfare and was signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979. Currently home brewing of beer is legal in 49 of the 50 states. Alabama has laws on the books that prohibit home brewing but they are rarely enforced.

Prohibition saw the closing of the country's earlier small breweries. When it was lifted, the beer industry was tightly regulated and dominated by swill-producing behemoths like Budweiser, Miller and Coors. When President Carter signed the new law to allow home brewing, he effectively deregulated the beer industry, which paved the way for the resurgence of microbreweries. American craft brewers proliferated following Carter's move, jumping from about 200 a decade later to more than 1,400 now.

Today more than 90 percent of small breweries are said to have roots in home brewing, proving how vital the bill was. So while Carter may have done little for the economy during the late '70s, he did wonders for the fruit, honey, and chocolate beers of today.

_________________________________________________
One hundred years prior to Jimmy Carter being elected, American brewer Adolphus Busch traveled to what is now The Czech Republic. He visited a small town named Žatec . The area around the small town was well known as the very best producer of Saaz hops. He had visited the area to negotiate the purchase of said hops. He eventually did acquire his source of Saaz hops from the Dreher family who owned a large tract of land known as Mecholupy (pronounced Mitch a lobe pea).
Adolphus Busch had earlier began to brew a "lager" using rice and several other grains and then filtering it through beechwood chips. In the period immediately after the American Civil War, beer was only moderately popular throughout the United States and then primarily only with recent immigrants from Germanic and or Slavic Countries. Beer was highly perishable and only had a "shelf life" of only a week or so. Because of this, most beer was produced, distributed, and consumed locally.

In 1896 Aldolphus Busch began producing a beer by the name of Michelob (in honor of his source of Saaz hops). It was called " a draught beer for connoisseurs". In 1961, Anheuser-Busch produced a version of Michelob which allowed legal shipment of the beer across state lines. Bottled beer began to be shipped soon after, and the brand was introduced in cans in 1966. Bottled Michelob was originally sold in a uniquely-shaped bottle named the teardrop bottle because it resembled a water droplet. The bottle designers wanted a unique bottle that would be recognizable in dimly lit pubs.

Michelob quickly became the "premium" beer of choice. It joined Budweiser as a flagship beer of Anheuser Busch.

Several months ago, I watched the CBS Evening News and I saw where President Jimmy Carter had delivered a former prisoner from North Korea. I voted for Jimmy Carter back in 1976. I truly admire him. Ok, I admit he was not that great of a president. His four year term as president will go down as pretty abysmal except he did change the law to allow people to brew beer in their homes thus spawning craft brewing in America and that ain't such a bad thing.

Below is a breakdown of beer sales in America:

AB-InBev (Brazil)-------- 51.9%

Molson Coors (Canada)----11.3%

SAB Miller (England)------18.7%

Imports*------------------14.3%

Craft Beer------------------3.8%

To put it all in prespective American's consume 171 billion servings of beer annually.

The number one selling beer in the world is Budweiser. The number two selling beer in the world is Budweiser Light. They are both brewed by AB-InBev.

Thanks Jimmy

The Third

Come on Man...I'd do it for you

NOTE: I mentioned that I would be reviewing some of my "drafts" and that I might be post a few of them in the future. This is one of them. It was originally written during the last week of 2010

December 2010
I have been posting to this blog for over two years now. In many ways it certainly is not what I thought it would be and on the other hand it is. I have tried to take a lighthearted look at many things and have muddled my way through never really thinking too much as to how it played out. In a strange way, I feel that it is becoming a quasi autobiographical introspect. From the very beginning I have attempted to avoid using actual names of people I write about. I have assigned nicknames to many of them. Most people who know me, can readily identify to whom I am writing.

With that said, let me state this as clear as I can. This is my blog and no one else contributes to it, I have never intentionally written anything that I felt would truly be harmful to anyone, living or dead. Yes, from time to time I express my opinion and I sprinkle in some wry sarcasm. What I write I do so with tongue in cheek. I would never lie on purpose. If someone believes anything I have written is a lie, I guess there is nothing I could write here that would undo that opinion. If one does not care to believe what I write that is his or her prerogative. Although I sometimes use a bit of hyperbole, everything I have written is truthful. Sometimes you have to read what is written "between the lines". If you feel offended, betrayed or insulted then read it over again. Perhaps you did not truly understand what I was trying to say. Or perhaps, your cerebral limitations or your predetermined beliefs, interfere with your ability to truly understand what I am attempting to say.

I have always strive to give each of my postings a positive and affirming spin. I would never want anything I write here to be construed as spiteful, malicious or vengeful. In a bizarre way I write my postings with a positive light.

I am one who is not with out sin. Although I do not live in a glass house therefore I still tend to not throw stones. Those who know me know I am talk way too much and that if you give me enough time I will eventually put my foot in my mouth. Although I usually try to keep a watchful eye on what other think, I also admit that other peoples "petty feeling" matter very little to me. I am confounded that they "simply do not get it."

I think most people consider me a "good guy". I feel that my good nature does not garner me the respect of others. I do not think that I distinguish myself enough, I feel I am perceived as one who sort of goes with the flow.

As I have written before, I played baseball for the Mighty Lakeshore Baptist Bees. One of the teams we would play twice a year was the team sponsored by one of the local Catholic churches, St. John's. At each of our contests, the announcers would state who was at bat as well as who was"on deck". As a small boy child, it was sort of special to hear your name announced. One of players on St. John's had the same last name as me. Of all of the teams that we played each year, St. John's actually had a person who I was actually related to. The two were not the same person. My mother's cousin had a son who played St. John's. After each game with the cheating bastards, mother would drag me over to introduce me to her cousin and her son Bucky my third cousin. It was on one of those occasions that Bucky introduced me to his friend and teammate Bill Sullivan. I think we were either nine or ten at the time.

Several years later while attending Louisiana State University, I was assigned a new roommate. His name was Steve. Steve was from the same home town as I was and had graduated from the local Catholic High School (Jesuit). Steve and I became fast friends. He knew many of the guys I used to play football against back in high school and yes he was friends with both the aforementioned Bucky and Bill. Bucky ended up joining the Army and died in Viet Nam. Bill began attending LSU and he and I hung out a lot. He was the second youngest out of 11 children. He did not have a car and I found myself driving him around. He would show up at my room and ask me to take him somewhere. Usually I would tell him I did not want to go or I did not have time or some other excuse. He would say " Ahhh Come On Man, I'd do it for you." Most of the time I relented. Back in Shreveport we actually had several people convinced we were actual brothers. We even won a trophy as the best Foos Ball team in town. It seemed that no matter where I went, I tended to cross paths with Bill. Eventually I began to see less and less of Bill . In 1974, the Plaintiff and I were married on August 17 at 4:00 PM in the afternoon. I learned the next day that my friend Bill Sullivan had been married at 7:00 PM later that night at the same church......St John's Catholic. On a Saturday in 1981 I along with my Aunt Mary Nell were have a winning day at the local race track. I was standing in line to redeem a winning ticket when someone directly behind me spoke into my ear. "Come on Man..I'd do it for you.". It was my friend Bill. He was drunk as a skunk and he proceeded to tell me how much money he had lost that day. We spoke for about five minutes and made plans to get together soon. I have not seen or heard from him since.

