The Origins of Dirt – Followers of this blog may remember reading about how the nickname “Dirt” was bestowed on me as a freshman at Oregon State University.  And when my younger brother, Rick, started at OSU living at the same fraternity two years after I graduated, they named him “Dust.”  To see the origin of the story, check this link about Cracker Jack’s Pub in Portland.

The moniker Dirt has stuck all these years as you may be able to discern from looking at the blog header above.  I therefore chuckled when I saw the truck above in Lincoln City from the Rogue Brewery a few weeks ago.  The length of the trailer had this phrase, “Beer begins in the dirt.”

It’s Rogue’s campaign to promote the agricultural component of their brewery ranging from growing hops, wheat and corn to raising free-range chickens and pot-bellied pigs. http://legacy.rogue.com/roguefarms/

Update on Brewing by the Monks at the Abbey in Mount Angel

The Benedictine Brewery is moving forward in anticipation of opening in late spring with the Taproom ready for visitors in June.  Stay tuned and come down to see us at the Mount Angel Abbey St. Benedictine Festival which will be held on the Abbey Hiltop on Saturday, July 7th.

It’s a beautiful and historical location and you can look forward to ” an afternoon of great food, drink and things to do that are inspirational, educational and just plain fun.”

https://thebeerchaser.com/2017/07/26/father-martin-grassel-beerchaser-of-the-quarter/

Check the link above to read about the Benedictine Brewery’s  Head Brewer and mastermind of the project (in addition to being this blog’s Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter last summer – Father Martin Grassel.)

Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter Update

Followers of this blog also know about my effort to highlight one person or group each quarter by bestowing the “honor” of Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter four times each year.

Past recipients of this award include authors, war heroes, athletes, media personalities and other interesting folk that may or may not have anything to do with bars and beers.  (See the tab at the header to see a list of all former B-O-Q’s and click on their names to see the entire story of the three featured below.)

Amy Faust (4/11/17) Amy and her co-host, Mike Chase who are on the air from 5:30 AM to 10:00 each weekday morning on KWJJ -The Wolf are award winners and I mean National Awards.  The duo was named the Country Music Association Major Market Personality of the Year.

“The CMA Broadcast Awards are among the most prestigious awards given out in the field of Country Radio…..

(They) are judged on air-check ratings, community involvement, format leadership and biographical information.”  (We don’t know if Amy’s ability to play the mandolin was a factor in the last category….)

They received the honor on stage in Nashville, Tennessee when the November ceremony was televised nationally on ABC.

Perhaps radio management realized this was another reason why replacing them with a syndicated robot DJ in 2012, after they had been on the air for thirteen years, was a mistake and reaffirmed the decision to bring the pair back to the air in 2014.

Jay Waldron  ( 3/29/16)  Portland lawyer, Jay, was named to the US Rugby Association’s Hall of Fame at the 2017 induction ceremony in San Diego.  To see why this honor was well deserved, check out the link.

You can also find out why he will never receive the same award from the US Boxing Association even though his ring (and IM Football) name at the University of Virginia was, “The Dancing Bear.” 

 

 

 

Dwight “The Godfather” Jaynes (12/13/16) Dwight and Aaron Fentress started a new talk show which is broadcast on both radio and television each weekday from noon until 3:00 PM on  “NBC Sports Northwest Rip City Radio”

They’re a good combination and their debates show some real knowledge of both current and past events and personalities in NW athletics that you won’t get on any other station.   Dwight also continues to serve as a regular panelist on “Talkin’ Ball” – broadcast after each Blazer game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Put These on Your Book list

In an effort to expand my list of regularly read renowned authors such as Tolstoy, Steinbeck, Dostoevsky and ….David Balduci……, I successfully requested two new non-fiction works at Christmas.  They’re both excellent to this point although I’ve only read the first few chapters of each so far.

I first saw Drinking with the Saints – The Sinner’s Guide to a Holy Happy Hour by Michael Foley in the Mount Angel Abbey Bookstore when I was there working on the Benedictine Brewery.

The book has a Catholic focus although readers (like Thebeerchaser) who are not Catholic  will also find it educational and entertaining.

