Musings Over a Pint

Center Of The Universe Located

2012-05-29T07:03:00.000-04:00

Richmond BizSense is reporting that Center of the Universe Brewing Company has signed a lease on a 12,000 square feet building in Ashland, VA, just off Interstate 95.

A fledgling local brewery has finally found its home in the center of the universe.

Center of the Universe Brewing Company this month leased 12,000 square feet on Air Park Road in Ashland, just off Interstate 95 near Bass Pro Shop.

The building sits on 1.3 acres and was previously occupied by the Herald-Progress newspaper.

With its claim officially staked, Center of the Universe, founded by brothers Chris Ray and Phil Ray and named after the unofficial nickname of Ashland, is aiming for a November opening.

But there’s a lot of work left to be done: There’s the lengthy process of state and federal licensing. They’ll then await the delivery of all the giant tanks, boilers and fermenters that will produce the liquid gold.

A build-out will give the brothers warehouse space for the brewing components and a front area that will become a tasting room.

This is exciting news for me. The location is one I pass by on my way home from the IDPA and Steel shooting matches held down at Black Creek. Readers know I'm a fan of relaxing with a good beer AFTER shooting. This just may fit the bill perfectly!

See "One hurdle crossed" for more information on the brewery's plans for the space.

A previous Musing on this new brewery is here.

In Thanks & Remembrance

2012-05-28T09:09:00.000-04:00

On this Memorial Day as we remember those who gave all, let us not dishonor their memory by allowing our freedoms to be trampled. Those who seek to limit our rights do so in contempt of our fallen heroes. Honor the fallen, and remember what they were protecting.

“Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present Generation to preserve your Freedom! I hope you will make good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven, that I ever took half the Pains to preserve it.” -- John Adams

Memorial Weekend Steel Match

2012-05-27T11:58:00.001-04:00

The Black Creek Shooters held a special Memorial Weekend match on Saturday. It's been many months since I was able to get down there for a steel match and was looking forward to it very much. It was a small crowd, just 57 shooters total. The small crowd meant a quick match, and I was on my home by 12:30. Still plenty of time to do some chores before settling in for the rest of the three day weekend!

The entire match consisted of falling or swinging steel, with the lone exception of 2 static targets. There were four stages in all, for a total of 109 rounds minimum.

Stage 4, where my squad started, was a quick stage requiring just 18 shots. Multiple shots on two static targets, as well as some spring-loaded targets, and a dueling tree. Let me just say, those dueling tree plates are small! Without really thinking I shot the plates from top to bottom. That wasn't the most logical way to do it, as I was working against the recoil to bring the gun down to the next target. Shooting from bottom up would work with the recoil. On the last static plate which required 3 hits, I wasn't calling my shots well and was not sure I was hitting, so I ended up taking 5 shots. When I was done I asked if I had hit it three or four times. "You hit it five times" was the reply. Despite that, this was my best stage of the match, finishing 14th out of 36 in my division.

Stage 1 required engaging a plate rack through a low port, then 6 poppers and another dueling tree from the middle of the bay, and finally moving to another position with another plate rack. This time I remembered to shoot the dueling tree from bottom to top. It was a fun stage with a good mix of targets. Stage 2 consisted of a mix of falling poppers, including split versions of both sizes, to be shot from 5 different shooting boxes. I struggled on this stage, not seeming to be able to get my shots on target. Those small split poppers were mocking me I'm sure! Stage 3 was the largest of the stages, in shot count, requiring a minimum of 35 shots. All the steel was shot from a single position.

It was a fun match. I still need to work on consistancy when shooting these steel matches. I suspect I may be looking over the gun to see the steel hit when I shoot. The last time I shot a steel match was in October of last year, and then as far back as April prior to that. Overall, I finished 25th out of 36. I need to get to more of these matches and spend more time shooting the various steel targets. I probably need to devote more time to dry firing as well.

As I was waiting for the match to start, I saw a familiar face walk by. It was someone I recognized from church who also happened to be shooting the match. We ended up on the same squad so got to spend some time chatting. It was a nice surprise, and it turns out we have mutual friends who are also shooting enthusiasts. It really is a small world!

Stage 3. Photo by Black Creek Steel Shooters.

