Quote of the Day

"This is what being 'cool' is all about--not acting like so many other people that you blend in completely, yet at the same time not acting so differently that you seem like a freak or you get in trouble... The problem with being 'cool' though is that the balance point between conformity and freakdom is incredibly tiny, and when you try to straddle it you just wind up falling off into the surrounding area called called 'rationalization,' and rationalization is basically the essence of comedy." -BikeSnobNYC

Save the Gloo Factory!

I made these cookies for a benefit/beer tasting/birthday party this weekend. The Gloo Factory has been notified that the space it occupies is going on the auction block. It is hard for me to imagine a cause, event or group I have encountered in Tucson that has not benefited from the support of Dwight. He is one of the folks here in town that make this place special to us and so many others, we are grateful to him. Join us in supporting him!

Happy Monday

"How strange and wonderful is our home, our earth, with its swirling vaporous atmosphere, its flowing and frozen climbing creatures, the croaking things with wings that hang on rocks and soar through fog, the furry grass, the scaly seas...how utterly rich and wild...Yet some among us have the nerve, the insolence, the brass, the gall to whine about the limitations of our earthbound fate and yearn for some more perfect world beyond the sky. We are none of us good enough for the world we have." - Edward Abbey "Appalachian Wilderness"

I heart Portland!

Here's some pics from our recent trip:

Mother Hips

Brewing beer in the rain.

Bike Tour photos are up!

For those of you who couldn't make it to our slideshow premiere, our photos are now up on the web here. Watch as a slideshow for best results. And we're still working on the brewery wrap-up. Stay tuned.

Mad Scientist

After returning from our brewery tour this summer, I have been brewing like mad. The top photo is me making my first mead. Mead is a fermented honey wine. It's even easier than making beer - mix 15lbs honey with 5 gallons of water, add yeast, and wait. This particular batch should be ready for the holidays...in 2010!

In the bottom photo, I am kegging our Mayan Mystery Porter. It has powdered baking chocolate along with other spices such as cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, mace, etc. I will be unveiling it at the beer benefit party for the Gloo Factory in early Dec. I have also brewed an Imperial Vanilla Oatmeal Stout for Thanksgiving.

It's official!

We successfully completed our West Coast bike tour in the lovely town of Santa Barbara last Thursday. We will post some final thoughts in the near future but for now, here are some stats:

• Total miles: 2107
• #of days: 68
• Average miles per day: 31
• Longest day: 66 miles
• Top speed: 46 mph
• Flats: 2
• Breweries visited: 28
• Beers sampled: 97!

Stay tuned for a full brewery review. Cheers!