Just take a few examples in the first twenty + pages and you can see why I am using my yellow highlighter when I read it. (And any book which quotes G.K Chesterton is a must…)

“As our Episcopal brethren like to say, ‘Where two or three are gathered in His name, there is a fifth.”  (Forward – Page x)

“And I am in accord with G.K. Chesterton, who is said to have converted to Catholicism because it was the only religion that could reconcile the pipe, the pint and the Cross……..”   (Forward – Page iX)

“A Franciscan and a Jesuit, both fond of the drink, wanted to have a draught while they prayed the Breviary, and so they asked permission from their superiors.  The Franciscan was turned down because he asked if he could drink while he prayed, but the Jesuit’s request was granted because he asked if he could pray while he drank.”  (Introduction – Page xvii)

Foley has toasts, blessings, a glossary and how to make some great cocktails.  One of the first is the “Monk.”  (1 ½ oz. of gin, ¾ oz. of lemon juice and ¾ oz. of Benedictine)  “Pour all ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and shake forty times. Strain into a cocktail glass.” (Page 6)

The Beer Bible is written by author and blogger (Beervana), Jeff Alworth, a Northwest guy who has written about beer for over fifteen years including several books and whose blog has a national audience.

I am an expert on bars but not on beer, so I have eagerly become engrossed in the chapters detailing the different styles of beer, the history of the beverage and how to store, serve and taste beer like an expert.

The Military

We should all be thankful for the sacrifice and service of our military personnel.   There is no need to have a parade down Pennsylvania Ave in Washington D.C. for us and other nations to understand the might and toughness of our military infrastructure and the quality of the men and women who serve.

However, like any large bureaucracy, there are many mistakes, humorous stories and facts which are stranger than fiction that are part of the ongoing story of the United State’s fighting forces.

My two brothers and I are veterans and we encountered  these during both training and while on active duty.

The story of my late brother, Garry, calling home when he was singing at the White House in 1972 and stood next to President Nixon when he was there with the West Point Glee Club still makes our family chuckle.

Youngest brother, Rick, who like Thebeerchaser, graduated from the OSU NROTC program, became an underwater hard-hat diver and ultimately the skipper of a nuclear submarine the USS Spadefish (SS 668). 

He surfaced through the ice at the North Pole a couple of times among other adventures when the Cold War was still frigid.   He also has many stories, but still maintains he would have to kill me if he related them to me.

But a recent article from the 2/15/18 Washington Examiner entitled, “Navy Acknowledges Air Crew Drew Penis in the sky over Washington,” caught my attention.  It was a Northwest story about an electronic warfare plane based at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.  (The link above has a photo.)

The two-person crew was grounded pending an investigation after they, “….created skywriting in the shape of male genitals in the skies over Okanogan, Washington……Witnesses took photos and posted them on social media platforms (of course!) and they were widely viewed.”

The righteous indignation in the Navy’s response and apology statement is worth reading.  No word on whether the recalcitrant crew collected on a bet from their fellow pilots which might mitigate the effects of the punishment.  And how many discrete toasts to the pilot were there that night in the Officers’ Club for his creative use of the “joystick.”

And this one about the German Navy written by Tyler Rogoway December 23, 2017, in The Drive entitled, “The German Navy Decided to Return Their Bloated New Frigate to the Ship Store This Christmas,” makes one wonder when an exec from a military contractor will write a “tell-all” about some of the horror stories emanating from the manufacture of these technology-driven land, sea and air behemoths.

Another example – according to a 3/18/18 story in Seeking Alpha “The Pentagon estimates it will cost nearly $16B to modernize the fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35 jets through 2024, including $10.8B for software development and $5.4B for deploying the updates.”

The aforementioned German frigate (Baden-Wurttemburg class) which in size, although not armament and technology, is similar to the US Navy Destroyers – the “Tin Cans” which served heroically during World War II.  It was constructed by a three member consortium of German defense contractors.

Well this new ship because of its advanced technology including “an advanced command and control communications installation based around an open architecture concept and has a 360 degree surveillance and situational awareness system….,” is supposed to be able to have a crew component much smaller than ships of similar size and be able to deploy for a least two-years at a time i.e. it can sale very reliably.

However, during sea trials before commissioning of the ship, there were some real problems:  “A chronic list of 1.3 degrees to starboard…….(and) they are severely over weight.”  (like by about 356,000 pounds!)  And a few more technical problems like “There doesn’t seem to be enough internal volume to add a vertical launch system in the back of the ship’s main gun.”

Perhaps this account can make us feel a little less concerned when Vladimir Putin boasts about Russia’s capability to send nuclear missiles that could overcome any U.S. missile defense system – he used animated versions to illustrate the concept.

