Now that Sprecher seems to be getting more widely available in Kansas City, I don’t mind reviewing this previously obscure (for around here) beer so much! I actually purchased this bottle in Omaha, NE, a few months ago. A four-pack of Sprecher’s trademark 16oz bottles was something like $7!

Sprecher makes some really good beers. I used to associate the brewery with someone I didn’t particularly like from my past (who turned me onto the brewery), so I’m glad I’ve been trying more of their beers and rediscovering this superb Wisconsin brewery over the part few months!

This beer is from Sprecher’s Premium Reserve lineup. It is a Russian Imperial Stout (you can tell this because the brewery cleverly named it “Russian Imperial Stout”), which is a style of stout originally brewed in the UK with extra alcohol (higher gravity) and hops to be exported to the Baltic courts. The “imperial” designation comes from the rumor that these beers were especially popular with Russian royalty.

This is an extremely popular style of beer in the craft brewing scene and for good reasons… stouts are delicious, all sorts of adjuncts like fruits, coffee and chocolate can be added to play with the flavors, and they are fun to drink. What’s not to like?

I poured this beer into my large (16oz) nonic pint glass (the large pint glasses with the bulge near the mouth). The beer poured absolutely pitch black with just the faintest of red highlights in the very corners of the glass. The head was the brown color of the crema on an espresso, deep and rich and fluffy like shaving cream.

I got a little aroma of roast and maybe coffee initially, but once the head disappeared I couldn’t get anything for aroma, and this time I don’t think it’s my nose!

The beer is an easy drinker, with little carbonation and a smooth, silky mouthfeel. If I didn’t know better, I would think it has oatmeal in it because of the texture, but none is listed on the website. This beer weighs in at 32 IBU’s and 8.5% ABV, so it’s not a mammoth stout, but it’s no lightweight, either.

There is some sweetness and dry roast on the front end of the sip, while the hops sort of come in later in the sip from the sides and meet up for a big finish with a little bitterness from the roasted malts. This is a well-balanced beer, with a nice finish that isn’t too dry or too sweet. There are hints of chocolate in the flavor, too, but I don’t pick up any coffee-like flavors despite getting some on the initial aroma. A nice caramel flavor on the aftertaste.

As far as imperial stouts go, this is fairly one-dimensional when compared to something like Bell’s Expedition Stout, for example. I’d compare it more to something like Old Rasputin or even a standard stout like Anderson Valley’s incredible Barney Flatts Oatmeal Stout. That said, it’s a very enjoyable beer, very easy to drink and, after having only 1-2 beers in the past four weeks, something with a noticeable kick for my now lightweight status! This would be a good bar stout for when you’re socializing, not forcing you to think too hard about what you’re tasting. Another winner from Sprecher!

I have a bit of a sweet tooth right now. I didn’t realize how bad it was until Tim pointed out that I came home from the grocery store with donuts, coffee cake and zero vegetables. (In my defense, I bought veggies the day before.) He’s taken to not-so-subtly suggesting I need to add some greens to my diet stat, or Baby Clara is going to come out of the womb demanding vanilla long johns and chocolate pecan turtles.

Photo by Tim Cigelske

Now, clearly I miss beer (see previous post about the break-up), and it doesn’t help when Tim brings home something like Sprecher’s Generation Porter, brewed with Dutch chocolate and raspberry concentrate. Beer brewed with chocolate?! I’m dying over here.

Well, the beer and bakery gods are smiling down on me. First, I  see a post on Draft Magazine’s website about a bakery that sells cupcakes made with beer on Etsy. Options include chocolate cake with Guinness or Newcastle, white cake spiked with Blue Moon or you can request your favorite beer and they’ll incorporate it into a recipe for you. The good news? The alcohol is baked out, so even pregnant Crafty Gals like me can enjoy them.

Second sign I’m meant to eat cupcakes with beer immediately, if not sooner–the Iron Cupcake: Milwaukee challenge this month features beer cupcakes. Michelle Garcia, a baker from Food Network’s Cake Challenge, will judge the January 18th event. (How do I get that job?!)

