Wet & Sloppy BJ

Heh heh heh. Oh I amuse myself with the most juvenile of things. Yes, this is about the Brewer's Jam and the weather that vexed it, you dirty rakes.

The Good:

-A decent crowd, unfazed by the relatively rotten weather. Indeed, some of the women-folk prospered with raingear sitting in their closets for God knows how long. Innovative and adaptive.

-The usual suspects of the regional brewing world, a Who's-Who if you will. Highland, Foothills, Catawaba among others. The Kashmir IPA from Highland ranked very high with yours truly.

-Plentiful and inexpensive merchandise. Kick-ass shirts for the most part, although pint glasses and other glassware were available at many tents.

- Several roaring cheers and toasts from approximately 5:15 to 5:45. Spontaneous and comradely. Easily this authors favorite moment of the day.

The Bad:

-Continued denial from the powers-that-be regarding the football schedule. Face it, UT football runs this town in the fall. There was an open date the weekend prior with better weather coincidentally. I forsee this being an issue in years to come with the rank-and-file target audience of these events.

-Food vendors were far less numerous this year. In basically what amounts to "Beerfest" you need more food for attendees, not less.

The Ugly:

Jesus Christ. Bad, bad idea. Some older women had gathered around these abandoned flops and prevented any attempt to break them loose. They may have been shit-faced. I certainly was.

Cheers!

Brewers Jam Pics

A few pictures from Brewers Jam:

Brewers Jam Eve

Twas the night before Brewers Jam, when all through the town
Not a drunkard was sad, not even a frown
The tickets were purchased in advance and with care
There would be no tickets had next day at the fair

The brewers had arrived and checked in their rooms
Staying downtown they’d soon party like loons
The hosts were preparing for guests far and near
A welcoming dinner of good food and beer

This day had been rainy, cloudy, grey and plain dreary
But none of this mattered, brewers always seem cheery
“To hell with the weather”, you’d imagine they’d say
Neither hell nor high water will ruin this day

Be it blizzard, tornado, or 100 degrees
The party would go on with relative ease
When what to my parched mouth and achy liver should appear
A friend with a growler of hand crafted beer!

I grinned wide, shouted “hey”, then quicker than Pan
A fresh, delicious beer was thrust in my hand
I thanked my good pal for offering the favor
Then put drink to mouth and cherished the flavor

A pale ale, a brown ale, a bock and a stout
How many more until we run out?
More brewers arrived with tales of tall measure
Things were just getting started on this evening of pleasure

More pilsner, alt, porter – we appear to be fine
And last it arrived, the famous barley wine
I’d had it before and I must confess
The results of imbibing were not much success

Don’t drink it too fast, don’t be in a rush
Your body will warm and cheeks will soon blush
A wonderful sensation as it flows with each taste
Careful not to spill - too precious to waste!

My eyes turned to slits, my vision was hazy
For some damn reason my legs became lazy
The room was swimming ‘round and my body was reeling
This is how I remember the barley wine feeling

But this could not end, the night was still early
I had to find relief and so I did hurry
A good meal of food, now that will do the trick
I filled up a plate and ate it down quick

Regaining a feeling of sensible content
Back to the tap for more beer I went
Easy this time, I didn’t over-do it
If you believe that, then you’re a half-wit

The brewers’ gathering became a comfortable uproar
Beer, friends and family, who could want more
The hosts had provided another hell of a party
Enough that a few, tomorrow, would be tardy

But this night was only for the selected few
Who make it their job and passion to brew
If you weren’t invited there’s no reason for sorrow
There’s plenty of beer to be had tomorrow

So get there on time, bring a chair and your liver
It’s a charity fund raiser, so you’ll be a giver
No need to practice by drinking urine of a ram
See you Saturday at the Brewers Jam

**Edit**

Comparison

There is much to appreciate about the 'good old days'

Note with the genteel black and white advertisement and overall folksy kitsch one could almost think that the 60's were a fine time to be alive. Let's all drink some Schlitz and the one, solitary beer that Anheuser Busch produces-Budweiser.

However,

With the modern marvels of a greedy NFL and HDTV we actually see what we young turks were missing:

Oof. This? Look I realize that TV coverage in those days was still in black and white...but my God, did the teams of yesteryear just assume that the actual spectators were blind as well? A pox on the Broncos. Give me standard definition and a small screen, please.

