Cap and Trade - 3rd Annual Bootlegger's Bliss (Update)...

"Live without dead time."
—graffiti, Paris, May 1968

Five weeks and counting down...

Looks like some folks have been busy at the brew kettle lately. Nice. My turn comes this Saturday, when I plan to bring together the necessary elements and ingredients to produce what I trust will become a nice barleywine. That's the plan right now, but I may change my mind after a visit to myLHBS this evening to wrangle supplies. (If you dwell in the DC-metro area, Derek of myLHBS is the man to see for all your brewing needs, including help with recipes and techniques.)

Okay, here’s where things stand on the Bootlegger's Bliss, layed out in order of importance.

First, registration. If you're coming to this little shindig, please do me the courtesy of telling me so now in an email:

BBpotlatch AT gmail DOT com¹

I'll reply back next week with all the details I'd rather not make public. Just a caveat: those who don't respond but plan on showing up risk missing out on a nice bit of largesse to be bestowed (limited basis) on the day of the event. You don't have to get all effusive with the prose in your email, but if you want to mention the style of beer and the type of food you plan to bring, along with who will accompany you, well, that's always welcome dope.

Next up, I’ve got two possible venues from which to choose, both in Maryland and both within an hour of DC. One is last year’s locale, a good one, to be sure, since it was fun for novice and vet alike, and an appropriated pavilion near the action was like a gift from Agathodaemon himself. The other potential venue is a well-known riding mecca, vast and sprawling in comparison, for which I’ve enlisted the help of one Jon Baler in isolating a nice 10- to 12-mile loop. Though the weather this weekend doesn't look promising, I hope to get out on Sunday and scout the route at venue option 2, then make a decision before Monday rolls around.

Lastly, the new Bliss artwork is underway. I’ve got several ideas, one of which is much further along in the execution than the others, but all are fair game at this point. Hope to have an inked, scanned image ready by Sunday evening. If successful, I’ll post a detail of it here. If unsuccessful, blame the beer.

That’s it for now. Happy brewing!

Photo credits: Pic 1, DC Tony; Pic 2, Alexafur; Pic 3, RickyD. Bottom pic is of Derek from myLHBS.

1. In case it isn't immediately clear, when drafting the email, please replace the "AT" with an at sign, and the "DOT" with a dot like the one at the end of this sentence. Capisci?