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be in my kitchen perfecting my Sprecher Generation Porter Chocolate Raspberry cupcakes. And promptly eating them.

In the world of beers from Scotland, there is a bit of terminology to get out of the way. Some beers will be referred to as “Scottish ale/beer” and others as “Scotch ale/beer.” Is there a difference? And what about all this shilling business?

Beers from Scotland can be lumped under the designation of “Scottish ales,” just like you could refer to all English beers as “English ales.” Scottish ales tend to be described in a four-tiered system, and it’s the heaviest of these beers that are called the “Scotch ales.” So, if you have two bottles of beer in front of you and one is called a Scotch ale while the other is called a Scottish ale, the Scotch ale is going to be the bigger, higher alcohol beer. Following me so far?

Along the same lines, the Scottish ales were often traditionally referred to as Light, Heavy, Export and Strong (also known as “Wee Heavy”). Finally, the third way of classifying Scottish beers is by the archaic shilling system. In times past, Scottish brewers were taxed on the strength of the beer. Higher alcohol beers were taxed at a higher rate, so Light beers were called “60-shilling,” Heavy beers were called “70-shilling,” Exports were called “80-shilling” and Wee Heavies or Scotch ales were called “90-shilling” beers.

While no exact range of alcohol has ever been determined in the shilling system, the following is a review of all the things you can call a nice pint of beer from Scotland:

• Light = 60 shilling = beers generally under 3.5%ABV
• Heavy = 70 shilling = beers around 3.5-4.0%ABV
• Export = 80 shilling = beers in the range of 4.0-5.5%ABV
• Scotch ale = Wee Heavy = 90 shilling = generally 6.0%ABV and higher

So, now that you know how to order a beer in Scotland, let’s get on with it! Because Scotland is about the worst place on the planet to grow hops, as a group, Scottish ales tend to be maltier, with little to no hop character. Wee Heavies have pretty much zero hop aroma or flavor, but may have a buttery (think buttered popcorn) undertone from diacetyl, a compound that can be found in this style of beer (it’s an inappropriate flavor in most other beers). The bitterness that is found in these beers comes mostly from the roasted grains, and when served too cold these beers may come off as being more bitter than intended, so generally try to enjoy these after they’ve been out of the fridge for a while.

Finally, Scotch ales tend to usually have a smoky character. Sometimes actual smoked malts are used in small quantities, but in other cases, a light smoky (peaty) character is found as a result from the yeast and local water that produces some Scotch ales.

Sprecher’s Pipers Scotch Ale is part of their Premium Reserve line. These are affordably priced beers (in my opinion) that are usually sold in 4-packs of Sprecher’s trademark 16-oz bottles. Sprecher seems to specialize in German-style beers, and I tend to like most of what they make. I picked up some loose bottles while I was in Omaha not too long ago. I paid all of $1.79 for this bottle!

An aggressive pour into my large New Belgium beer snifter (which holds 16-oz perfectly) yielded a big, fluffy, shaving-cream like head that was a nice tan color. The beer itself was a deep reddish-brown, almost opaque, with some red highlights. It’s a nice looking beer. According to Sprecher’s website, Pipers weighs in at 8.27%ABV, so you aren’t generally going to be drinking too many of these in one session, and it has 21 IBU’s, five types of malts and two kinds of hops for balance.

I didn’t get much on the aroma. Some maltiness, of course, and some esters of dark fruit, possible. Maybe a raisiny quality.

Despite having no smoke in the aroma, there was a lot on the first sip. There was a slightly metallic flavor that was quickly overcome by a big, smoky character. The smokiness lasted through the sip and into the aftertaste, and the metallic flavor also kicked back up in the aftertaste, then disappeared. The alcohol is pretty apparent in this beer, and although the IBU’s are only 21, I think the malts were carrying some extra bitter character that wouldn’t be calculated in the final IBU number.