I do not recall Bill doing one single favor for me. But I truly believe it is because I never asked him to. I am confident that he would have. He taught me that if you are truly willing to do a favor for someone, you can truly ask them to do a favor for you.

Recently I submitted a posting concerning my son in law bringing some beer back to me. I wrote it to point out the various beers I was hoping that he would retrieve for me. (which he did by the way) I detailed how I took the steps that I could to make his "favor" for me to be as painless as possible. Upon his return to Hooterville he informed me that the whole process took less than ten minutes of his time; that he only drove a mile or so out of his way and the the sales rep even carried the seven six packs outside and placed them in his truck.

In the same posting I referred to an instance a year earlier wherein I had requested a former coworker to retrieve some beer from me. I mentioned that I felt that he "owed me". I pointed out that he was "too tired" to "hook me up" even though I believed it would have been very easy and convenient. I supposed it could be construed that I betrayed my "friend" as someone who was a loaf or someone who would not honor a debt and even steal money from me. I mentioned a vehicle I sold to him and I inadvertently misrepresented the actual selling price. The fact is that he did indeed pay for the vehicle (over the course of several months). I even provided him a written affidavit to attest that he had paid me in full. I actually never directly gave to him forty dollars. I had actually given the money to another employee with instructions to give the forty dollars to him along with directions to the local beer store. I never consulted with my friend and coworker concerning his willingness to acquire the beers for me. I suppose my history with the aforementioned Bill Sullivan led me to believe that my "friend" would "hook me up". I mean "I would do it for him". Finally I want to state that the person to whom I actually gave the forty dollars to informed me after the fact, that he, not the "proposed beer mule" had my money. It was he that never gave my money back to me.

The "mention" in my posting was never intended to impune my former coworker. It was written as filler and in passing. I have since edited the posting to insure that little or any reference is made to him.

I realize that very few people actually read my blogs. One of the few that do (I realize) is the person who I had hoped would bring the beers back to me back in 2009. He now feels as if I insulted him or as he states "I placed a shank in his back". he states that I use "my blog" to lie. I differ with him that I lied.
I sincerely hope that I have sufficiently addressed that matter. I do not intend to concern myself with it further.

e·lat·ed  [ih-ley-tid]jective

very happy or proud; jubilant; in high spirits: an elated winner of a contest.

Back when I was in my early teens we would occasionally visit a A&W Root Beer Stand. Near the store was a family named Webb. I would see the Webb kids on our visits to purchase root beer. As fate would have it, the oldest Webb boy and I became very good friends. In fact I will go as far as saying we were indeed best friends all through Junior High School, High School, College and even later. We each were in each other's "first" weddings. We were close. I loved him and I know he loved me. I would have cut of my own hand if I thought it would have hurt him. In 1976 The Prodigy was born. a few months earlier, as tradition dictates, a baby shower was held for The Plaintiff, The Third and our soon to be born child.
Each gift we received was needed. We were grateful for everything we received. Of all of the gifts we received only one of them was actually hand made. It was a hand stitched blanket given to us by my dear fried mentioned above. His wife had spent nearly two months making the blanket for our baby. When I first saw the blanket I actually cried. It was special that it was handmade but it was really special that my best friend and his wife gave it to us. A few days later I met with my friend and I told him that I truly loved the blanket. I expressed to him how special if was to both me and my wife. I told him I was elated.

Two months after The Prodigy was born, my friend came to my home and confronted both my wife and I. He informed me that I had stabbed him in his back. he expressed how disappointed he was with my reaction to the gift. He told me that I had a lot of nerve to tell him face to face that I was "elated" about the gift.......Now let me stop and explain something here. My friend Gary was not what you would conceive as being real intelligent. Somehow he was under the assumption that the word "elated" meant something other than what it actually did. On that night he essentially called me everything except a child of God. I have asked myself why. He left my home in a huff. Our friendship had ended. A few years later he and I visited each other and he admitted that he then realized what the word elated actually meant. But unfortunatley, the damage had been done. I suppose both of us had hoped that we could rekindle our friendship. Too much water had passed under that bridge. I miss Gary very much.

In late 1999 my father called me and informed me he would be coming to where I lived and he wanted me to put him the hospital to help him off of alcohol. He flew into town and I admitted him to the local hospital. A month later he died. Many of my friends came to comfort me. About a month later as Grand Knight of the local counsel I address my brother knights. I told them that although I no longer had a blood brother, that they were indeed my brothers. I expressed my gratitude to all of them. I told them that too many times we underestimated the power of a friend. The next night I learned that one of those friends had lost his twin brother in an automobile accident. He was devastated. I called to speak to him. I spoke to his wife and she informed me that all he could do was cry. To be honest, I began crying as well. A day or so later The Mrs The Third along with two other of our friends showed up at my friends departed brother's Rosary. It was over a hundred miles away from where we lived. To this day I do not recall being hugged harder than when my friend Darrell hugged me. I too had lost a brother to an auto accident. All we could do was sob as we held each other. A few weeks later he told me that all he could think about was what I had said that night as I addressed my brother knights. His belief that he had all of those brothers comforted him as he grieved his actual brothers passing.

Second Note: I tend to try to have a summary of each of my postings. I pulled this one out of my "draft files" and frankly I a not in a mood to summarize. I leave that up to you.

The Third, aka Los Gatos Grande

As So It Ends (Part Five of a Series of Five)

"I'm the kid who ran away with the circus. Now I'm watering elephants. But I sometimes lie awake in the sawdust dreaming I'm in a suit of light..... I'm the kid who always looked out the window failing tests in geography. But I've seen things far beyond just the schoolyard, distant shores of exotic lands.There's the spires of the Turkish Empire. Six months since we made landfall, riding low with the spice of India, through Gibraltar, we're rich men all. Time was talking I guess I just wasn't listening. No surprise, if you know me well.... I'm the kid who has this habit of dreaming, sometimes gets me in trouble too. But the truth is I could no more stop dreaming than I could make them all come true" - The Kid by Buddy Mondlock

I realize that my writing style can be pretty arduous. I also am aware that others may not see the same things or the things the same as I do. I admit that some of my writing can seem tedious boring and possibly lacking of substance. But all that being said, I still persist. From my first posting, I have tried to write directly from my inner soul and put it out there the best I can do. Mrs Hightower, my senior year Advanced English Class teacher always thought I could be a writer. I suppose she may have been wrong. Although I continue to try to discover my true intent for this blog, I accept that I may never do so.

I do not intend this blog to take a "blue tone" but sadly I find it headed that way. As I truly step back and take a look at my nearly 60 years of life, I find that my dreams have carried me about a far as they could. I do not regret them but rather I am sorry that was all they were as the lyrics cited above. I suppose I have always been a kid. Sadly I never truly grew up. I suppose I probably never will. For those whose are affected by that fact, I sincerely offer my apology.

This posting is two fold. It is the fifth installment of a series of five (as the title states) and it is my 96th and in all likelihood probably final posting of "Beerrun/The Brew Chronicles. As much as I fantasize, I still would have thought I would have had more than four or five readers after nearly three years. It would have been nice to have posted at least an even one hundred posts and I suppose I could have waited to mid December and say I had a blog for over three years. But Somehow I feel it is time to end it now. I have come to accept the fact that most people I know do not have the inclination or the intellect to read anything longer than a fifty word maximum, face book blurb. Frankly I have become weary and uninspired. I can appreciate as to why no one wants to waste much time reading my rantings, long as they may be.

