Nice town, cooler name!

Down in Devon, down in Devon,
There's a village by the sea,
It's a little piece of heaven
And the angels call it Beer!

http://www.beer-devon.co.uk/

The Still

My wife's grandfather used to make his own whiskey in Louisiana and last year her family gave me his old still. Of course this still did not come with instructions and needed a little retrofitting to make it work, but finally we distilled some water for a test run and everything went well. I was given his old recipes to make whiskey and he must have made a good spirit as there was a letter from Early Times, which he had sent in a sample. I will try to post the letter later but they said he made a good whiskey.

In his notes are a few recipes from his local distilling buddies. One of those was from a Mr. Tin Patin, who luck has it was still around in Breaux Bridge and I was able to meet with him and pick his brain on distilling. Mr. Patin said we would meet him at the "Asshole Club" when we came to visit, the club consists of a building that backs to the bayou filled with boiling pots, beer fridge, a table full of liquor, wood burning stove and just about everything else needed to have a good time. Mr. Patin gave me some good pointers on running the still as well as some comical stories from his past distilling adventures. He was taught to distill from his Uncle and informed me that everyone made whiskey back then, Judges, Priest, all walks of life. He no longer distills as according to Mr. Patin, his still must have grown legs and walked off his property many years ago.

Homebrew

I just made a Firemans 4 style brew and a Magic Hat #9 with a brewing buddy Travis. As well as picked up some Satsuma Oranges from Louisiana to use in a Wit Bier. I will post pictures when we pour.

Gulden Draak

Gulden Draak, from Van Steenberge, Ertvelde, East Flanders. Reddish brown with a slight bitter finish. Strong at 10.5. Described as being a good winter warmer with a long finish. My corked bottle seemed a little lacking on the bubbles but was still enjoyable.

Another beer from the same place is the golden, hoppier Piraat Ale, also available in a corked bottle. I didn't have the camera set up when I tasted this one.

Annual Fishing Trip

Every year my family has a father/son/uncle/cousin/any male in the family fishing trip. I leave today for that trip. We go to Seadrift, Tx and stay at my Uncle Tony's Bayhouse. It's like a mini family reunion, we fish, or catch depending on who you talk too, drink, play dominoes, drink and generally have a good time. This is one of my favorite photos and I always think of it, when my family gets together, below are the details provided by my cousin Frank.

An interesting thing he pointed out about the cans in the photo, in 1958, they did not have pull tabs on cans but were opened with can openers, that is why some can are upside down. A dance flier for the Vesely Playboys at Frydek hangs on the wall amidst some beer advertising.

From left to right: Otto Matus, Sr. (friend of family, Ganado), Rudolph E. Dybala (great grandfather), Edmund A. Dybala (grandfather), Frank Jendry (friend of family, Ganado), Emil Trojcak (friend of family, Ganado), Albert "Sleepy" Zouzalik (Frank Brauner's uncle, San Antonio), John Vincent Oehl (Sophie Oehl Dybala's brother, Houston), August "Gus" Oehl (Sophie Oehl Dybala's brother, Ganado), Grandpa Dybala's brother Arnold Dybala is in the shadow of the post in the picture, Victor Korczynski (husband of Elsie Novosad Korczynski who is Edmund Dybala's first cousin, and also from Ganado), and Louis A. Oehl (Sophie Oehl Dybala's brother, San Antonio).

This picture was taken June 23, 1958 in the K. J. T. Hall barroom in Ganado, Texas, at the wedding reception of Frank Brauner and Barbara Dybala who were married at 8:30 a.m. in Assumption Catholic Church in Ganado, Texas by Rev. Anthony Matula.

Duchesse de Bourgogne

This beer is named after the Duke of Burgundy's daughter, Mary born in Bruges back in 1457.

Belgian Red Ale, dark reddish color, apple or fruit cider nose, slight pucker, sour tartness to it. 6.2% ABV Brewed by the Verhaege family with a brewing history dating back to the 1500's.

Black Star Beer Co-op Pub Brewery

Chantal and I just joined up as investor members, I remember looking into them back in 2005 but was to busy with my store to join at the time. I am hoping to become more involved with them in the future.

Black Star CO-OP Mission

To apply the models of co-operative ownership and worker self-management to create the best venue in Austin for the production and enjoyment of high quality beer.

Website

It's the first concept of it's kind and the plans are to open a pub with a brewery as well. There is a beer social once a month where you can meet other members, drink beer and listen to music.