We're Number Two, We're Number Two. BJCP Has Been Blown Up

I think they want to close down my blog  :-)   I got yelled at yesterday for expressing my thoughts about the Columbus Aquatic Center.

I'm not sure people understand that this is just my opinion and not an actual news gathering informational network.  Just me spouting off what is on my mind at 7:00 in the morning. I don't think I said anything totally inaccurate.  I did change some wording a little.

I'm actually more comfortable in a government that has different opinions on matters.

Whatever.  Watch out for the thought police on personal blogs.

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I actually watched THE WORLD CUP yesterday and that 1-0 nothing blow out game was so exciting.   But it even gets more exciting now.   USA plays Belgium and "we" are an underdog but not as bad as "we" have been in the past.  Nate Silver has "us" winning 41.8% of the time against Belgium.

The rules change in this next round.  NO TIES!!  if the score is tied at the end of 90+ minutes, 30 MORE minutes of 0-0 game play is added on in extra time. How exciting is THAT!   No sudden death. Then if the score is still tied there is a shoot-out.

IF "we" can beat Belgium then the shit hits the fan and "we" will probably play Argentina and "we" have a 20.2% chance of beating these Cup favorites.  OH - I am all over this band wagon and I don't want to be looked down upon my the snoccers (Snob - Soccer fans).  Maybe I'll bet a world cup USA tattoo.

ROOT FOR SWITZERLAND!!

Overall "we" have a 13% chance if winning the next two matches.

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OK OK - when I mention the Brewers to someone the typical comeback is "Oh, it's not the All Star Break Yet".    I even hear that on sports talk radio and some idiot "The Badger Insider" said it just the other day.  "OH, it's not the All Start Break, just wait!"

DUDE - The Brewers have played 82 games now and are one game from having the best record in the Majors.  After 80 games you really do know how your team is.  80 games does not mean they will be a .600 team at the end of the year but it does tell you that if you have played 80 games and your winning pct is .600, you got a pretty good team, you are not a BAD team.

Games above/below .500 Brewers/Cards

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Home Brew Club last night.  Some of the Sun Prairie Worthogs attended the annual HUGE home brew convention in Grand Rapids (home of 32 breweries).  One thing in the beer world that is changing drastically is the BJCP Styles.

For instance - you will no longer see Octoberfest beer.  It is no longer a style.  It's Wiesn.  In fact if you go to Germany there is no Octoberfest celebration.   There are now seven styles of IPA.  Porter, no longer English Northern and  English Southern Porter, no more Robust Porter.  Robust Porter is now American Porter.  Brown Ale is no more. There is a complete revision of European styles, particularly English, Scottish, and German styles.

The world is changing my friends.

 Brewers just don't want to stay inside the box (except for Kirby and Wisconsin Brewing  zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz,  he seriously hates home brewers and their free thinking).

The good news is that we have found a woman (or a woman found us actually) that will have perhaps 100+ pounds of various hops to harvest that we can have as a club.  YUMMY!!  You figure one ounce of hops is about $4 in a store.

Also there is insurance we can get for home brew clubs and events which we have been looking for for about a year now.

The Club purchased a water sampling kit from LaMotte and I will test Columbus water and forward the results to Water & Light for their files.  I wonder what pump we get our water from.   Some brewers in Madison keep track of what pumps they get their water  from (or actually the percentage of water from each pump) as it changes seasonally and each pump has it's own water characteristics. That seems a little anal.

I have my water report from a few years ago.  It'll be interesting to see the changes.

I actually don't use Columbus water for the most part as it's softened. Mostly reverse osmosis water from Copps but I do put in one or two filtered gallons so I need to see what sort of brewing minerals are in it such as Sodium, Calcium, Magnesium, Bicarbonate, CaCO3 and so on.

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Poker.

A friend Matt, who lives two doors away is in the World Series of Poker this week.

I was so so close to advancing to the World Series about 10 years ago. All I needed was to have a person at a table not have a better full house then I did on one of the very last hands.  Sadly, he did.

The World Series of Poker is not quite as glamorous unless you are at the final few tables it seems  :-)

sigh.
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I better get out and start roping off my spot on the parade route.  It's happening already.

Have a great weekend.

RM