And it makes at least this guy have a renewed appreciation for the manner in which those World War II ships stayed in combat service.  For example, the Destroyer USS McGowan, which served valiantly in the South Pacific in World War II, with heroic engagements from Guadalcanal to Okinawa to the Leyte Gulf.

Websites

Since I use a lot of on-line resources to research and write this blog, I find it annoying when entering a brewery website and it has a question about whether the user is twenty-one years or over.  Of course, any enterprising minor regardless of how rules-oriented he or she is, probably won’t feel too guilty and “getting older,” to access the website.

And ever wonder what happens if you answer that you are not of legal age.  I tried it with two of my favorite Colorado breweries – Avery and New Belgium – both in Fort Collins and also Oregon’s Rogue Brewery.

Avery takes a simplistic route and states piously and directly, “You must be new to the internet.”

New Belgium is more empathetic and states in large letters, “Take Solace.”  It then goes on to console the minor that he or she will “someday be 21 years old,” and cites statutory prohibitions, but continues in the conciliatory vein by stating, “However, if you would like to learn more information about our brewery, our business practices or our Core Values…..contact us by phone or e-mail.” 

The e-mail address was not that of Shawn Hines who Janet met while he and his wife were touring a winery a few years ago on a visit to the Yamhill Valley.  He was high-up in the New Belgium exec ranks with a title of “Pharaoh of Phlow!”   Shawn invited us to tour the New Belgium facility when we were in Colorado – it was a wonderful tour.

The most innovative approach is that of Rogue which immediately upon the indication that the computer user is under age, redirects them to a website for Disneyland.   (Try it….) https://www.rogue.com/

This rant reminds me that another reason those warnings annoy me is that most have drop down menus for year of birth, and it takes me three “Page Downs” to get to mine!

And while on annoying  trends, how about the robo calls that start with a lifelike voice that states, “HI, I’m Kathy.  I hope you are having a good morning and just wanted to talk to you about your bathroom drains (Fill in the topic.)” About that time I interrupt Kathy (who keeps on talking) and tell her she should be in a holding cell because I realize it is a taped call.

Or how about those automated receptionists who answer your call with, “Please listen closely because our menu options have changed,” even though the last time they  modified them was in 1999.

This from a brief clip in The Week (a magazine which is a good source of news and irrelevant tidbits like this one) about Mya, an artificially intelligent “chatbot” who “can evaluate resumes, schedule and conduct applicant screenings and even congratulate you on your first day of work.”  If I had retired later, I might have avoided listening to all of those candidates reel off their boring strengths and weaknesses.

Tidbits

In my research (and since I’m retired) I save a lot of miscellaneous bits of information to share with others in the hope that they will appreciate my sometimes cynical sense of humor. They get thrown in a file folder or electronic file – sometimes without date or info to allow proper attribution, so please indulge me, but below are a few:

The Week (5/5/17) – “A South Dakota man was arrested after he pushed past police and firefighters and ran into his home to rescue his beer……..He emerged clutching two cans of Bud Ice Premium, but officers quickly cuffed him and charged him with obstruction. A police spokesman said (the guy) had demonstrated ‘poor judgment.’”  (At least there was no collusion.)

The Beer Celebrator – (Fall 2017) – “America, it should be noted, has more breweries than colleges.” There is no source or data to back up this statistic, but perhaps they need more in South Dakota….)

Parade Magazine (no date) – Abe Lincoln, among his other qualifications, was a licensed bartender.

The Oregonian – George Will’s column – (1/3/16) – This conservative, but erudite columnist, railed against some trends in 2015 that he felt were ludicrous.  He was concerned that “The common thread is the collapse of judgment in, and the infantalization of society by government.” Below is one example:

“The University of Georgia said sexual consent must be ‘voluntary, sober, imaginative, enthusiastic, creative, wanted, informed, mutual, honest.”

The Week (6/2/17) And finally, this one about the village of Wacken, Germany. They are “building a 4-mile network of pipes so that it can funnel beer to thirsty attendees at the world’s largest heavy-metal festival.  (75,000 attendees)  …….In previous years, tractor trailers have turned the fields into a giant mud pit…”

This got me to ponder if corporate execs decided to change the focus of the much maligned and delayed Keystone Pipeline from carrying oil to beer, would they gain bi-partisan support and mitigate environmental concerns.  They wouldn’t even have to change the name…….

Cheers!