Drink Michigan

I posted last week about being asked to appear on Drink Michigan as a guest blogger/beer reviewer.

My first review is up today; go see it.

Also, too, Bob put a new link up at the top of our site, linking you to this and future Drink Michigan reviews.

Slainte!

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Heaven On Earth

Ooh Heaven is a place on Earth:

From the event profile:

The 2011 Boston Bacon and Beer Festival will be Saturday, April 30th from 1 PM to 3:30 PM at the The Royale. Restaurants and purveyors from all over will be preparing their tastiest bacon based dishes for you to sample paired with beers from New England's greatest breweries. If that's not a good enough way to spend a Saturday afternoon, you should know that it's all to benefit the local hunger relief organizations Lovin' Spoonfuls, Community Servings, and Share our Strength.Tickets for the 2011 Boston Bacon and Beer Festival will go on sale Friday, April 1 at 1 PM. Keep checking this page for additional festival information.

The breweries who are bringing beer:
Blue Hills Brewery, Sam Adams, Brooklyn Brewery, Cape Ann Brewing Company, Clown Shoes Brewing, Harpoon Brewery, Long Trail, Magic Hat Brewing Compny, Mayflower Brewing Company, Mercury Brewing Company, Narragansett Beer, Notch, Peak Organic Brewing Co., Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project, Shipyard Brewery, Smuttynose Brewing Co., Wachusett Brewing Company.

Out of that list, Smuttynose is spectacular, I really enjoy Brooklyn's solid line of beers, Harpoon is a solid go-to and Magic Hat is like the Vermont version of Short's here in Michigan: let's do something weird with fruit, veggies...and beer! Most people know that brewery for it's #9 (apricot pale ale).

Oh how I wish I could go to this festival. It's my twins' birthday that day. So...it's on another ATKer to get to that fest and report. I want a live blog.

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File This Story Under 'Damn!', or 'Holy Shit'

The following story speaks for itself:

One Vagina Can Hold 54 Bags of Heroin, Plus $51.22

If you bought heroin from this woman, you are very dedicated.

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The Constitutionality of the Attack on Libya

This question hasn't gotten a lot of coverage in the media. There has been some partisan whining and arguments, but it is hard to take them seriously when the GOP is also saying that Obama didn't asct fast enough. Those aside, there have been calls from Democrats, including Dennis Kucinich, Maxine Waters, and John Larson, calling into question the Constitutionality of the actions in Libya. There is also Obama's statement from 2007:

The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.

Over at Volokh, there are several good posts on this subject, here, here, and here. There are a quick read, so check them out.

First of all, I support the action in Libya and also think that going the NATO/Arab League/UN route was the way to go. Assuming the role of 'leader' in this action would make it another US versus the Arab world intervention and would probably make Gaddafi into a sympathetic figure. That being said, I tend to agree with those who thought he should have gained Congressional approval. Like the author points out, every major US action since WWII (except for Korea) had Congressional approval. In addition, the War Powers Resolution of 1973 states that the President can send U.S. armed forces into action abroad only by authorization of Congress or if the United States is already under attack or serious threat.

I don't think that short-term, small-scale actions require Congressional approval, but this doesn't seem like one of those. If it goes on much longer, the arguments saying he doesn't need Congressional approval seem to get weaker and weaker.

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All Things Beer

Hoo boy. We've got a lot of gro und to cover, so let's get started.

First, brewing. Time to re-focus on brewing and up the sophistication of my process. I have relied on some brewing buddies for eauipment for my all-grain batches and for ease and laziness, I have done a lot of extract-plus-specialty grain brews. In the dead of Michigan's winters, I have gone that way because my garage, where I brew big batches, is often well below freezing.

Well, no more excuses. I am scrapping my hodge-podge of equipment and going with a brand new All Grain System along with a brand new brew kettle with a focus on stepping-up the quality of my beers.

Speaking of brewing, my World- Lansing-famous maple syrup porter is in the fermenter. I tried to move it to the secondary this weekend, a week after I initially put it in the primary fermenter, but the fermentation was still way too active for me to be comfortable with that move. In about 2-3 more weeks, though, I'll keg that badboy up in just enough time for maple syrup fests around the Mitten State.

And finally, I have been asked to be a Guest Blogger over at Drink Michigan! It's the destination on the web to celebrate all of Michigan's fermented products and is quickly carving its niche as the one single place to stop for anything you want to know about Michigan beer, wine and liquor. THey want me to start doing Michigan Beer reviews for them! I am thrilled and excited!

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Sing Me A Song

This...is perfect.

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High Holy Day

Please observe ATK's official Highest Holy Day of the Most Extreme Magnitude as wildly as possible, with as much abandon as you can.

Please be safe. Don't be a douche. And if you drink green beer, you will be kicked off the site.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

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