This beer finishes very dry and is not a sticky sweet beer like a lot of doppelbocks I’ve had. As I drank, the metallic character seemed to go away, so either it was something that gassed off the beer, or it may have been my palate getting used to it. I think what I was tasting as metallic was a combination of the alcohol, hops and smoky malt, playing a dirty trick on my palate!

This beer is pretty easy to drink, with a nice mouthfeel and a dry finish. I think it was nicely balanced, probably with a little more hop character than some other Wee Heavies I’ve had, and the smokiness dies down after a few sips and your palate gets used to it, revealing some raisiny and dark fruit character way back in the aftertaste.

This is a nice complex beer and another winner from Sprecher!

Sprecher was one of the first really good breweries I was exposed to when I was just a pup. A friend was from Wisconsin and he’d occasionally bring some beers, and root beer, back to try. When I lived up in Michigan, too, it wasn’t uncommon for restaurants to carry Sprecher root beer on tap! Yummy stuff, but the subject of today’s review is clearly NOT root beer!

Sprecher’s Black Bavarian is a black lager in the “Kulmbacher” style, which I couldn’t find much about, but the beer is a German-style “schwarzbier” or black beer. Sprecher specializes in German style beers.

According to the website, Black Bavarian weighs in at 5.86% ABV, 32 IBU’s and is made from five different malts and four different hops. I bought mine in Wisconsin at Riley’s World of Wines in Madison in a 16 oz. bottle.

The beer poured black, like a porter or stout. I was drinking out of a little plastic hotel cup, so I couldn’t see much in the way of highlights or anything! Nothing says “classy” like plastic hotel cups! The head was fluffy and tan.

Aroma was roasty and smoky, even though this is not a smoked beer. My nose, as you know, is not so great, but the main thing I was getting off this beer was smoke, and lots of it.

The flavor was the same, with lots of smoke and roast, a little coffee, but to me this tasted like a smoked beer and I thought it was great! It had a really nice body and seemed to have relatively low carbonation, so it went down nice and smooth with each sip. I really liked that this was a black beer, which I tend to like anyway, that breaks out of the stout/porter mold. I generally dislike the heavy smoked flavor of a lot of smoked beers, so the natural smokiness this had from the dark roasted malts was perfect for me. With a creamy, smooth texture, this beer was way too easy to drink!

All I could think of is how well this would pair with some good ol’ Kansas City barbecue, and I think it would be an incredible pairing with anything hickory smoked, as well as some smoked cheeses, although it might need more carbonation for the cheese.

Regardless, this was a really good beer and I wished I had bought more than just one of Sprecher’s offerings while I was up there!

Beim Trickfilm wird anders als beim Realfilm zu aller erst der Sprechtext aufgenommen, damit der Animator später weiß, an welcher Stelle er die jeweiligen Mundphasen verwenden muss. Für mich bedeutete das, Schauspieler für mein Projekt zu gewinnen aber ohne dass finanziell etwas für Sie dabei heraus springt. Ich verteilte Aushänge und rief einen Freund an, der als Regisseur in Leipzig arbeitet. Für meinen theoretischen Teil hatte ich außerdem einen jungen Schauspieler interviewt, der sich auch schon damals für mein Vorhaben interessiert hatte. Für mein Animatic hatte ich den Text auch schon einmal selbst eingesprochen und wusste wie ich zur Not meine Stimme mit Hilfe meines Rechners verzerren konnte. Keine schöne Alternative zwar aber dies wäre die einzige Möglichkeit für mich gewesen, wenn sich niemand gemeldet hätte. So riss es mich ziemlich vom Hocker als mein Telefon die kommenden Tage kaum still stand… Am Ende fanden sich als Sprecher: Alois Steinmacher, ein Schauspielstudent aus Leipzig als Erzähler. Benjamin Schaup, der junge Schauspieler aus meinem Theorieteil als Norbert und für den Tod fand sich Stefan Senf, ein freischaffender Schauspieler aus Leipzig, der sich zugleich als begnadeter Tierstimmen und Geräuschimitator entpuppte. Radio Corax aus Halle stellte uns freundlicher Weise eins seiner Aufnahmestudios zur Verfügung. Auch hier erwies es sich von Vorteil die Stimmen getrennt voneinander aufzunehmen. Eine Grundregel, die sich mir als Laie erst nachdem alles im Kasten war eröffnete. Tonüberschneidungen beider Sprecher lassen sich im Nachhinein schlecht trennen.