My ideas and dreams have been just that. I have not acted upon them while other people have. I simply, as the above lyrics cited, "looked out the window" and only dreamed. As I look back at my life, I finally conclude that I indeed had the tools and opportunities to act on my dreams, instead I tended to take the path of least resistance. Now I am not saying that my life is over. I am saying that I can clearly see that my life has limits. I am old and wise enough to envision my life actually coming to an end. I can see a clear timeline and although I foresee "many years" remaining in my life, they are increasingly are appearing to me as being numbered. My parents, extended family and friends have all given me ample opportunities in my life. I have not necessarily squandered them, I just did not take full and complete advantage of them. I have never had an abundance of money, a fact I truly regret. But I know deep in my heart that in the long run, wisdom is far more valuable than money

I find that nowadays most of the people I know tends to treat me as a pariah. What I know, what I have and or my wisdom is not what they are seeking. I am patronized or simply ignored. I am pretty much kept on a need to know basis. I know that may sound harsh but I believe it to be true. All of my children are "grown" and independent. Although they may speak the words, I
do not believe they seek future parenting or advise from me. That task of mine has passed. I am constantly impressed as to how "much" they know yet at the same time I am amused as how "little" they know. Although I feel I have failed in so many ways in my life, I do not regret what I done as a parent. If I had it all over to do again, I believe I would not have changed many things.
This blog in many ways has been my opus to them. It was actually intended to speak to them about me, my life and my dreams. The true secret of this blog is that Beer and thingsbeer have only been an analogy and or allegory. I have diligently tried to place my wry wit and wisdom between the lines. I guess I have missed my mark. I wish my mother and father had written blogs I could have read. Then again that is what I wished and not particularly what my children want.

I suppose I could opine forever but at some point I need to find an end. So with that I submit the final installment of a Series of Five.

These past five postings (including this one) have a single focus and to be honest they are a microcosm of all of my previous postings. They attempt to illuminate my dreams as if they were reality.

So with that said, lets look back

Part One: Identifies applicable laws that are in existence. I admit I express some sarcasm within it, I attempt to simply state how the "landscape" plays out.

Part Two: This is pretty much a re-hash of many of my earlier postings regarding places I have been and beers I have tried. The point I was attempting to make was that I had visited a lot of places and seen a lot of different places. Most of them are very successful. Each was unique in it's own way. Should I create a place of my own, I would have many examples to follow.

Part Three: This posting was meant to point out that there was and is still a viable market for both micro breweries and brewpubs

Part Four: This posting is amalgamation of many. It was to recant what I have written about for nearly three years. I fine tuned it and tried to "put legs" on my dream. I attempted to illustrate how the idea although similar to literally hundreds (or more) of ideas, is indeed separate in it's scope. I attempted to once again show and or visualize my dream.

I think it was during my writing of Part Four that I realized that my blog had reached its zenith. I found myself writing the same things I had written prior. I had a deja vu moment.
I have several scribblings saved on my computer. These are blog postings that I never actually finished. I plan to re review them and if possible they may find their way on this blog. Then again this could be the last one.

So I guess that is about it. But one final story.......

As a senior in high school I was once again placed in an advanced English class. Mrs Hightower was one of those teachers that everyone feared yet respected. My grades in her class was pretty much as they were in all my other classes C s with a few B s. Mrs Hightower knew that I had potential but to be honest all I wanted to do was hear the bell ring for sixth period and go to either football or baseball practice. For one six week period we had a student teacher. Our project was to read various allegories and then write one. Mine was the story of Three Little Pigs. (with a twist). That was actually the name of it. One pig was all white (Yorkshire), the other was all black (Mulefoot) while the third one was spotted (Poland). It was 1968 and there were three persons running for President. Richard Nixon, Republican, Hubert Humphrey, Democrat and George Wallace, Independent. My allegory was written to describe the various political positions of each. I assigned a pig as each their characters. I carefully crafted the story while placing my own personal spin on it. I was very proud of my work. I turned the paper in and within a few days, I received the paper that was graded by the student teacher. I received an F. The first and only F I had ever received in high school. I was stunned. I asked the teacher and she informed me that it did not read as an allegory nor did the story make any sense whatsoever. She told me she thought it was pure nonsense therefore she gave me a failing grade. Well , I pretty much accepted it. A few weeks later my six week report card was given to me and I had a D in English. My mother went ballistic and ranted on how I needed to straighten up and try learning for a change. I told her about my paper and I even showed it to her. She instructed me to take the paper to Mrs Hightower and ask her opinion. I did and I received the paper back a few days later. The red F had been changed to an A. My teacher "got it". My report card was changed from a D to a B. Mrs Hightower submitted my paper to the school board literary committee and it was published in one of their publications. To this day, it is the only thing I have ever had published. I wonder if anyone else "got it".

So we're are at the end of my blog journey. Once again I ask myself if anyone "got it". But........ this time I also wonder if they ever will.


"But the truth is I could no more stop dreaming than I could make them all come true"


Amen


Tom

two Brewing Company and roots Public House (Part Four of a Series of Five)

I sat on the "Party Patio" with The Big Ranch (TBR). I was rambling on about something as he was pretending to be interested. He read and sent various text messages to his friends and or family or while he checked in on the latest face book posts on his I Phone 4 as I continued to blab. Although he currently works a job that provides for his family, it requires that he spend a substantial amount of time away from them. At times I actually think that he enjoys his time away. Most of the time I feel he really wants to get off of the road.

Beginning in 1958 until I was well into college, my father worked "on the road". Dad was home most weekends and we spent every summer with him. Even though I feel my father did a wonderful job in making up for his time gone, he and I still missed out on many things. As a grandfather to The Big Ranch's daughter, Little Cat, I want to facilitate my son in law to be more of a stay at home dad. In our chats, TBR , has confided with me that his goal is to obtain a college degree in history, education and kinesiology. He wants to be a high school history teacher and football coach. My mother was a teacher. I have the highest respect of teachers. I am honored that my daughter is married to a man who has his sights on such a noble vocation. During some of those chats TBR has modified his goals. He still wants to get off of the road and get his degree but he wants to open a local "fitness center". He has a "friend" who purchased a franchise from a national "fitness" chain and he want to emulate same. He proposes to open a center and after an appropriate amount of time and effort, and when it is up and running and making him a substantial sum of money, he wants to pursue his teaching and coaching career at a small rural school similar to the one he graduated. Personally I admire his goal. As a father figure, I want to support his dream yet I want to temper his dreams as well. He seems to be rather naive but that very well may be a good thing. Our banter back and forth could be construed as augmentative but it is not intended to be so. Me playing Devil's Advocate is not intended to shoot down his dreams but rather solidify them. I too have dreams and I am not too pleased to have them squashed as well. In our chats, he gave me one idea as to how the plan would work while I gave him multiple examples of how it would not. The other day he mentioned to me he should begin to start working out. I suggested that he join a local fitness center and his reply was that he could save money and do all he needs at home. I quickly pointed out that should he open a fitness center I hope that his potential customers did not take the same position that he was taking. "Damn, there you go shooting me down again" he laughed.

