Coming back from Minneapolis here's the big word...

Next year's AHA Conference is in our neighborhood - San Diego.

Yes, we'll be involved and brewing and who knows what else. So get ready and no excuses since you've got plenty of warning!

To watch the promotional video and get psyched: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJZCSb8oCWU

Next week I'll be in the Tahoe/Reno area.  I'm trying to decide between the Stateline Brewery/REstaurant and the Silverpeak Brewery/REstaurant.   Does anybody have an opinion? 

I find myself in Solano county wanting dinner.  I just came back from touring the Jelly Belly factory (what fun) and was looking for  libation during the Lakers (Flakers) game.  Accross the street from my hotel was a local brewpub called the Blue Frog.   Why "the Blue Frog"? Apparently the founders/owners have been singing the Peter, Paul & Mary song since they were first married. 

I'm in love with a big blue frog,
A big blue frog loves me.
It's not as bad as it appears
He wears glasses and he's six foot three

Sunday's menu will be:

Beef Stroganoff with buttered noodles

candied carrotts

salad

dessert

All for the low price of $6.00. 

The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind. -- Humphrey Bogart

This is my first year growing hops. Got Cascade, planted in a perforated bucket for drainage and crown control. They have a southerly exposure and are pretty much just rocking along right now.

I thought I'd share with you this pic. See the two black marks? That's one day's growth up the rope. Damn, these things grow faster than I did as a teenager!

I know, there's no sense of scale in this photo, but that's 3 inches of growth in 24 hours! (or about an 1/8 of an inch per hour!)

Attention Falcon beekepers!

A bee swarm is available NOW in West Covina.  Bees have swarmed into a lemon tree in my mother in law's backyard. No image available at this time.

No, I'm not a beekeeper, yet, so don't give me the bees.  But I would like to see these to go to a good home.

Contact me off line at schmitrw@earthlink.net or better yet at 818-261-6464 to work out logistics.

I saw this featured on "Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives" on Food Network.  The restaurant is located at the marina in Long Beach.  As its name suggests, it features beverages in 'schooner' glasses.  While the bar is a prominent feature, the food here is very good!

Here is an announcement for a beer dinner next Sunday May 16th in Burbank at Ciao Cristina's owned by Falcon- Alan Donavan...
        The featured brewery is Greene King Brewery from the UK, their most popular beer is Old Speckled Hen, Alan serves it on nitrogen. Head Brewer John Bexon will be there and I assume some of the brewery's other great beer offerings. 

You know Falcons' users can a link to the Falcons website? Check out our other "Beer Links" section.

All of these are added by you and me. You'll see multiple categories, but you can make them up as you go along. In fact if you look all the way down at the bottom, you'll see a new link from me in a new category "Brewing Articles" and it's a geat article trying to prove the efficacy of starters.

To add Links of your own:

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Mild beer, last in fashion when the Beatles were still at school, is making a comeback in Britain, according to a real ale lobby group.Responding to a growing number of requests from beer buffs, breweries are beginning to produce more Mild and pubs are finding demand for the dark, malty ale is rising.

In a survey of 500 real ale drinkers across the UK, the group found that 64 percent of them had seen an increase in the number of Mild beers served at pubs and beer festivals over the past 5 years.

The folks at Beer & Nosh posted this news today - Anchor's been sold!

http://beerandnosh.com/2010/04/anchor-brewing-sold/

Eep! - What will this mean for the future of the California Homebrew Club of the Year? What does this mean for all our friends at Anchor?

And see what I meant about us reaching that magic point for the first generation of craft brewers? Anderson Valley sold and now Anchor! It will be an interesting period to see the effect this has on the spirit of Craft Brewing

Ok, so in reality - it's not terribly new - we've been doing this for three years now as a pilot program to get entrants their scoresheets back as quickly as possible.