Brewers Jam - SOLD OUT

As the title says, the 2009 Brewers Jam has sold out of tickets. For those of you who were planning to go but did not get your tickets in time I don’t know if you have any options. I have mixed feelings about the sellout. On one hand I’m happy they reached their goal of ticket sales and the fact that beer lines will be shorter, move faster, etc. On the other hand I was hoping the event would expand rather than contract, sort of the “more the merrier” argument, but the brewers and promoters didn’t want this and obviously have it their way. I can understand the arguments about crowd control and limiting alcohol consumption – it is a beer “tasting” not drinking competition (a la Beerfest) but why not spread out to both lawns at World’s Fair Park to have more room and monitor the beer distribution the same as always? A 4-ounce tasting glass only goes so far you know. There is probably a good reason that I'm not in charge of events like this.

Cold Monday Hangover

Brrrrr – I knew the weather was turning cold but that was pretty damn fast! I scraped the first of many frosted windshields this morning, so that was good to get out of the way. Er, whatever. Let’s officially say whiskey season is here. Friday night I ventured to Barley’s in the Old City to catch the Richard Lloyd concert I read about in Metro Pulse and heard on WUTK 90.3 that afternoon. I’m glad I decided to go because not only was it a great performance but I ran into a couple of friends I haven’t seen in a while and had a good time catching up with them. A few beers and couple of Maker’s Mark whiskeys helped things along nicely. On a side note, not that I recommend the practice, I happened to notice a lady doing the old “pour your own airplane drinks in cola” routine that amused me for some reason. Hey, times are tough out there.

Friday’s whiskey consumption was nothing compared to that on Saturday at OCI on the strip. I met the group for an “entertaining” affair of food, drink and belated birthday celebration that wound up as it usually does – drunken, obnoxious public behavior. Very surprisingly we toned down the profanity and f-bombs when some families with minors showed up, but not completely of course. I don’t blame the $3 big gulps of beer as much as I do the countless shots of Jameson’s, Maker’s and other various shots. Plus no group outing would be complete without pointless arguing, drama and dangerous face plants (not me this time!). I hope everyone has recovered adequately enough to return to work this week.

Sunday was a day of recovery as it often is. Football and couches go together so well. I managed to keep my beer intake under 5-6 pints and ended a very tranquil day with a fine pork sandwich with slaw from Dead End BBQ (updated website). This is the first time I’ve had their sandwich and the slaw contains bleu cheese that sends the taste off the charts, at least IMHO. It was exquisite!


Oh, did you think I’d forget to add these?

Yeah, it's droat season.

Welcome Back

I love the cool temperatures that come with fall weather. They bring a nice relief from the scorching heat of summer (granted, mild this year) and aren’t as harsh as the bitter cold that comes with Old Man Winter. Foliage transforms to breathtaking scenic views. Football games become even more enjoyable. Delicious beer gives way for tastes of wine and whiskey. And women somehow manage to express their beauty by adding more clothing. Weird, I know. It’s that time of year again . . .


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Swess Season!!

I've already noticed several out and about with the cool weather today and suppose they're here for oh, another 4-6 months. Guess we all know what else is on the way.

(to be continued)

Randoms

A few miscellaneous thoughts...

1. If there is a finer bargain in Knoxville than Downtown Grill & Brewery's $1.50 pint night I'd like to hear it. As you know, the authors are quite keen on Tuesday night drinking. It breaks up the post-Monday malaise quite well. Now the Brewery is doing a brisk trade in bottled wine Tuesday evenings as well. It's a little bizarre, swilling wine in a place predicated on brewing beer...but hard to fault the idea. I must have seen a dozen bottles being served last night, so they are on to something. Plus, the regulars are on standby for any largesse. (cough, cough)

2. Always be prepared to run into an old friend. Also, be prepared to flee if it appears they are having much more fun than you are...lest your bar tab pay the proverbial price. This can be further complicated when you come across ANOTHER old friend. The entire idea for $1.50 night is getting polluted on the cheap, and such reunions are dangerous if mishandled.

3. Goddamn rain. Drink your way through it.

Dead End BBQ - Quick Review

Last week I made my inaugural visit to Dead End BBQ for lunch. Some thoughts:

Pros:

Excellent meats – tender pork BBQ good enough to eat without sauce; smoky beef brisket is the best I’ve had in Knoxville by far. I also sampled 1 rib (how much for 1 rib?!) and ‘twas good. This is why I’ll be going back for more.

Convenient location – it’s located on Sutherland Avenue, close to downtown and short-west Bearden.

Beer and Wine – Woodruff IPA on tap along with standard domestics, domestic and import bottles and they serve several wines too (no liquor); happy hours 4-7 pm and beer bucket specials available.