A few new details regarding the new Sprecher-licensed restaurant and pub coming to the old Houlihan’s space on the Far West side from last night’s Alcohol License Review Committee meeting via Dane101’s Michael Donnelly

Sprecher’s, 1262 John W Hammons Dr: The bar at this location after Houlihan’s closed in 2008 was only open for seven weeks before being evicted because they couldn’t pay their rent. Building owner Kevin Lederer decided he’d take matters into his own hands and open a restaurant and bar there.

Lederer contacted Wisconsin brewer Sprecher for permission to use their name and products at the new restaurant. The place will have a casual menu of American food and a family friendly atmosphere — the latter supported by the fact that Sprecher’s flagship product is a root beer. Lever has plans to return to the council in the spring to apply to expand to a sports patio, but he isn’t currently asking for a capacity increase.

Schumacher asked how much experience they had. Lederer responded that Sue Gergem, the agent on the license, operated Houlihan’s. He then asked why they had to sell American food when with the Sprecher name German food would make much more sense. The committee laughed and approved the license.

Doesn’t sound particularly exciting at this point, but given its location, the audience and vibe they’re going for is not surprising.  I’m with Schumacher in wishing they would go for a more authentic German feel with the menu.  Are there not enough places to get a burger or chicken strips on the West Side?  Please send all hate mail calling me an elitist hippie snob liberal commie for being snarky about West Side chain restaurants to: Complaints Dept c/o TGI McChangs & Lube, 666 Unnecessarily Windy Rd.

In other area beer news, it looks like the rumored brewpub slated to replace the defunct J.T. Whitney’s is shaping up.  Again, via Michael Donnelly:

Vintage Brewing Company, 674 S Whitney Way: Members of the Kraemer family run Vintage Spirits and Grill, downtown on the corner of University and Frances. Now they’re planning to pull in even more of their plan to open a new brew pub on the site of the old JT Whitney’s. In addition to the folks working downtown now, owner Trent Kraemer’s cousin (who he described as an award winning brewmaster) will brew the beer, his uncle will handle the finances, and they’ll grow hops and barley at his grandparents’ farm outside Madison. They plan to bring in local ingredients to use for the food.

The new bar would have lower capacity then Whitney’s did and they’re sacrificing some bar space for a larger banquet space in the back to support meetings and smaller weddings.

Clear supported with the stipulation that the requested entertainment license would only be used for the banquet space. Schumacher moved to approve with Clear’s condition, and the motion carried.

Very cool to see that at least a portion of the hops and malts will be grown at a local family farm and always good to see another (hopefully) quality beer establishment on the West Side.  While I never had a chance to sample a lot of J.T.’s offerings outside of a few festivals, most reviews were lukewarm at best.  With the Great Dane creeping further west with its Hilldale location, the new crew will have to step its game up as they will no longer be the only players in the West Side brewpub game.  Looking forward to checking them out in the future.

]]> http://gfvegheads.wordpress.com/2009/09/13/sprecher-gluten-free-beer/ Sun, 13 Sep 2009 20:48:30 +0000 gfvegheads http://gfvegheads.wordpress.com/2009/09/13/sprecher-gluten-free-beer/

If beer’s your bag, baby, lament its absence from the celiac life no more. Gluten-free beer is on the rise! Last year I went to the fine city of Milli-walk-ay (known to most normal people as Milwaukee) and popped into the Sprecher Brewery. MUCH to my surprise, they had a gluten-free beer on tap (I was planning on tapping into my inner 8-year-old and drinking myself silly on their cream soda – HELLO!) I had no idea such things even existed. But apparently, they have two types of African brews, Mbege and Shakporo, that are made with sorghum and millet. I can’t tell you which one I tasted, but it was mild and sweet. Interesting for sure.