So back to the Party Patio (by the way TBR is who first named it). On one of the those occasions I countered his dream with one of my own.......

In early February 1989 I sat in front of the Vice President of Engineering of the company I had been an employee for nearly fifteen years. Two of his sons were drinking buddies of mine. As a "hard shelled Baptist Deacon, I am sure he was not too pleased with that. He had "come up" through the company with my father. Although Dad was not an Aggie Engineer, he did pretty well and up till his retirement he was at about the same level as the VP. I do not think my boss was happy with that either. My Dad always thought he was a simple minded hard headed German. For over a year, I had been a thorn in his side at weekly Monday morning status meetings. I tended to always debunk some of his ideas or I would provide information that prohibited some of his pet projects. At one meeting I even implied he was a fool because of a decision he made against my advise. He made a poor decision and it was costing the company nearly a half of a million dollars. I did not actually call him a fool. What I said was " Who ever made that decision after I specifically warned of the consequences is a fool". Once again, I do not think he was happy with that either.
Our company had been having what seemed to be quarterly employee lay offs or purges for a while. The latest one was upon us. I was not too surprised when when he said "Your job position has been eliminated". I am confident that I made his day.

A few months later I learned that The Mrs. The Third was "with child". I began looking for work and I found a few odd jobs here and there. Most were contract jobs wherein I would work for a few weeks at a time. I also "drew" unemployment benefits. I went to work with a friend who installed ceramic tile. I was his helper. He paid me cash and I did not have to claim it as taxes and it did not effect my unemployment payments. I learned a few things from that year or so. First of all nothing is forever and as long as you work for someone else that someone controls your destiny. Secondly I learned how to live on a lot less money than I was accustomed to. Finally I learned that hard work alone did not always mean more money. Oh yea, I learned I did not want to install ceramic tile for a living.

Eventually I took a job working in Southern California. My first pay check nearly equaled what I had earned installing tile for six months. Yes I had to be away from my family and yes it was emotionally difficult, but I realize it was something I had to do at the time.
While in Bakersfield, I began to accumulate new friends. It only took a few weeks before I was singled out above my fellow employees and I was promoted to supervisor over 22 other employees. I was the boss yet I still had bosses too. One of my of my subordinates was a poor little rich boy named Jim. Jim's parents were in their late forties when he was born. His older siblings were all all over twenty years his senior. His parents were very wealthy. When he was nine he was sent to a military San Marcos Texas and upon high school graduation he attended the University of Texas where he received a degree in Petroleum Land Management. Many of his childhood summers were spent on month long world tours. His apartment had framed photographs of hm and his mother standing in front of the Sidney Opera House and on the Great Wall of China. He had pictures of him in Peru and Ireland. He had a pictures of him standing in front of the Taj Mahall and the Leaning Tower of Pizza. He even had a picture of him and Pope John Paul II. It was just the two of them. It was not one of those "waiting in line" type pictures. He and his mother actually had a personal audience with The Holy Father. I was very impressed. To my knowledge Jim was not even Catholic.

From time to time, Jim and I would visit various restaurants and "clubs" in and around Bakersfield. We also visited places down in "L.A" Jim always knew the really cool places.
One night we drove to downtown Bakersfield.
I have posted here about many different bar, taverns, pubs, dives, lounges etc that I have visited. Each one them hold a special "something" in my memory. But if I needed to single out one single place that I would consider the most profound, it would have to be Guthrie's Alley Cat. I agree Bakersfield, California is not known for it's night life. It is not a tourist destination. But that bar was amazing. Each time I stepped inside it was magical. From that point till today, it is the standard of which I compare other bars, taverns and pubs.

My escapades in Southern California ended in February of 1992. The original crew of over sixty people had been dwindled down to only my boss and me. We were informed that our jobs would be ending on Feb 1. I was offered several other jobs. Each would require that I leave Bakersfield. Each job paid about the same. What I was looking for was longevity. Eventually it was down to two jobs. One was located in a small town in Oregon named Bend. Several of my former co workers and employees had already gone to work there. Many of them were calling me telling me that I should come on up. The job was scheduled to last about two years. The other job also had a few of my former employees and co workers working. The office where I would be working out of, was located less than ten miles from where I used to live back in Texas. That job also was supposed to last nearly two years. I learned that my father would be working for them as well. I still wanted to work in Oregon but The Mrs. The Third wanted to return back to Texas. So back to the Tomball area we went.

Upon arrival back in Texas, one of the first persons I met was a man by the name of Joseph. He was not a very friendly sort of guy but he tended to like me and I liked him as well. Through the years, Joseph and I never became close friends yet we always enjoyed each others company. He had a son named David attending the local Catholic School. I think David must have been nine or ten at the time
On many of my times at our Church or while I was doing something on the Church property, I would see David and I would make a special point of saying hi. He was a kid and most of the time he had very little to do with me.

As I have written in the past, I eventually became the adult sponsor of a male youth organization sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. When I accepted the position I informed my "brother Knights" that I would do so only one condition. I agreed to be the adult leader of the group. I acknowledged that I had no male children thus no son involved with the Squires. I demanded that each father (who was also a Knight) of each boy in the Squires must volunteer his time to help the group as well. I did not think that would happen. I was wrong.....Within days, I had Joe, Mark, Darrell, Gary, Robert, Chris, and Joseph (as mentioned above) all show up to the meetings of the group. Within weeks I witnessed these men not only "show up" but actually do something.

As a Catholic adult, I must admit that one of the highest compliment/honor one could ever have been bestowed, is for someone to ask me to be their confirmation sponsor. Some people take this lightly but it really is a big deal. Most people are never asked and only a fortunate few are asked twice or perhaps three times. I have been asked nine times and I sponsored Anita, Cody, Danielle, Matthew, Adam and David (as mentioned above).

David is now around 23 or 24 years old. For over five years David has continued to call me from time to time and we just talk. He really is a good friend. Sometimes he asks me advise and I pretty much give it to him regardless if I tell him what he want to hear or not. As a young man he too has many dreams. One is to own his own business. We have talked about my fantasy of owning a brewery and or brewpub. All we ever do is talk. We surely have not acted upon it.

In our conversations I have fine tuned some of my dreams. From those conversations I finally laid out a clear path of which I pointed out to TBR on the PP.

Stage One. Open a brewery in the State of Texas. Name it (two) Brewing Company
Only distrubute/sell product in bottles and kegs within the boundaries of the State of Texas.

Stage Two: Open a minimum of two pubs called "roots Public House". The locations could be anywhere withing the United States. Such locations must be carefully considered and selected.
This brewery (two) Brewing Company will produce beers and ales that will only be distributed in kegs, bombers. Each pub will have the ability to brew the same beers as 2 Brewing Company. Each pub not be real large or real small. I plan that it will be an eclectic bar that is a combination of many components of what I feel is the perfect bar. The sound system will be amazing and the 'background music" will be good. The bar will have a huge selection of craft beers as well as well stocked bar. The brew pubs will brew a few identical beers but each one of them will have the ability/option to brew brews that are only available at that specific location.
In addition to these "pubs" having all of the features already mentioned, they will each have a an actual kitchen and or grill and the foods served will be amazing. Who knows Guy and his Camaro may pay a visit to one of them.