It's More Than Food & Drink

2012-05-27T08:46:00.000-04:00

Happy Memorial Day. Please remember all who sacrificed for our freedom.

Innovation You Could Use This Weekend

2012-05-26T15:01:00.000-04:00

The days of fighting to get ketchup out of the bottle may soon be a thing of the past. The scientists at MIT have put their smarts to good use. They created a non-stick coating for food containers that may solve this scourge of picnic tables everywhere.

See more demonstrations at "MIT’s Freaky Non-Stick Coating Keeps Ketchup Flowing."

(For those reading via RSS, you'll need to click through to see the video.)

Weekend Plans

2012-05-26T06:30:00.000-04:00

Two of my favorite subjects again.

My plans include having fun with both this weekend.

I think my first stop will be the Black Creek Memorial Weekend Steel Match.

All Is Well. Really.

2012-05-25T16:00:00.001-04:00

On Thursday an "oily sheen" appeared on multiple bodies of water in our area. The mysterious substance appeared on the Rappahannock River and the Canal, and also two local ponds. City officials determined that the sheen was not petroleum based, but have unable to identify the substance or its source. Today, however, they declared that there were “no apparent safety risks to humans or the environment.”

Don't worry folks. Officials have declared "all is well."

See "City seeking source of oily sheen on waters"

Starr Hill Undertakes Major Expansion

2012-05-25T07:02:00.000-04:00

The new legislation recently signed by Governor McDonnell is providing some impetus for major expansion underway at Starr Hill Brewery. NBC29.com is reporting:

Starr Hill founder and brewmaster Mark Thompson helped write the new laws and worked on seeing them passed. His brewery will take advantage of being able to sell beer for consumption on premises by tripling the size of their tasting room and adding a more space with a new deck as well. Over the next five years Starr Hill will raise their production level from 275,000 cases to 826,000 case of beer in a year. They will also add 10-15 jobs to the region. The new tasting room should be open this fall.

See "New Bills Allow for Better Brewery Business" for more information.

(For those reading via RSS, you'll need to click through to see the video.)

NoVA Beer Fest Tickets Available

2012-05-25T06:30:00.000-04:00

The Northern Virginia Summer Brewfest will take place Saturday & Sunday, June 23 & 24 in Leesburg, VA. Discounted tickets go on sale today. Online tickets are $20, while the cost jumps to $30 at the gate. The price of admission includes a tasting glass and four sampling tickets.

Visit www.novabrewfest.com/summer for festival and ticket information.

This is always a great event with lots of good beer and food. Go if you can.

Local Rag's Gun Bias Shows

2012-05-24T18:29:00.001-04:00

There was a tragic and fatal shooting in our area Tuesday. A homeless person used a knife to attack an innocent person and was killed when the victim shot him in self defense. The shooter was sitting in a car with a friend when the homeless man requested money from the couple and was refused. He left only to return a short time later to attack his intended victims with a knife. The man in the car retrieved his legally possessed handgun and used it in defense of his life. In reporting the story, our local ~~news~~paper let its bias show with this headline:

That's right, the editors of this paper stated clearly their opinion that the "slaying" was the result of a "snub." They focus the blame of this death on the victim of an assault. It's apparently not clear to the editors that the tragic death of the homeless person was the result of him assaulting someone with a knife. In addition, throughout the article, the person killed in the commission of a crime is referred to as the victim. In unbiased reporting, the "victim" is the person against whom a crime was committed. No charges were filed against the shooter, who did not commit any crime in defending himself. The person killed was the assailant, not the victim.

I wonder if the Free Lance-Star would consider placing the blame for a rapist's death on the woman who defended herself against a sexual assault. The bias of this paper doesn't really come as a surprise. This is the same group that uses it's liberal recklessness to endanger the lives of gun owners by publishing the addresses of conceal carry permit holders.

An online report of this incident, without the inaccurate and biased headline, is posted here.

Rahr & Sons Iron Thistle

2012-05-24T06:59:00.000-04:00

I had hoped to share another Wednesday IDPA match writeup, but thunder cells were popping up all over the area Wednesday afternoon, so I opted not to chance the 70 mile trip to the range. What shall I do now that I have some unexpected free time? I know, I'll try one of the beers 45er sent me last week!