Sprecher has two Gluten-Free Beers, Mbege and Shakporo

Via Jeff over at MadisonBeerReview, it appears as if a new beer bar is on the way in the far reaches of West Madison office park/chain restaurant Hell.  Slated to inhabit the old Houlihan’s space at Old Sauk and John Q Hammons, a new pub called Sprecher Pub Restaurant promises lots of Sprecher beer on offer, though more in the tradition of a tied house than brewpub.  No plans to brew on-site (tricky legal issues of course, which Jeff skillfully explains), and there will be non-Sprecher beers as well, though to what extent is unknown.  The West Side has surely been a craft beer wasteland til this point, unless you’re into Old Chicago-style beer clubs.  Here’s to hoping their beer list goes beyond Sprecher and your standard pub/chain restaurant tap offerings.  Thanks for the heads-up, Jeff!

Mixed Tape

Dann suchen wir euch für unser ehrenamtliches Multimedia-Projekt “Mixed Tape”. Das Projekt wird Anfang nächsten Jahres für ein Jahr online gehen.
Für die zwölf geplanten Podcasts unserer Soap im studentischen Milieu suchen wir noch die Stimmen zu unsren Hauptcharakteren.

ER: spricht einwandfreies hochdeutsch, hat eine angenehme Stimme und kein Problem mit beiläufigen französischen Einwürfen

SIE: spricht hochdeutsch mit bayrischer Einfärbung (gern oberbayerisch oder niederbayerisch).

Wenn ihr Lust habt mitzuwirken, dann schreibt uns bis zum 31. August einfach eine Mail an mixedtape09@googlemail.com.

I’ll Have a Beer has moved. This page you are looking for is now located at http://haveabeer.couchand.com/2009/07/21/sprecher-tasting-notes/.

Something I’ve been wanting to do a long time? A tour of Sprecher Brewery! While home for the fourth, boyfriend, myself, my dad, and stepmom finally went for a tour. And the results were delicious!!!

And for only four dollars, you got four 8 oz. samples of beer, plus all the soda you want, AND we got to keep the glasses…

Lots of tanks and things…

And bottles…

And cheese…

And family!!!

I’ll Have a Beer has moved. This page you are looking for is now located at http://haveabeer.couchand.com/2009/06/26/new-milwaukee/.

Mohammed Sbaih: Flüchtlingsrat fordert sofortigen Abschiebe-Stopp

Von Andreas Klamm

Erfurt / Berlin. 11. Mai 2009. Die Ausländer-Behörde in Eisennach plant innerhalb kürzester Zeit jetzt zum dritten Mal in der Folge die Abschiebung des Sprechers für die Menschenrechte, Mohammed Sbaih.

Der Flüchtlingsrat Thüringen e.V. fordert den sofortigen Stopp der geplanten Abschiebung von Mohammed Sbaih für Dienstag, 12. Mai 2009.

Der Sprecher für die Menschenrechte, Mohammed Sbaih hat offen die Zustände im Flüchtlings-Sammellager Katzhütte in der Öffentlichkeit kritisiert.

Zum dritten Mal in der Folge innerhalb kürztester Zeiträume versucht jetzt erneut die Ausländer-Behörde Eisenach Mohammed Sbaih, einen palästinensischen Flüchtling und Sprecher für die Menschenrechte aus dem Westjordanland, abzuschieben.

Die erneute Abschiebung ist für Dienstag, den 12. Mai 2009 geplant. Der Flüchtlingsrat Thüringen e.V. hat erneut den sofortigen Stopp der Abschiebemaßnahmen von Mohammed Sbaih und die Beendigung dieser schikanösen Maßnahmen gefordert.