Stage Three: Create a Reality Television Show detailing the day to day trials of operating a brewery and opening and operating multiple bars. This process should make root Public House a household name. It is great advertisement and it is completely free. Hell, we would MAKE money with it.

Stage Four: Once the pubs and the brewery have been opened and gain notoriety, the plan is to sell or divest of the two pubs and begin selling "franchises" for future roots Public Houses. Of course we would reap a small portion of the profits from each new venture. Who knows we might purchase a sports franchise with our profits. I hear the LA Dodgers might be up for sale.


Stage Five: Sell or divest ownership in the brewery and simply live on the profits of all of the pubs.

Finally we should follow The Third's Ten Commandments:

1. Think Big. Dreams never have limits.
2. Make a Decision, stick with it.
3. Be willing to listen to all advise but be able to heed good advise.
4. If you have a good idea, be assured others do too.
5. Be grateful not greedy.
6. If you build it. Other will copy it and try to run you out of business.
7. Negative thinking does not always mean negative doing.
8. Seek wisdom always.
9. Know when to say yes and no when to say no. Be able to admit fault or defeat
10. Loyalty should always be your biggest trait.


The Third, CEO ,
Big Cat Brewing Sciences, Inc.

A Small Piece of The Pie (Part Three of a Series of Five)

If you find ten "beer" drinkers at random you will find that eight of them drink the same brand of beer on a continual basis. Chances are they drink Budweiser, Bud Light, Miller Lite, or Coors Light. They drink their beer because that is what they have always drank. It may be because that is what their parents drank. It may be because of what their friends drink.
My son in law, The Big Ranch used to only drink Coor's Light. He would not drink anything else. He would "go without" if Silver Bullets were not offered. Then he began to work as a rough neck on a drilling rig. He learned that all of his fellow roughnecks drank Bud Light so all of a sudden he had a new favorite beer. That certainly is his right to do so. Today, he seldom, if ever drinks any beer. That too is his right.
Some people are loyal to their brand. I even knew a guy who had the Lone Star Beer logo tattooed onto his arm. Right underneath the Rebel flag and a German swastika.
You can conduct your own survey. Find someone (at random) and ask them to name three "Craft Beers or breweries" Chance are they will not be able to do so. I submit a list below of the top 50 Craft Breweries. With that same person, have them name three custom motorcycle companies. Most will mention either West Coast Choppers, Paul Junior Designs or Orange County Choppers.

Of the ten people I previously mentioned, one would occasionally drink something other than, his brand. This person might even drink a "craft beer" on occasion, provided that it did not taste too bad. The remaining person would be open to exploring various brands and types of beers. What I essentially am saying however is that the "craft beer" market is limited to 10 percent of the beer consumer market.

It is pretty common knowledge that there are only a select few "major brand" beer companies.

Budweiser claims to be the Great American Lager yet it's produced by a Brazilian owned company. (AB-InBev)

Coor's still claims that it brewed from Rocky Mountain water. The question is where in the Rocky Mountains..Alberta? Coors is owned by Coor's Molson a Canadian company.

Finally we have Miller Brewing Company which is owned by SAB Miller, which is owned by South African Brewing Company hence the initials SAB.

There is a co-op (in America) called Miller-Coors wherein the later two share brewing facilities to produce their respective beers.

I find it amusing that slightly over 90% of all beers sales in America are from the three brewery companies mentioned above, yet they are still aggressively attempting to capture the remaining market by producing multiple brews that appear to be from "Craft Breweries" (i.e. Blue Moon Brewery which is actually Coors Molson, Linnekugel Brewery which is actually SAB Miller, and Widmer Brewery, Live Oak Brewery and Goose Island Brewery which are all actually AB-InBev) There are many more. The Big Three continue to buy out the smaller breweries. Who knows who is next.

Below is a list of the largest "Craft Breweries" in America.

1. Boston Brewing Company, (Sam Adams)MA*
2. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, CA*
3. New Belgium Brewing Company, (Fat Tire) CO*
4. Spoetzl Brewery,(Shiner) TX*
5. Pyramid Brewries, Inc., WA*
6. Matt Brewing Company, NY
7. Deschutes Brewing Company, OR*
8. Boulevard Brewing Company, MO*
9. Full Sail Brewing Company, OR
10. Harpoon Brewery, MA*
11. Alaskan Brewing and Bottling Company, AK.
12. Magic Hat Brewing Company VT*
13. Anchor Brewing Company, CA*
14. Bell's Brewery, Inc., M*
15. Shipyard Brewing Company, ME
16. Summit Brewing Company, MN*
17. Abita Brewing Company, LA*
18. Gordon Biersch Brewing Company, CA
19. Brooklyn Brewery, NY
20. Stone Brewing Company, CA*
21. Rogue Ales, OR*
22. Long Trail Brewing Company, VT
23. New Glarus Brewing Company, WI
24. Kona Brewing Company, Kahlua- HI
25. Dogfish Head Brewing Company, DE
26. Firestone Walker Brewing Company, CA*
27. Great Lakes Brewing Company, OH
28. The Lagunitas Brewing Company,CA
29. Flying Dog Brewery,CO
30. Sweetwater Brewery, GA
31. Bridgeport Brewing Company, OR*
32. Rock Bottom Brewery, CO
33. Odell Brewing Company, CO*(My favorite)
    
34. BJ's Restaurant and Brewery, CA*
35. Victory Brewing Company, PA
36. Mac and Jack's Brewery, WA
37. Lost Coast Brewery and Cafe, CA
38. Big Sky Brewing Company, MT*
39. Pete's Brewing Company, TX
40. Otter Creek Brewing Company, VT
41. Karl Strauss Brewing Company, CA*
42. Breckenridge Brewing Company, CO
43. Gordon Biersch Brewery, TN
44. Anderson Valley Brewing Company, CA
45. Boulder Beer Company, CO
46. North Coast Brewing Company, CA
47. McMenamins, OR*
48. Utah Brewer's Cooperative, UT
49. Capital Brewing Company, WI
50. Blue Point Brewing Company, NY

* Breweries I have actually visited.

So in summation the potential available market is small and very competitive yet I personally believe there is a huge potential to make a fortune on the "leavings. As much as I think it is wrong for the big companies to swallow up the smaller ones, I agree that it is the "American Way" Trust me, If I ever owned a successful brewery and one of the "big three" made an offer to buy me out, I certainly would listen to what they were offering. After all it all boils down to dollars and cents.

So.......... Even though the market is saturated and I am confident a fortune could still be made.....one way or another.


Stay Tuned


The Third

From "Steam" to "Chili" (Part Two of a Series of Five)

Friday August 1, 1986. The Plaintiff was dating the first of her next four or so husbands. I had a new haircut and a fresh pair of starched "Pro Rodeo cuts". I was wearing a white cowboy shirt with french cuffs that I stole from my Dad and I was sporting a new Bangora hat. I was not sure where I was going but I was starting to look forward to it. For the first time in several weeks I was really feeling good. Actually I felt free. I went to a local eatery and I noticed a sign promoting the sale of Anchor Steam Ale. I had heard that the beer was to be one of the best ever. I worked with a guy named Mike. He was from San Fransisco, Ca. and he had some weird position with our company. He had a Master's degree in oceanography and he was also a huge pot head. He would bring briefcases full of pot which he would show me as we sat in his corner office in downtown Houston. In his earlier life he has once been a drug runner bringing drugs across the Mexican American border. He was actually pursued by Interpol, or at least he said he was. He is the person who recommended that I try Anchor Steam Ale.....