I opted for the Rahr & Sons Iron Thistle. (If I can't shoot my iron, I'll, um, never mind.) This "Scottish-style Ale" pours a deep brown color. A hard pour creates a moderate light brown head, but one that lingers for a long time. The aroma is rich with sweet dark malt, with a bit of coffee thrown in. The flavor brings a pleasing combination of sweet malt, nuttiness and some roasted bitterness. As the beer warms there is a also a hint of smoke added in. The mouth feel is somewhat creamy and the sweet malt and smoke flavor lingers.

This is a very enjoyable beer. It's a seasonal selection from the Forth Worth, TX brewery. I'm reminded of why I'm found of the Wee Heavy / Scotch Ales. (Even if I do typically gravitate to the hoppier Pale Ales and IPAs.) At 8% ABV, Iron Thistle is a beer to sip slowly and enjoy. That is unless one is inclined to take repeated sip after sip in order to make notes for a review. The things I suffer for this blog...

Thanks to 45er for sending this along. It certainly helped overcome the missed match disappointment.

Perhaps It's A Rounding Error

2012-05-23T17:45:00.000-04:00

If this was July I'd believe it, and we'd be under an advisory I think.

I went outside and checked for myself. My skin did not burn off.

For Greater Glory

2012-05-23T07:01:00.000-04:00

When they outlawed freedom, free men became outlaws.

This movie tells the true story of Mexico's Cristero War. This conflict, which took place from 1926 - 1929, caused the deaths of more than 250,000 people, was touched off by an anti-Catholic president who called for the eradication of religion in Mexico. This is not ancient history, nor did it take place in some far off land.

I've been reading about, and waiting for this movie to come out for some time now. I think it is indeed Divine Providence that it is finally being released at this point in time.

For Greater Glory opens in theaters on June 1. Check the website to find a showing near you. This could be the most important movie you see this year. Let's pray it's not prophetic as well.

Wine, Whiskey, Craft Beer

2012-05-22T07:29:00.000-04:00

Do I have your attention now? Thought so. A couple of months ago I came across this Groupon offer of a "Grape & Grain" tour of the Fredericksburg area. Now it appears we have an expanded version of such a tour being organized. Bill Freehling writes in the Fredericksburg Business Browser,

A new tourism initiative aims to promote the Fredericksburg area’s various alcoholic-beverage producers.

The Grapes and Grains Trail allows people to buy a $12 ticket that gets them a tour of the Hartwood Winery, Potomac Point Winery, Lake Anna Winery, Mattaponi Winery, Blue & Gray Brewing Co. and A. Smith Bowman Distillery.

The ticket also includes a stemless wine glass for tastings with the Grapes and Grains Trail logo on it, and a 20 percent discount at each facility’s gift shop.

The Grapes and Grains Trail partnership officially kicks off Father's Day weekend, June 16-17. There will be special events at the participating wineries, distillery and brewery. This is a great way to promote tourism in the local area. We'll have to find a weekend, and a designated driver, to do a tour and report back.

Grapes and Grain tour has a Facebook page where updates are posted.

See "Fredericksburg area gets its own alcohol trail" for more information.

Incendiary Image of the Week

2012-05-22T01:00:00.000-04:00

In preparation for a peaceful night's sleep when traveling.

A Pale Ale Surprise

2012-05-21T07:07:00.000-04:00

As mentioned earlier I spent this weekend inside a hotel in Williamsburg. It was all for a good cause, even if it did conflict with my desire to participate in the VA/MD USPSA Sectional. I was at a convention with a lot of outstanding people who are devoted to doing good works and helping folks in need. It was quite an inspiring weekend.

During one break, I managed to sneak into the hotel pub for a quick afternoon pint. The usual suspects in the factory beer style were available, the lone craft beer offering being Williamsburg AleWerks Cheaspeake Pale Ale. It was available both on draught and in the bottle.

Chesapeake Pale Ale pours a clear, bright amber color with a moderate frothy head. The citrus and earthy aromas are easily detected. I found the aroma to be a bit more intense than many pale ales I've tried. The predominant flavor is a juicy, citrus tang that's balanced with a mild bitterness. The dry finish brings ever so mild sweet, malt notes.