“Bislang wurden keine Rückführungen in das Westjordanland vorgenommen, so daß sich der Verdacht aufdrängt, daß hier ein Exempel für Rückführungen in palästinensische Gebiete und für den beispielhaften Umgang mit Menschen geschaffen werden soll, die öffentlich Mißstände kritisierten” so Ellen Könneker vom Flüchtlingsrat Thüringen.

Im Dezember 2008 hatte das Verwaltungsgericht Meiningen in letzter Minute die geplante Abschiebung am 16. Dezember 2008 gestoppt, da nicht ohne Zweifel geklärt werden konnte, ob Mohammed Sbaih überhaupt in das Westjordanland einreisen kann. Zudem ist zur Zeit ein Gerichtsverfahren anhängig, in dem geprüft wird, ob Mohammed Sbaih eine Aufenthaltserlaubnis aus humanitären Gründen erteilt werden muß.

Mohammed Sbaih engagierte sich in besonderer Weise als Sprecher für die Menschenrechte bei den Protesten in der Gemeinschaftsunterkunft im Thüringischen Katzhütte, die von Beobachtern auch als Sammellager für Flüchtlinge bezeichnet wird.

Der Menschenrechte-Sprecher prangerte dort die Lebensbedingungen an. Anfang Mai 2008 wurde Mohammed Sbaih bereits im Rahmen einer Zwangs-Umververteilung von Katzhütte nach Eisenach gebracht, weil er einer der Köpfe des anhaltenden Prote-stes gegen die Zustände in der Gemeinschaftsunterkunft Katzhütte war.

Ausführliche und weitere Informationen sind erhältlich beim

Flüchtlingsrat Thüringen e.V.
Warsbergstr. 1
99092 Erfurt
Tel. 0361 2172720
Fax. 0361 2172727
www.fluechtlingsrat-thr.de

Mohammed Sbaih: Flüchtlingsrat fordert sofortigen Abschiebe-Stopp

Von Andreas Klamm

Erfurt / Berlin. 11. Mai 2009. Die Ausländer-Behörde in Eisennach plant innerhalb kürzester Zeit jetzt zum dritten Mal in der Folge die Abschiebung des Sprechers für die Menschenrechte, Mohammed Sbaih.

Der Flüchtlingsrat Thüringen e.V. fordert den sofortigen Stopp der geplanten Abschiebung von Mohammed Sbaih für Dienstag, 12. Mai 2009.

Der Sprecher für die Menschenrechte, Mohammed Sbaih hat offen die Zustände im Flüchtlings-Sammellager Katzhütte in der Öffentlichkeit kritisiert.

Zum dritten Mal in der Folge innerhalb kürztester Zeiträume versucht jetzt erneut die Ausländer-Behörde Eisenach Mohammed Sbaih, einen palästinensischen Flüchtling und Sprecher für die Menschenrechte aus dem Westjordanland, abzuschieben.

Die erneute Abschiebung ist für Dienstag, den 12. Mai 2009 geplant. Der Flüchtlingsrat Thüringen e.V. hat erneut den sofortigen Stopp der Abschiebemaßnahmen von Mohammed Sbaih und die Beendigung dieser schikanösen Maßnahmen gefordert.

“Bislang wurden keine Rückführungen in das Westjordanland vorgenommen, so daß sich der Verdacht aufdrängt, daß hier ein Exempel für Rückführungen in palästinensische Gebiete und für den beispielhaften Umgang mit Menschen geschaffen werden soll, die öffentlich Mißstände kritisierten” so Ellen Könneker vom Flüchtlingsrat Thüringen.

Im Dezember 2008 hatte das Verwaltungsgericht Meiningen in letzter Minute die geplante Abschiebung am 16. Dezember 2008 gestoppt, da nicht ohne Zweifel geklärt werden konnte, ob Mohammed Sbaih überhaupt in das Westjordanland einreisen kann. Zudem ist zur Zeit ein Gerichtsverfahren anhängig, in dem geprüft wird, ob Mohammed Sbaih eine Aufenthaltserlaubnis aus humanitären Gründen erteilt werden muß.