As I have written before, beer selection for people like me was based on what was available and what was socially acceptable. I had ventured many times before in trying other beers. I had heard from my friends and family who spent time in Viet Nam that I should try San Miguel Beer. Lowenbrau Dark was available at the local pizza joint and I had downed many a pitcher. When I was feeling like I was a rich kid I would drink a few "greenies" and when I ate Mexican food I would order a Dos Equis, Tres Equis, Carta Blanca or Coronas. I read somewhere about Shiner Beer and I recall in August of 1974 I purchased two six packs at some roadside liquor store near Cleveland Texas. I tried a Chinese beer once at the Ore House in Houston and of course as a Louisiana boy, I downed many Falstaffs, Jaxs and Dixies. I was a Bud ....then Miller Lite... back to Bud.... and then to Lone Star..... and back to Bud kind of guy.

After riding out Hurricane Rita, I moved to Central Texas in late September, 2005. Before long I began working and traveling with The Power Load . It was only a few weeks before I realized the wonderful opportunity I had to be able to sample new beer selections that I probably never would have be able to. It was in those journeys that The Brew Chronicles was born. I quickly realized that travel was just something we do. It really did not make muck difference where we worked. Most of my fellow employee had seen so much from their windshield that they had become numb to it. I quickly made a mental game of looking forward to where I was going because of the unique beer that would be offered in the area. As I have written I would bring beers back from my travels and on multiple occasions I would bring sampler back for a couple of my local friends and the bar tenders at my local favorite pub.

Upon learning of where our next "job" was, I was be filled with anticipation of being able to find some of my favorites such as # 9, Harpoon IPA, Moose Drool and Black Butte Porter. I no longer work on the road but I can now find each of these beers at my local supermarket. In the past year a large chain liquor store has been opened in town and they have a vast selection of craft beers. Even with the new selections I am still wishing they would have more.

I wish I would have kept better notes regarding all of the different beers I have been able to sample. Looking back I realize I have tasted over a hundred different beers in the last nearly six year. Yes, I write here at times and I post my "Beer of the Day" on my face book from time to time, but my regret remains. In the future I am going to attempt to journal the beers I have tasted over the years. Listed below (way below) are microbreweries and brew pubs I have visited in my life.
Some of those listed are places I visited when I was much younger. Many are found along the . roadways I traveled as a result of my tenure with The Power Load.... I am going to give a real true example of one of my trips.....

This is true story, none of the names or places have been changed to protect the guilty.

I left early Monday morning from Central Texas traveling to Osh Kosh Wi. My plans were to stop somewhere in the middle of Missouri and spend the night. I was traveling with a coworker. Since I left about 3 in the morning I planned to drive till about 6 or 7 in the afternoon. I had a friend who had graduated from the University of Missouri at Rolla. I realized I would be passing through Rolla (on I-44) at about the time I planned to stop so I called the office and had them make a reservation for me. I say this because I did not select the location of my lodging. As we pulled into the parking lot I noticed that we passed a place that said "Public House Brewing Company". It was walking distance (about two blocks) from our motel room. Joe and I checked into our room and I took a shower and off i went. Joe stayed behind (probably smoking a few blunts while I was gone).
The next morning we continued our trip. we arrived in Osh Kosh a day early for our job. We checked into the motel around 2:30 in the afternoon. I read some of the literature left in my room and I learned that there was a brew pub only a few miles from my motel. I called my travel mate Joe (who rarely drank) and I told him I would buy him a late lunch. We drove over to Fox River Brew Pub ( on the banks of Lake Winnebago) and I ordered a sampler with a sandwich. In two days I had already visited two brew pubs. One week later I traveled to Monroe Washington (1,943 miles). We left around noon and as we were crossing through Wisconsin, I passed through Chippewa Falls. I was still driving the company truck (this time alone) and I was to drop it off at the Minneapolis Airport. I was to meet my road room mate and friend, Roger there and we would continue on to our destination in his 2004 Monte Carlo named "Betsy". Since I left about 45 minutes before Bub, I decided to stop at the Linnegukel Brewery (at Chippewa Falls) I drank a small glass (about 4 ounces) of one of their beers, purchased a pint glass and then continued my journey to our rendezvous. I was at the brewery less than 20 minutes. I only drank four ounces of beer yet I had now been to three "beer places" on my trip.
We spent the night in Fargo, North Dakota at a Super Eight Inn ( Roger picked the location). Directly across the street was the Great Northern Restaurant and Brew Pub, (number four).We ate there and I drank a couple of their offerings. I learned that they would be closing for business in less than a month. We left the next morning realizing we had over 1,400 miles to drive to our next destination. Late that afternoon I realized that we would be passing through Missoula Mt while on Interstate 90. I mentioned it to my "Budweiser Only" friend Roger. "Bub, I don't think we will have time to stop....maybe next time." I was disappointed but I understood. Once again the "Beer Gods" were looking over me. As the sun was beginning its decent in the Bitter Creek Mountians, Roger informed me that we were running "on fumes" and that he would be pulling over for "petrol" . I had pretty much had forgotten my earlier request to stop at that Montana Brewery. I was actually catching a few winks when Roger informed me that we would be stopping. As we entered the small Montana town he took an exit indicating a nearby Exxon station. But as he turned underneath the freeway, low and behold I sited Big Sky Brewery, (brewer of Moose Drool Brown Ale) directly on our right. I could barely see the Exxon sign down the street. "Ok I will drop you off to go look inside, but I am going to fill Betsy up and we need to keep going" "Fine, I said". I walked inside their tap room and located a long sleeve tee shirt and a pint glass.....Then I walked up to the bar and ordered a beer (free of course) I paid for my souvenirs and slammed the beer down. Then I ordered another and walked over to look outside to see if Roger was waiting for me. He was not there yet. I quickly downed the beer and walked outside just as he was pulling up. I took a picture of the building, (shown here) got inside his car and we drove away. (I had now been to five places on my trip)"So you did not have time to drink a beer....sorry" he said. "No I did not" I replied. As we continued on I 90 into the mountains and after a long period of silence Roger spoke..."Liar". We both laughed.