Overall, I enjoyed this new-to-me pale ale quite a bit. Given the rest of the available beer options, I was quite happy to find the Chesapeake Pale Ale. I wasn't surprised that Williamsburg Alewerks produced such an enjoyable beer, but I was surprised that I don't recall ever having it previously.

Yes, I did get back for a second round.

Saving the World

2012-05-20T09:01:00.000-04:00

You're welcome.

Wednesday IDPA

2012-05-19T06:31:00.001-04:00

It's been four weeks since I shot the IDPA classifier, and I finally got back down to Black Creek this week to shoot another IDPA match. It was a small course of fire, just 38 rounds minimum, but still a lot of fun. I didn't shoot as well as I would have liked, but trigger time is trigger time, and due to my busy schedule I'll take a match when I can get one!

The first three strings made use of the same target array, shown below. On the first string the shooter started seated, facing up range. On the signal you turned and engaged two targets on one side, with 2 body and 1 head shot each, from behind the barricade, then moved to the opposite side to repeat. The next string required engaging the two strong hand side targets, with one head and one body shot, strong hand only. Then the string was repeated for the weak hand side, using only the weak hand. Good stuff there.

Black Creek likes to mix it up with some steel in the IDPA matches on occasion. Some purists get upset by this but I welcome the opportunity. This week the plate rack was set up with the six plates painted in three colors, and the plates had to be knocked over in the prescribed order. This was done three times; free style, strong hand only, weak hand only.

In the end I finished low, just 10th out of 12. However since all the shooters except one were ranked Sharpshooter or above, and I'm ranked at the low end of Sharpshooter, I placed about where I expected. And there are plenty of upcoming matches at which to work on my IDPA skills.

After I finished shooting there were no other shooters waiting at the time, so the range master asked if I wanted to shoot the stages again or shoot the plate rack for a while. I don't get the opportunity to practice on a plate rack outside of matches so I took him up on that. I loaded up a few mags and took 6 or 7 runs on the rack. It's pretty amazing how much easier it is when there's no clock running!

I spent more time driving to the range than I spent on the range, but it was still fun. On the way down I was passed by the Google Maps Street View car. I don't know if it was recording or not but I figure it didn't hurt to fix my hair and smile as it went by.

They Toy With Me

2012-05-19T00:17:00.000-04:00

I'm in Williamsburg, VA for the weekend for an annual meeting / convention event. I open my "goodie bag" and there, right on top of all the touristy brochures, is a coupon promoting Williamsburg AleWerks. It's not too from the hotel. As is typical with these events, the schedule is jammed. There's no open time to escape.

However, they do apparently have the brewery's Chesapeake Pale Ale in the hotel pub. I think I can sneak in there at some point.

Vital Message From Rabbi Dovid Bendory

2012-05-18T19:18:00.000-04:00

You need to watch this. It's important to all Americans, not just our Jewish compatriots.

See more at "A vital message from JPFO's Rabbi Dovid Bendory", IF you believe in personal freedom.

Oysters and Beer

2012-05-18T07:10:00.001-04:00

Actually, in this case it's oysters in beer. Last November, Flying Dog Brewery released the limited edition of Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout, brewed with Rappahannock River Oysters. The beer was produced to benefit the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP), one of the region’s leading nonprofits restoring oysters back into the Chesapeake Bay. Due to the success of the beer, and to continue raising money for the cause, Flying Dog has added the beer to its regular, year-round lineup. Proceeds from the sales will continue to go towards restoring the oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay.

Growing up near Baltimore, I enjoyed many Chesapeake Bay oysters. On the half-shell is my favorite serving method, but I'll eat them cooked too. When this beer came out I wanted to try it, but never had the chance. Now that this oyster stout is being brewed regularly, the good folks at Flying Dog provided me with a sample for review. And I didn't wait long to try it out.

Flying Dog Oyster Stout pours dark cola brown, with a mocha-colored head that drops fairly rapidly to a thin ring. The aroma is dark roasted coffee with a touch of dark chocolate. The flavor sweet dark roasted malt. There is a mild, salty aspect to the flavor, I assume from the oysters. No, there weren't any oysters in the bottle, but there is a hint of brine in the flavor. The roasted malt and bitter hop notes linger in the aftertaste.