Mohammed Sbaih engagierte sich in besonderer Weise als Sprecher für die Menschenrechte bei den Protesten in der Gemeinschaftsunterkunft im Thüringischen Katzhütte, die von Beobachtern auch als Sammellager für Flüchtlinge bezeichnet wird.

Der Menschenrechte-Sprecher prangerte dort die Lebensbedingungen an. Anfang Mai 2008 wurde Mohammed Sbaih bereits im Rahmen einer Zwangs-Umververteilung von Katzhütte nach Eisenach gebracht, weil er einer der Köpfe des anhaltenden Prote-stes gegen die Zustände in der Gemeinschaftsunterkunft Katzhütte war.

Ausführliche und weitere Informationen sind erhältlich beim

Flüchtlingsrat Thüringen e.V.
Warsbergstr. 1
99092 Erfurt
Tel. 0361 2172720
Fax. 0361 2172727
www.fluechtlingsrat-thr.de

Immer wenn ich für Radiobeiträge vor dem Mikrofon stehen und etwas einsprechen darf, macht mir das sehr viel Spaß. Nun habe ich das zum ersten Mal für einen Fernsehbeitrag gemacht und zwar für die Sendung “Lokalzeit aus Dortmund” im WDR. Gut, der Text an sich war zwar recht kurz – doch immerhin bin ich beim WDR nun der CvD*! (*Chef-Rapper vom Dienst )

Aus rechtlichen Gründen darf ich den Beitrag selbst hier leider nicht einblenden, aber in der WDR-Mediathek könnt Ihr ihn Euch ansehen (mein Einsatz kommt ungefähr bei 2:10 Min.).

I dedicate this post to beer in that over the weekend I’ve drank more of it than I have on any previous weekend in my life. Which isn’t to say I drank a lot, because I didn’t. I’m not a drinker, and even if I was I wouldn’t be a beer guy.

But Friday night was about brewing. Christian brews beer at home with his friends Mike and Kevin and this was the first time they’d brewed in a year, so me being the helpful roommate that I am, tagged along and learned a bit about the process. You can read a bit more about that on Christian’s blog. There’s a link over there —->

Then on Saturday Christian, Kevin and I took a tour of the Sprecher brewery. If you’re in Milwaukee you kind of have to, cause it’s the most magical place on Earth. A bit like touring Willy Wonka’s factory (not really). I sampled me many a flavor and confirmed my previous suspicions that I’m not really a beer guy. The part I like was I got to sample the whole array of Sprecher’s gourmet sodas, which is where they make the bulk of their profits. Now that’s some good beverage there!

After the tour and a stick of gum I had my interview with the Marcus Corporation. I will know Wednesday if they are going to deploy, er, employ me or not.

We had spaghetti for dinner after that. Now that’s a spicy meatball!

As a final parting though I leave you with this link to a news story from Fox.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,497212,00.html

London’s Daily Telegraph greeted readers Friday morning with photos of what appeared to be a gigantic serpent wending its way down a tropical river, said to be somewhere on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo, “sparking great concern among local communities.”

Does it make me a bad person that I wish I lived in a world where their were giant creatures such as serpents? Or Loch Ness Monsters? Or other huge monsters of Harryhausen-like proportions? Cryptozoology, for being a pseudoscience, is still pretty neat.

Just don’t send that link to my mother. She’d freak right out.

Innerhalb kurzer Zeit hat sicher das kleine, innovative Internetradio eine treue Hörerschaft erobert. Wir durften dem Créateur von ByteFM, Ruben Jonas Schnell, über die Schulter schauen und liefern das Einzige, was der Internetsender aus dem Hamburger Feldstraßenbunker nicht liefern kann: Das Bild.

Außerdem schauen wir bei ByteFM „Residency” vorbei.