Cons:

Parking – the parking lot is too small to handle peak hours when everyone drives themselves 1 per vehicle so I recommend carpooling if possible. Night hours may be different when the neighboring produce market is closed to allow spill-over parking.

Too clean – It’s brand new and clean as a whistle! Ok, that’s really good but it is too neat and fresh and just doesn’t have that rundown, hole-in-the-wall feel that you expect with a good BBQ joint.

Sides* – the macaroni & cheese and beans with sausage were unimpressive. The M&C was bland and the beans were served at room temperature or below, twice. *I’ve only been once so they probably can do better. The guy next to me at the bar said his greens and corn on the cob were good. The jalapeño cornbread was spicy.

DrinknGame

For those of you with extra cash lying around who love to drink beer while playing video games I think this may be what you’re looking for. Behold the Arkeg, a nifty arcade style gaming system combined with a built-in draft beer dispenser. It’s pretty awesome but the $3999 price tag may be a tad steep for some folks, including me and most people I know. The Arkeg website describes the system with all the games, specs, features, options, etc. in great detail. If you’ve been good this year maybe Santa will deliver one under you tree this Christmas.

Latitude and Attitude

A spate of new food and drink establishments have been opening around town and even more are on the way. This is nothing new as places open and close all the time. Like most people I don’t usually notice these things unless it is a personal favorite or a highly recognized name that draws attention. At least that’s how I used to be. Nowadays I’ve especially been trying to keep track of new bars and restaurants opening in or near downtown and wouldn’t you know I’ve found another one. It didn’t take long for someone to snatch up the vacated World Grotto location that recently closed. Secret, hush-hush sources have revealed to yours truly that the place will become downtown’s finest, upscale sports bar. Yes you heard me right, a sports bar. It’s going to be a few months before they open but I thought I’d put it out there for public consumption just to see what reaction it gets. I’ve been told the name will be Latitude 35, inspired by the marker right in the middle of Market Square, but don’t hold me to that since these things tend to change.

They have some work to do and I plan to visit during the remodeling process and post some updates from time to time. During my visit a couple of weeks ago the GM told me all kinds of ideas and plans they have for the place but to be honest I’d had a few beers too many to remember the details, go figure. Cheers and good luck – now get to work!!

Eat shit

Although somewhat depressing, there is much in this article that pleases me.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/north_east/8278312.stm


Sure, I lament what has become of the stalwart drinkers of the United Kingdom, but it is good to see them stick it to the man in whatever way possible. Particular bonus points for: making a demon-brew, getting pissy with the gummint, mocking said gummint with a pansy beer, and lastly referencing the true definition of a Speedball. Cram it with walnuts, douchebags.

What Bad Economy?

New bars and restaurants have been popping up faster than I can keep track of. We’ve already covered The Hill and Tin Roof near campus. Now there are two more in Bearden (short west), another one on the way on Sutherland and a resurrected fine dining restaurant just up the road. I haven’t been able to visit any of these places but I do have some balanced second-hand information to pass on. Let’s start some rumors!

Level 10 – Oh boy. The location of this place makes me nervous from the start. Situated on the west corner of The Shops at Western Plaza where Corky’s BBQ used to be, Level 10 is going for the double-whammy of Sports Bar/Live Music Venue. The location is actually pretty good and they rightly point out the ample free parking behind the building. They appear to be aiming for the budget and college crowd. The food menu is basic as it gets and the drink menu features lots of domestic beer deals, happy hours and nightly specials. Here is a not so good first impression of Level 10 by local blogger "Philly".

Hard Knox Pizzeria – In the same shopping plaza Hard Knox Pizzeria is right smack in the middle of the shops between Soho Café and the Runners Market. This is strictly a pizza joint. They bake their pies in a wood fired 850 degree oven, Neapolitan style. This I have to have, and soon. A particular friend has already given it the thumbs up and has become a regular in short time. Yes, they do serve beer, brewed by Knoxville’s very own Woodruff Brewing Company. I will be there very soon.

Dead End BBQ – This is a brand new one I just saw driving on Sutherland Ave. Naturally I stopped for a look and pictures. I don’t know anything about it other than what I read on their website and some random sports blog postings. I get the impression they are going to be good. According to the City of Knoxville’s website they have been approved to serve cold beer. Will this be the barbecue haven so many people have been waiting for? Opening date is Monday, October 5.

The Orangery – Knoxville’s classic fine dining restaurant has reopened with a redesigned bar area and new hours. Great to see them back in business, good luck. Read about it here.