I didn't find this stout to be as darkly roasted as some stouts, but the oysters did add an interesting twist. If I were to grab this one again, it would be more for the novelty and to support a good cause. Flying Dog has another stout, although seasonal, that would be my first choice..

Writing this review gave me pause to reminisce about the times spent standing at a raw bar in Baltimore and watching the expert shuckers opening oysters and sliding the half-shells in front me to enjoy. It's harder to find good oysters these days, but maybe through the efforts of the Oyster Recovery Partnership that situation will improve.

Disclaimer: This bottle of Oyster Stout was an unsolicited gift from the brewery. This review written of my own free will.

Beer & Bullets: Delivered

2012-05-17T19:23:00.002-04:00

The big brown truck of happiness arrived today and dropped off three boxes of goodies. We received 2,000 rounds of 45ACP and, coincidently, a box of beer from 45er who writes the Barrel Smoke blog.

I plied 45er with some Virginia beers recently and he's returned the favor with some Texas beers. He's also picked up well on my fondness for Pale Ales and IPAs. All of these beers will be new for me so I'm looking forward to trying them out.

I May Live Forever

2012-05-17T12:30:00.000-04:00

A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine is suggesting that coffee, lots of it, may indeed be good for you.

The new study is by far the largest of its kind to date. As part of a joint project with the AARP, researchers from the National Institutes of Health followed more than 400,000 healthy men and women between the ages of 50 and 71 for up to 13 years, during which 13% of the participants died.

Overall, coffee drinkers were less likely than their peers to die during the study, and the more coffee they drank, the lower their mortality risk tended to be. Compared with people who drank no coffee at all, men and women who drank six or more cups per day were 10% and 15% less likely, respectively, to die during the study.

The researchers note that there are over 1,000 compounds associated with coffee, other than caffeine, and it is possible that some of these may contribute to decreased chronic decease.

We've already heard about the health benefits of beer. As soon as they figure out that red meat and gelato is good for you I'm all set!

See "Coffee drinking linked to longer life" for details on this report.

Dot Torture Shooting Drill

2012-05-17T06:55:00.000-04:00

This challenging drill found at pistol-training.com is a fun way to assess your shooting skills. It's 50 shot drill, on 2 inch circles. The drill tests your sight alignment and trigger control using a variety of shooting skills; from the draw, low-ready, strong hand, weak hand. It's suggested you start out shooting it from three yards, increasing the distance only after shooting a perfect score. My lovely wife insisted we attempt the Dot Torture on a recent trip to the range.

My first miss was on circle 3. The goal was to draw and put one shot on 3 and one on 4, repeated four times. I dropped one shot just below the 3, and then pushed one down into the 6.

The next miss was on 5 when I put one of the five strong hand-only shots just left off the paper.

It was smooth sailing for the next three circles, even for the five weak hand only shots. The last miss was just low on 9.

My total score was 46 out of 50. This was just my third attempt at the Dot Torture, though the previous two attempts were over a year ago. The idea is to do this "test" on a regular basis and track your improvement over time. I'm going to try to remember to do just that.

Go to pistol-training.com to download the target and take it with you on your next trip to the range. It's fun. And just a wee bit humbling.

Virginia Breweries Get A Break

2012-05-16T12:30:00.000-04:00

Virginia has a history of supporting and promoting her wine industry. Virginia breweries are often treated like the red-headed step child. However, this week Governor McDonnell signed two recently passed bills in support of Virginia brewers.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed into law two pieces of legislation aimed at helping Virginia-based brewers.

House Bill 359 lets established brewers lease space to start-up and small scale beer brewers. Senate Bill 604 allows for retail sales and sampling on the premises of Virginia breweries.

"The legislation signed today will make it easier for our breweries to serve as destinations for potential customers and allow some of our talented small-scale brewers to lease space from established brewers and overcome some of the significant start-up costs," McDonnell said at the signing ceremony, held at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery in Richmond.

Read the complete story at "New Virginia laws to help craft beer brewers."

More on Senate Bill 604 here.

Jeff Fitzpatrick, president of Blue & Gray Brewing Co. and Gov. Bob McDonnell at the signing.
Photo courtesy of Fredericksburg Business Insider's Facebook page.