As we crossed into Idaho we saw literally hundreds of small fires in the mountains. Although it had a certain eeriness about it. It was pretty cool looking. We arrived at the Holiday Inn Motel in Monroe Washington a few minutes before midnight. Directly next door to the Motel was the Sail Fish Bar and Grill. We were both starving to death and although we were both exhausted, we were too "hyped up" from driving. Neither of us had eaten anything since breakfast back in North Dakota. My cell phone began ringing. It was our coworker "Trol" . Hey guys I saw you two drive up. I am over in the bar next door, come on over. Before we even checked into our room we walked over to the grill. It was there that i saw a sign saying Sailfish Bar and Grill & Twin Rivers Brewing Company. .... Once again the "Beer Gods" were looking after me. I visited my (6th beer place)
After less than 5 hours sleep we were drinking coffee in the lobby of the Holiday Inn. We were getting ready to go to work when nine of us received phone calls and were informed that we would be flying to Denver and then driving to nearby Castle Rock, Colorado. It was nearly six o clock in the afternoon when we walk on to the job site in Colorado. We were there only a few minutes when it was decided that we would commence the next day. As we were leaving the location we passed Rockyard Grill and Brewery located on Interstate 25, We went inside for a beer and then finally to our motel to rest for the next day. We visited that Brewpub (number seven) several times during the next week. A week later we flew from Denver to Phoenix where we worked in nearby Carefree Az. We were staying a very nice "resort" and were required to drive about 6 miles each day to the job site. Along our route we passed through Cave Creek, Az and the many eateries and night clubs. One such place was Black Mountain Brewery (Number eight). We visited that location several time throughout the week. This brewery is famous or infamous (depending as to how you look at it) for brewing "Chili Beer". http://www.chilibeer.com. At the time, they actually brewed Chili Beer there but they now brew the beer in Mexico.

Instead of flying back to Seattle with Roger and then driving to the San Fransisco Bay area for our new project, I was given the keys to another company vehicle and asked to drive it and two passengers to Dublin, California. As I was driving into Dublin I passed the town of Pleasonton (about 5 miles) away. There was a huge billboard advertising "Main Street Brewery". Over the next seven days, I visited the Brew Pub three separate times. The beer was pretty good, but the food was amazing. Many of my coworkers enjoyed the food. I was easy for me to convince at least one of them to drive me over to the brew pub, my ninth "beer place" on my trip.

Our final job was located in Port Orchard, Washington (near Seattle) Our motel room was facing and was only about 100 feet from Puget Sound. The seals barked each night. The trek from our motel to our job site, passed through old downtown Port Orchard. On about the third or fourth day I noticed the Bay Street Ale House. It was a small place and looked like a pub only. One of of coworkers pointed out that they had a brewery inside. He, Joe drove me over to the brew pub (number ten). The beer was amazing.

Within a few days my six week trip was winding to an end. I left the company truck with another coworker who lived in the area. She was to drive it to Texas a week later. She also took me to Seatac (the airport) and I flew home to Texas. While I was at the airport I stepped inside what I thought was just a bar. It actually was a brew pub (Hale's Ales).

This trip allowed me to visit eleven different brew pubs. It was fun.

I admit that most trips I took while working for the Power Load were not always six weeks in duration. Most "places" were not across the street or 'walking distance" from where I was staying. Most required that I drive or ride to them. Most of my travels only afforded me one or possibly two occasions, if any, to visit Brew Pubs and or Breweries. There were several instances where I found local breweries or brewpubs but I could not get a ride or find someone to go to them. In fact, most of my job travels, did not include any visits to Brew Pubs and or Breweries. I realize that my former bosses may read this blog (although I truly doubt it). For that reason, I want to put some issues to rest at this time. Other than the 4 ounces of beer I drank at Leinenkukel in Chippewa Falls, I never, got behind the wheel of a company vehicle after drinking beer. During the course of my employment, if I stopped at a new brew pub, brewery or bar and drank a beer,( and I did on a few occasions) I always had a fellow employee (who did not drink) with me who would drive. I never would travel "out of the way" (further than five miles) in order to visit a brew pub. Each place I visited were usually off of the freeway or down the street from lodging. I never visited a brew pub or brewery while with co workers before I made sure I that it was ok with them. On more than one occasion, I actually paid for their meals as well. I never stayed very long at any place, Usually I would do as I did at Big Sky Brewery, drink a beer or two, purchase a pint glass and possibly a tee shirt and or cap. Visiting breweries and brew pubs became my hobby. I never abused the good nature of those where were with me and I never betrayed the "confidence" (I say that tongue in cheek) of my employers. I worked for a "construction" company with construction workers. Many of them drank and drank a lot. Many of the used various drugs as well. Many of them, including our supervisors would drink so much that they would arrive to work the following day still under the effects of what they had drank the night before. That was something that I can honestly say I never was guilty of. I was usually asleep by 10PM. In nearly five years of employment I was never late to work nor did I miss a single day because of some sort of ailment or because I did not hear my alarm clock etc. Although I logged thousands of miles in multiple company vehicles, I never had a single accident, locked the keys in the vehicle or received a single ticket or citation. Although several employees witnessed me bring several six packs to my room several times a week, they did not realize or consider that I would transport the vast portion of that beer back home so I could share with my friends and family. I am sure they still contacted my employers and inform them that I was a drunken lush. I am sure my employers believed them as well. Change that, my employers always believed them even when I denied such accusations. Because I brought so much beer back home , on occasion I would strategically place several bottles inside my luggage for air travel and on more than one occasion, I transported several six packs of beer in the locked rear portion of the company vehicles I drove. I investigated various state laws and I learned that I was not breaking any applicable laws regarding such transport. I asked my brother in law, co owner of the company, on more than one occasion and he asked that if I wanted to transport beer that I place the beer in the "locked" bed of the truck. I never carried any beer inside the cab of any company vehicle. As I said, my former employer never believed me. Why should I ever think they would start now. But for the rest of my readership, hopefully you WILL believe me.

Below is the list I mentioned earlier. I am placing an asteric (*) after the ones I visited while with the Powerload

Texas:
Southern Star - Conroe
St. Arnold's - Houston
Two Rows* - Dallas
Humberdinks* - Dallas
Fredericksberg Brewing - Fredericksberg
Real Ale Brewery - Blanco
Rohr's Brewery - Fort Worth
Draught House - Austin
North by Northwest Brewpub - Austin
Uncle Billy's Brew and Cue - Austin
Lone Star Brewery - San Antonio
Pearl Brewery - San Antonio
Jaxon's Brewing* - El Paso
Spoetzl Brewing - Shiner

New Hampshire:
Stone Coast Brewery* - Laconia
Smuttynose* - Portsmouth

Vermont:
Vermont Brew and Pub* - Burlington
Switchback Brewery* - Burlington
Magic Hat Brewery* - South Burlington

Massachusetts:
Harpoon Brewery* - Boston

Pennsylvania:
Bethlehem Brew Works* - Bethlehem
The Church Brew Works* - Pittsburgh

New York:
Custom Brewcrafters* - Honeoye Falls

Missouri:
Public House Brewery - Rolla
Schafly Beer - St. Louis
Boulevard Brewery - Kansas City
Trailhead Brewery - St. Charles
O'Fallon Brewery - O'Fallon
Weston Brewery -Weston

Illinois:
Fulton Street Brewery (Goose Island)* - Chicago
Destihl Brew Pub* - Normal

Minnesota:
Summit Brewing* - St. Paul
Flat Earth Brewing* - Minneapolis
August Schell Brewing* - New Ulm

Ontario:
Creemore Springs Brewery (Tap Room)* - New Market

Michigan:
Bell's Brewing* - Galesburg
Marquette Harbor Brewing* - Marquette
Jasper Ridge Brewery* - Ishpeming

New Mexico:
Sierra Blanco*- Moriatiy
Charma River*- Albuquerque
Tractor* - Los Lunas
Turtle Mountain* - Rio Rancho

