Love Beer? Well than, you have reached the right page! This brand new effort is dedicated to the beer lovers and brewers among us. As with everything in Booze Life, your contributions are welcome. Find a great beer or wonderful microbrewery? Have a brewing tip? Send it to us!
Did you know...
Historians speculate that prehistoric nomads may have made beer from grain & water before learning to make bread.
Noah's provisions included beer on the Ark.
4300 BC, Babylonian clay tablets detail recipes for beer.
Beer was a vital part of civilization and the Babylonian, Assyrian, Egyptian, Hebrew, Chinese, and Inca cultures.
Babylonians produced beer in large quantities with around 20 varieties. Beer at this time was so valued that it was sometimes used to pay workers as part of their daily wages.
Early cultures often drank beer through straws to avoid grain hulls left in the beverage.
Egyptians brewed beer commercially for use by royalty served in gold goblets, medical purposes, and as a necessity to be included in burial provisions for the journey to the hereafter.
1600 BC Egyptian texts contain 100 medical prescriptions calling for beer.
If an Egyptian gentleman offered a lady a sip of his beer they were betrothed.
Before the Middle Ages brewing was left to women to make since it was considered a food as well as celebration drink.
During Medieval times beer was used for tithing, trading, payment and taxing.
1490's Columbus found Indians making beer from corn and black birch sap.
Late 1500's Queen Elizabeth I of England drank strong ale for breakfast.
1587 the first beer brewed in New World at Sir Walter Raleigh's colony in Virginia--but the colonists sent requests to England for better beer.
1612 the first commercial brewery opened in New Amsterdam (NYC, Manhattan) after colonists advertised in London newspapers for experienced brewers.
1620 Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock because the beer supplies were running low.
1680 William Penn (founder of Pennsylvania) operated commercial brewery.
1757 Washington wrote his personal recipe "To Make Small Beer."
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had their own private brewhouses.
Soldiers in the revolutionary army received rations of a quart of beer a day.
So, if you are a beer lover like I am, you're in good company.
So you like good beer. Join millions of other Americans that are with you on that. The Boozeman is also on a constant lookout for great microbrews as I go through life. Although there is another avenue to find great beer. Make it! Home brewing ones own beer is becoming more popular every day. Today you will find enough suppliers to outfit you with every thing you will need to get started. From the mild beginner to the wild home brewmaster, there are stores with products out there to keep you brewing. One such store is Just Brew It on Cassat Ave in west Jacksonville, you can find everything you need, free advice included.
One thing you will quickly realize is most of the people that work and run places like Just Brew It don't just work there. They love their passion of brewing and enjoying the fruits of their efforts. Just as the professional sports player's love of the game makes them a great, so goes the people you will deal with at places like Just Brew It. On the day I was there they were getting ready for one of the free brewing classes offered by the store. If you decide to stop in Just Brew It to check things out, tell them The Boozeman sent you. The ridicule and abuse you will receive will be good to keep your self esteem under control.
So, you find brewing your own beer is the most fun you ever had not covered in baby oil? Now's the time to join a brew club! There are many local brew clubs for you to choose from. I spoke with Walter Rasco with C.A.S.K. Walter in no uncertain terms loves the craft, not to mention the beer he makes. The club members share ideas, beer, and technic. I can't think of a better way to improve knowledge and skill than joining a club like C.A.S.K. They even have logo coat of arms type of medallion. How cool is that.
If you are a brew club member and would like to join us here at Booze Life, send The Boozeman an e-mail at Theboozeman@myboozelife.com and we'll be happy to have you.
You bet The Boozeman has a converted refrigerator to hold kegs!
Here' s something that is fairly easy to do and you will enjoy. Take an old refrigerator and convert it to your personal kegerator. You can buy all you need at your local home brew supply store plus get instruction for installation. You will spend a few dollars, but compared to the cost of the prefab units you would buy at the store, it's a fraction of the investment. To make it even more attractive you can transfer the tap system from frig to frig.
Helpful hint, drill your "tap hole" on the door of the refrigerator where there is less chance of hitting a cooling coil carrying Freon. If you are stuck with having the tap on the side of the frig, turn the frig on the coldest setting and leave the door open. The cooling coils will show themselves on the inside as the air in the frig warms and the area over the coils begins to sweat with condensation. Give us much room as you can between the cooling coils and your hole. Hitting a coil will ruin your frig and your day.
The Value of a Drink
"Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer and wine I drink,
I feel shame. Then I look into the glass and think
about the workers in the vineyards and brewers and all of their hopes
and dreams. If I didn't drink this wine or beer, they might be out
of work and their dreams would be shattered.
Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this wine and let their
dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."
~ Jack Handy
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may leave you wondering what the hell
happened to your bra and panties.
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"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they
wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're
going to feel all day. "
~Frank Sinatra
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may create the illusion that you are tougher, smarter, faster and better looking than most people.
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"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."
~ Henny Youngman
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may lead you to think people are laughing WITH you.
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"24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not."
~ Stephen Wright
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause you to think you can sing.
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"When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk,
we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin.
When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. So, let's all
get drunk and go to heaven!"
~ Brian O'Rourke
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause pregnancy.
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"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
~ Benjamin Franklin
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol is a major factor in dancing like a fool.
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"Without question, the greatest invention in the
history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the
wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does
not go nearly as well with pizza."
~ Dave Barry
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause you to tell your friends over and over again that you love them.
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To some it's a six-pack. To me it's a Support Group. Salvation in a can!
~Dave Howell
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may make you think you can logically converse with members of the opposite sex without spitting.
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And saving the best for last, as explained by Cliff Clavin, of Cheers.
One afternoon at Cheers, Cliff Clavin was explaining the Buffalo Theory to his buddy Norm.
Here's how it went:
"Well ya see, Norm, it's like this. A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers."
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may make you think you are whispering when you are not
Want to brew your own beer or wine? Check out 'Just Brew It' in Jacksonville. Ask for Walter. That fucking guy knows everything.
'Just Brew It'
is Boozeman Approved.
"So in conclusion, through mathematical equation, we have proven pilsner beer is better to drink below 40 degrees than warmer. Some drink it warmer to appreciate the aroma. To that I say, what the hell is a matter with you drinking warm pilz?" - Albert
