I went to the screening of Tapped sponsored by Save Our Water last night and came away with mixed emotions. The 8 o'clock screening was at least 2/3rds full, which is an amazing turnout for a somewhat obscure issue. The movie had a lot of cheap shots and questionable science. At one point they quote the figure that bottled water uses up .02 percent of the municipal water source and then just brush that aside with some statements that it's the principle that matters. I understand that, and it's true, but that's a pretty small amount. I came away from it actually thinking that we shouldn't necessarily stop the Nestle plant, but that Nestle should be charged a premium while we're in a drought. The big impression that I came away with is that I need to stop drinking from the water cooler at my work, even though Davis tap water is nasty (it tastes just like what Davis would taste like if it were water), and that people should work to get bottled water banned when possible because it's unnecessary and wasteful. If I can wean myself off of it at work for a while I'll probably try to circulate a petition to get the water cooler removed.
The second big impression is that council member Kevin McCarty is a great guy and a politician to watch. I had already written him a letter commending him for taking a stand against the strong mayor initiative. He was at the screening and talked about how he's working to bring this issue to the agenda at a city council meeting, despite the fact that the proposed factory is in his district and will bring money and jobs. He wants to make it law that this kind of project would have to undergo an environmental review, which I totally agree with. Also, this whole issue underscores that KJ is totally gullible when it comes to business. Lots of other towns have rejected these plants, but he bragged about it and seemed unaware of the controversy. Do your research, dude!
On to Brew Awareness:
How have I slept on The Shack all this time? Oh yeah, I know how, I was pissed at the owner for fucking up the best patio in Sac. But I've gotten over that because he's a standup guy and just look at that list of beers!
They just got a shipment of Achel Blonde. This is a trappist beer and it's delicious and refreshing with a great hop character. It's 7 bucks, which is a lot, but it's 8% alcohol, so this and a Sudwerk Pilsner kept me occupied very well on the patio for a couple of pleasant hours, and that works out to less than 15 bucks with tip and all.
Remember when local blogger Jeff Mcrory wrote that thing about what local blogs need and one of the things was "more pictures of Sacramento cats"? I'm here to oblige him.This sums up their relationship well.
Filthy paws, dirty claws.
I can haz belly rubs? LOL.
Filthy paws, dirty claws.
I can haz belly rubs? LOL.
That picture of Babs and Steve is cracking me up!
ReplyDelete-H Conway Esq
I too, love the beer list at The Shack, but have a difficult time overlooking the horrid service. I mean HORRID.
ReplyDeleteKJ is a dope. In his head, all money is good money, no matter where it comes from. Hey, he's just gotta get those 'cops on the streets'!
I think Davis water is generally okay as long as you put ice cubes in it (even though I hate ice cubes). I think the temperature helps mask the mineral flavor.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/10/go-see-tapped-tonite-and-find-out-how-sacramentos-municipal-water-supply-is-under-attack.php?dcitc=th_rss
ReplyDeleteGood job on the cat pics front, you've been holding it down for months now. I was ok with Davis water, I like minerals!
ReplyDeleteYolo water is so foul. When I worked at the Tower warehouses we had a utility sink that had really strong water pressure & a lot of air in the pipes. Whenever you'd turn it on, air & water would blast out with such force that it smelled like someone had just ripped a huge fart.
ReplyDelete-miller
The Deftones had probably just ripped a huge fart.
ReplyDeleteYeah get a filter and quit buying bottled. We had a stainless steel Berkey (note the spelling, not Berkley) water filter with ceramic candles in Africa, and it worked great against some pretty unsafe tap water. It's the one they issue to Peace Corps volunteers who live in the middle of nowhere. It costs like 150 bucks, but it lasts forever and it's not plastic. And you don't have to buy those little plastic charcoal filter inserts from Brita. The candles last for a couple of years of daily use and you can wash them with dish soap.
ReplyDeleteTapped also did a really good job of convincing me that drinking municipal water is great, and that's it's rigorously tested. A guy at the screening said that it Sac it's tested daily at 150 sources.
ReplyDeleteGod, do I know any other words besides "great" and "cool"? I greatly doubt it.
ReplyDeleteThere's a great and cool article about fresh-hopped beers in the Times, and the pictures are cool (if not great). If you are ever in Portland, I highly recommend you take the drive to Double Mountain Brewery. It's a cool place and the views on the drive are great:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/dining/21hops.html
Don't forget monkeys smoking cigarettes, boys wearing lipstick, saucy girls in bowler hats and, most importantly, a daily link to my blog:
ReplyDeletehttp://bramble.tumblr.com/
Speaking of beers, I read something in an alternative weekly in sebastopol - the jerry times? - that beer makers were brewing single hops "varietals" of beer. Anybody drink one of those, and are they gross tasting?
ReplyDeleteTap water! Tap water! Tap water! Been sayin it for years. How many times do I have to be proven ahead of my time before time finally puts me in my proper place, time wise, which is ahead.
