Capital Ale House Organizing St. Patrick's Day Events

In contrast to their extremely popular Oktoberfest celebration, Capital Ale House's proposed St. Patrick's Day event won't close any streets. CAH President Matt Simmons is proposing that downtown food and beverage establishments host specials inside their own restaurants to benefit charity. The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star reports:

The president of Capital Ale House is organizing a St. Patrick's Day event in downtown Fredericksburg that would also raise money for charity.

Yesterday afternoon, Matt Simmons distributed letters proposing the event to downtown restaurant and bar owners. The businesses would work together to promote the event but would organize their own parties for that night.

Each participating business would pick a charity to support. It would collect a cover charge at the door or take a percentage of menu sales, perhaps of just one special item for that night. Those funds would be donated to charity.

Capital Ale House regularly supports local charities through their Community Chest project. The St. Patrick's Day event would continue that tradition. Let's hope downtown businesses get behind this initiative.

See Revelers can wear green and aid a worthy cause for more information.

VA ABC Privatization Efforts Thwarted Again

Virginia Governor McDonnell's efforts to get the State out of the liquor business have been thwarted again. This week bill was killed before even being discussed in committee. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports:

Legislation to privatize liquor sales will not be considered by the House committee that oversees ABC laws, its chairman confirmed Wednesday, effectively killing the measure without a hearing.

The decision is a blow to Gov. Bob McDonnell, who has made ABC privatization a top priority. Senate Democrats already have said they will not consider the governor's proposal unless the House acts first.

"At the chairman's prerogative, the bill is not going to be heard," said Del. S. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, chairman of the House General Laws Committee and a staunch supporter of the governor's other priorities in the General Assembly.

It should be emphasized that the bill was killed at the whim of chairman Jones. The proposal will not be discussed in the committee nor on the House floor. The government will stay in the retail and wholesale liquor business a while longer. Whether you agree with the idea of privatization or not, it's a shame that the legislative body is denied the chance to even discuss it.

See the entire article here: House panel won't consider ABC privatization bill

The Force is With You - Friday Funny

Enjoy

Signs of Impending Spring

We're in the middle of Winter in Virginia. The whole of the month of February is ahead of us, and this month can bring serious Winter weather. But there are signs around us that the Spring weather is approaching.

Some folks look to Punxsutawney Phil for hope. The groundhog saw no shadow but that doesn't convince me. Yesterday's anomalous temperature of 67° was a taste of thing to come, but it was short lived. For me, the surest sign that we're on the road to Spring is when I see the stacks of Tröegs Nugget Nectar make an appearance at the local beverage store. Sure this beer is released in the midst of Winter, but I've always considered it the first of the Spring beers, rather than the last of the Winter beers.

The only thing that will top the excitement finding this Tröegs seasonal in the store, is when I have poured a glass at home and I am enjoying the aromas and flavors of this hop-rich nectar.

What Facebook Thinks of Me

No, this isn't about Facebook's recent attempt to muzzle the Musings. It's about the smile I get whenever I look at my Facebook profile page. In the "new" Facebook, the system randomly selects a group of five photos from your account that are meant to represent your interests and activities. The random display on my page is shown below.

Yea, I think I like that.

Flying Dog "Dog Chow Cookbook"

Flying Dog Brewery late last year released Dog Chow: Volume One, the first cookbook from the brewery. The 22 page, spiral-bound book contains 8 recipes, each featuring a different Flying Dog beer. Each recipe is accompanied by detailed directions and color photographs. The recipes were all developed by Flying Dog brewers, most of whom have culinary backgrounds. The book also contains descriptions of the beers in the Flying Dog lineup, as well as tips on cooking with beer. As is stated simply on the back cover, "This is a book about food and beer."

For our first recipe trial from the cookbook, Colleen selected Doggie Style Mac & Cheese. As is obvious from the name, this recipe features Flying Dog Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale. The bready, yeasty aroma as the sauce simmered hinted at the rich, layered flavors - so much more than cheese sauce! The dry mustard, onions, beer, heavy cream and milk makes for a sophisticated, but very approachable!, mac and cheese. We served this with pan-fried pork chops for a satisfying Winter comfort meal.

We have plans to try out some of the other recipes in the book, and will bring reports back soon.

Dog Chow: Volume One can be purchase for a mere $5 from the Flying Dog online merchandiser store.

Disclaimer: Flying Dog provided a complimentary copy of Dog Chow for me to review as I saw fit. The beer used in the recipe was purchased by me.

I'd Like A Great Lake Of Beer ...

... For The King Of Kings. I Would Like To Be Watching Heaven's Family Drinking It Through All Eternity. 


Who could argue with such a sentiment? February 1 is the Feast Day of St. Brigid of Ireland. 

See a previous post on St. Brigid of Ireland for more information about this Irish Saint.

Blue & Gray Supports the Wounded Warrior EOD Foundation

Blue & Gray Brewing is a proud sponsor of the Rappahannock River "Polar Plunge," organized by the Wounded Warrior EOD foundation.  The  plunge will take place on at 9:00AM February 12th. All registrants receive a free Blue & Gray Brewing Co. Polar Plunge 2011 "Now That's A Cold One" pint glass.

The Wounded EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Warrior Foundation is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization that provides assistance to our Wounded EOD Warriors and their families in the form of financial relief. The resources provided by the Foundation to the wounded and their families are above and beyond the budgetary constraints of the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs.

For more information on the Polar Plunge, and for registration information see the event page.