Connecticut:
Hops Brewpub* -Wallingford Center

Kansas:
Flying Monkey* - Olathe

Wyoming:
Bitter Creek Brewery* -Rock Springs

Colorado:
Left Hand Brewery* - Longmont
Fort Collins Brewery* - Fort Collins
New Belgium Brewing*- Fort Collins
Odell Brewing* - Fort Collins
Coors Brewing - Golden
Trinidad Brewing* - Trinidad
Wynkoop Brewpub* - Denver
Coopersmiths Brewpub* - Fort Collins
Oskur Blues Brewing*- Lyons
Dry Dock Brewing* - Aurora
Rockyard Brewing* - Castle Rock

Utah:
Rooster's Brewpub* - Ogden
Wasatch Brewpub and Brewery* - Park City

North Dakota:
Great Northern Restaurant and Brew Pub

California:
Okie Girl Brewery - Lebec
Seirra Nevada* - Chico
Karl Strauss Brewery* - San Diego
Stone Brewery* - Escondito
Main Street Brewery* - Pleasonton
Indian Wells Brewery -Inyokern
Firestone Walker Brewery* - Paso Robles
Lockdown Brewery* - Folsom

Montana:
Big Sky Brewing* - Missoula

Washington:
Hale's Ale* - Seattle
Bay Street Ale House - Port Orchard
Salmon Creek Brewpub - Vancouver

Oregon:
Pyramid* - Portland
Widmer Brothers* - Portland
DeSchutes Brewing* - Bend
Lucky Lab Brewing* - Portland
HUB Brewing* - Portland
Bridgeport Brewery* - Portland
Roots Organic Brewery*- Portland
Rogue* - Newport
Green Dragon* - Portland
McTarnahans Tap Room* - Portland
Hair of the Dog* - Portland
McMininimans (various locations)*- Portland

Louisiana:
Abita - Abita Springs
Dixie - New Orleans
Falstaff - New Orleans
Jax - New Orleans

Nebraska:
Emporium* - Lincoln

Maryland:
Wild Goose Brewery* - Frederick

Arizona:
Black Mountain Brewing Company - Cave Creek

Looking at the list I realize I have been very fortunate to have been able to visit as many brewpubs. I look forward to visiting many more in the future.

My next blog will discuss my amended plans/dream

Until Then......



The Third

School House Rock (Part One of a Series of Five)

"I'm just a bill.
Yes, I'm only a bill.
And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill.
Well, it's a long, long journey
To the capital city.
It's a long, long wait
While I'm sitting in committee,
But I know I'll be a law someday
At least I hope and pray that I will,
But today I am still just a bill."

The State of Texas has more counties, more than any other state in the US. (Georgia ranks second with 159) Louisiana has 64 (called parishes). When I was in the eighth grade at Midway Junior High School, I was required to learn how to spell each one of them as well as the names of the Parish seats of each.

Ok, do not worry. This blog is not a geography rant.

By definition, the State of Texas is "dry". Out of 264 total counties only 44 allow all sales of alcoholic beverage anywhere "in the county". Harris County (Houston); Dallas County (Dallas); Tarrant County (Fort Worth) and Travis County (Austin) are not among the 44.

There are 26 counties that prohibit the sale of any alcoholic beverages anywhere "in the county".

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) has full and complete control over all aspects of the sale and handling of all forms of alcoholic beverages in the State of Texas.

I am a firm advocate of responsible actions regarding alcohol however The Czar like Machiavellian control of the TABC boggles the mind.

........more on that later

_________________________________________________________

I have had a dream the last few years of starting up a micro brewery. The more I look into the idea, the more I realize that I simply do not have the financial backing or "mojo". But I still dream. My dream continues for 2 Brewing Company. I, like a lot of other people have uttered the words "I think I will open a bar". I am pretty confident that opening and keeping open a bar is a lot more difficult that meets the eye.

In Texas if one has a bar, he has to have a license issued by the TABC to sell and serve beer and wine and also an additional license to sell and serve "liquor". Obtaining such licenses is difficult and expensive. As an owner of a bar, one can purchase liquor and wine at local liquor stores. Theoretically the owner can probably purchase such spirits less than someone could who simply walked in from the street. But.....the bar owner must pay a tax on each bottle thus raising the his costs. For each bottle purchased a special sticker or tag in affixed to it. This is strictly enforced by the TABC. Violations are severe and expensive. With regards to beer, all beer sold and distributed at a "bar" must be purchased through a wholesaler. Wholesalers are assigned by the TABC for various regions. Wholesalers essentially have an exclusive on all of the beers sold and consumed in their specific region. It is the closest thing to a legalized monopoly. The bar owner can only sell to the public what beer the local wholesaler has available.

Large "beer" companies such as AB InBev SAB-Miller and Molson-Coors have local beer distributors who all provide beer but they do so "through" the local selected wholesaler. Craft Breweries must sell and provide their beer and ales to the wholesaler directly and hope and pray that such beers are marketed with the same vigor as the big three are. If I were to open a brewery, I could sell my products to wholesalers and liquor stores. In Texas it is illegal for a brewer to sell directly to the consumer unless such brewer operates a Brew Pub. Here lies a technicality. You either own a micro brewery or a brew pub, not both. If a person owns a brew pub, he can produce beer "on site". He can sell his beer directly to the consumer (by draft). He can even sell limited quantities of his produced beer in "approved" containers (sometimes called growlers) and the customer can actually take the beer "home" for consumption. He can not sell any beer he produces in his brew pub to wholesalers or anyone else. Brewers of "Micro Breweries" can have "tasting" or tap rooms but they are prohibited to sell any of their beer to the consumer. They can charge a nominal charge for a brewery tour etc. So with all of this said, if a person was to opens a brew pub in Texas he or she can began making beer to sell in his or her bar only. He is prohibited by law to sell it anywhere else. If a person opens a Brew Pub in any other state, he or she can sell their beer directly to Texas liquor stores or wholesalers. Out of state beer producers have a clear advantage over those in Texas.

House Bill 660 was proposed to change things. The law, if passed, would have allowed Texas Brew Pub owners to have the same opportunity to sell their product as out of state Brew Pub Owners. In addition the bill would have provided a easy path for additional legislation that would allow Craft Brewers to have Brew Pubs to sale their product to the general public. Supporters of the bill showed where passage of the bill would cause the creation of hundreds of additional jobs for Texans. In addition they showed where a substantial amount of tax money would be generated on the production of more craft beer in Texas. Passage of the bill would have allowed Texas to enter a market that states such as California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington have dominated. Passage of this bill was truly a "no brainier". But this is Texas. The poor wholesalers argued that if the bill passed, backyard bootlegger beer pirates would start selling untaxed and unregulated beer to bars and liquor stores. Yes, bars owners would still pay a bottle tax in fear of fines yet they may be tempted to buy a couple of kegs from some home brewer and try to pass it off as Budweiser or something. (that was sarcasm) I may not be real smart but TABC could easily require that all kegs have the necessary tags reflecting that all applicable taxes were paid. This should quell the wholesalers fears.

In summary the greedy wholesalers sold out their fellow Texans. House Bill 660 never got out of committee. Personally I am insulted. You should be as well.

I'm Thirsty



The Third