ReplyDeleteThe Jerry Times? Like Jerry got his own paper? Rad.
ReplyDeletedidn't jg live in sebastopol? i was just joking about the name of the paper, trying (emphasis on trying) to be hip to the grateful dead in-jokes on this thread.
ReplyDeleteThis is for Miller & DP:
ReplyDeletehttp://media.photobucket.com/image/jambang/psychedelic1969/200908small.jpg
Charles
I'll second the water filter. The nice thing about being in Peace Corps is that betweeen filtering, boiling or using bleach drops, you end up not being too fazed by the taste of Yolo County groundwater. Actually being able to drink straight water not doctored with Kool Aid or powdered GatorAid still seems a little strange.
ReplyDeleteAlso what I'd love to know is how Nestle has pulled this scam in places like Mexico. Like I always have locals warning me off on drinking the water straight from the tap because it's supposedly contaminated. Which is may be, but part of me wonders how much of that belief is simply effective marketing.
Single hop varietal beers are a really neat idea. It's a great, cool way to figure out which kinds of hops you like & which you don't. The Mikkeller single hop series was really interesting to a brew nerd like myself. Rubicon did a single hop beer a few years ago when a new hop was discovered/cultivated/whater you do to make a new hop. I can't remember the name of the hop in question but the beer wasn't that interesting. This particular hop variety seemed really mild. Hop is starting to seem like a weird word to me now that I've written it 10 times.
ReplyDelete-miller
Did anyone catch Huell on hops?
ReplyDeleteGo to Roseville and find a drinking fountain....Best-tasting municipal water in the area! I'm not even kidding, folks.
ReplyDeleteI liked this part of that NY Times article...
ReplyDelete“We saw how the season can really affect our ingredients,” Mr. Markowski said. “Very few brewers have learned that lesson firsthand, even though it’s routine for winemakers.”
I've tried the Cantillon Iris a few times - it uses 50/50 dried and fresh hops, and it's made only once per year. So there is a much more pronounced difference in "vintage".
I've discovered that Davis water is OK if you think of it as "mineral-y" rather than "foul".
ReplyDeleteP.S.-The Shack is the ONLY place you will find that Achel in the whole area.
there must be a lot of minerals in Sac water, cause it clogs my iron up. But it's kinda cool cause it shoots out little pebbles when you hit the steam button.
ReplyDeleteHey peeps,
ReplyDeleteI need to find a home for my indoor male fixed cat named Darby. I am moving in a few weeks and he cannot come with me. Let me know if you or anyone you know may be interested. My home phone is: 443-1014. I will have this number for a few more weeks.
Chris Teichman
you should email me a picture so I can post it. He's gonna have to be seriously cute to get adopted. also, maybe some more about his temperament, how he gets along with other cats, etc. you can get my email from charles.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYou should tell the shack to get some Yona Beer from Nagano,Japan. Best micro brew from the rising sun.Check out the Yona web site as it`s hella cool.
ReplyDeleteMy fave Yona Beer is a porter called Tokyo Black. One porter that`s way to easy drink. I think Japanese brew Beer with the thought that it should be refreshing and chugged fast at the same time.
Kumamoto has kick ass water. We have a few River fountainheads on the bottom of the Aso volcano that flow with ready to drink water. You can dip a cup right in. Can say so much about downstream tho..
Nestle is a huge coffee importer, one of the big three. Proctor & Gamble and Sara Lee are the other two. So find an independent coffee(fair trade) burner and seller along the way with your water boycott.And curb the crunch bars,dude...
Lub-
Jay
the veryified word is peessed..
JeffM - I have had dozens of single hop beers and they are fine. I don't know where you get the idea that one hop variety = yucky beer. One thing you may not know is that the same hop added at different times during the brewing process will impart different flavors, as well as using fresh vs dried hops.
ReplyDeleteThe Toronado in SF (one of the best alehouses in the world) has an annual single hop festival where every beer served is a single hop pale ale or IPA. Rubicon will also do single hop versions of their IPA on occasion, usually on cask.
I haven't checked in here for a while. Korea is insane and fun, by the way.
ReplyDeleteWhen I worked at UC Davis, I was talking with a staff guy who was soon to retire. He'd talk about how much they'd pollute in the 1970s. Dumping barrels of stuff into the leaking waterpipes used to cool buildings in the summer. They had barrels of waste, knew the pipes leaked, and some idjit figured the cheapest way of getting rid of the waste was to dump it into the leaky system instead of paying the high costs to dispose of it correctly.
He said he's been waiting for a call from the Feds about this since then. They also would do midnight runs to bury barrels in the Davis dump.
Just because it doesn't kill you on the spot, doesn't mean it's not dangerous.
Someone mail ordered some limes (about $4 for 3 without shipping). I'm off to a Mexican food party!