Tag: COVID19

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King Postponed

Thanks to the stupid unvaccinated we are still not out of the woods, so it is no surprise that this happened…

But fear not because of these two bits of news from King Harbor Brewing…

“First, while the anniversary party may be postponed, our special anniversary beers are not. We’re so stoked to share the brews we’ve been cooking up behind the scenes with some of our friends/collaborators. Keep an eye out for those special releases in the weeks to come!

And secondly, we’ll be offering some “Almost Anniversary” packages that’ll include KHBC merch and a 4-pack of exclusive beers. More details to come, but don’t sleep on these packages cos they’re sure to go quick!”

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Parosmia

Yikes! My aroma receptors are not the best in the world but boy would I miss the use of my middling nose because so much of beer is based around that aroma experience. And then to add insult to injury, not only would your nose be basically turned off, it could then have the dial turned to “foul odors”?

If there are beer fans out there not willing to get the vaccine, the chance that this could happen should send you sprinting to the nearest pharmacy.

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Through Dec. 31

Per the Los Angeles Times, California will continue to allow sidewalk alcohol through the end of 2021.

You can read the full story HERE.

But why is this important?

Because, unfortunately, this may not be the last time a pandemic wreaks havoc. Variants abound as I type this and the US probably won’t ever reach true herd immunity due to laggard states.

Since California is a tourist destination, what are temporary work arounds, will need to be permanent options for visitors and to make safe the restaurant workers that remain.

I do think that more imaginative outdoor dining set-ups can be found but without the certainty that they willbe viable in the future means that many may be slapdash as opposed to creative.

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Festivals are Back

Even the most casual of beer fans has probably noticed that a few beer festivals have started to make their way onto calendars.

That means that I will start posting about the events that look to be worthy of the entrance fee.

It does not mean that I know of their Covid precautions however. If I find any FAQs, I will point then out. I will endeavor to add more information than normal as we transition back to enjoying beer from a taster glass in a park.

Having just recently achieved fully vaccinated status, I am just now dipping my toe into travel plans and if there is a movie I want to see after a year plus hiatus from being inside an auditorium. Which means, I am still hesitant about bring around a beer-load of people, even if outside.

Take care out there.

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Peel the Label – Social Media Defiance

I waited a couple days to ruminate before wading into the “I’m Right, You’re Wrong” Covid wars but felt that I should add my two cents in for a middle perspective.

The topic, you may ask, is posting on social media that you are going to open your brewery/restaurant despite explicit orders not to. Now I truly empathize with, in this case, Pedals & Pints Brewery up in the Thousand Oaks area. They grand opened a few days before California shut down dining back in March. That sucks. They seem to care about their employees and they say they will be stringent in cleaning, though you could clean every surface and one sick person without a mask will undo all the scrubbing.

They have been whipsawed by government at every label and received little to no actual help. Again, that sucks. I have railed against the haphazard, whatever is easiest approach multiple times on this blog that Newsom has decreed.

But, life is about timing and boy did Pedal & Pints not factor that in. You simply cannot say no when patients are being cared for in a hospital gift shop. Yup, that happened. Might still be happening. You simply cannot say no when each day brings new records for positive Covid cases. It sucks but all you are doing is asking the government to shut you down and fine you. And, you are dividing potential customers into the I don’t care about rules camp and the I ain’t gonna visit that hot zone camp.

I sure as heck ain’t gonna go there. It may be outside dining but I bet the air under that tent will have some viral component because people will be sitting there for long periods of time without masks. And the people there will be the Covid deniers / chin diaper mask brigade.

You just have to wait until the vaccine gets out there more and slowly open back up without posting it almost over the socials. It’s the right thing to do even though the government hasn’t done right by you.

Peel the Label is an infrequent series with no photos or links. Just opinion.

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The Firkin for November 2020

10pm. 10 fucking pm. Our French Laundry Governor might drink, might be taking scads of donations from the wine industry but damn if he isn’t a Prohibitionist. Citing “inebriation”, he has instituted a curfew. But like most parents isn’t thinking about anything other than being strict.

What policeman is going to cite me for being outside at 10pm? None. Because they want to cite businesses. Not individuals. I see more people in mask demanded Glendale wearing them on their chin or holding them in their hand at 1pm. How does sending people home at 10pm going to help that? How is 10pm going to stop idiots from gathering and passing the virus on Thanksgiving?

The answer is that it won’t. Newsom lost my vote by stranding small business when they needed help and my guess is that the alcohol industry ain’t gonna give much campaign funding to someone who thinks that 10pm is going to stop the virus.

Alcohol is not the problem. Get that through your slicked back hair. The problem revolves around gatherings and masks. It could be a teetotaling book club or a church or me on my off drinking day. Time of day doesn’t enter it to it and you are a moron if you think it does.

Or you can’t “cancel” Thanksgiving so you shift the blame to food and drink.

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Happy Thanksgiving

Patience. We are close to a vaccine. So please do not spread the virus at literally the second to last holiday of the year just to eat turkey next to a cousin who you only see once a year. Make this year a Zoom-sgiving. Stay safe and enjoy your beer in your holiday bubble so next year can be a return to normal.

Cheers!

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Generalizations from Data

When I heard that a large number of Covid19 cases were found to stem from the Sturgis Motorcycle rally, it made intuitive sense. Bunch of people without masks gathering in a large group equals outbreak. But turns out that the numbers were based not on actual counted cases since the US is not a leader in contact tracing but on math and statistics which in this case were not telling the full story.

Talk about beer, I hear you yelling, well I will. First though, read THIS

We and our government need to realize, truly, the danger of this virus and how it is transmitted and tailor our responses to less general categories. I have said it before but Shop A might be home to multiple cases and Shop B might have zero. Shop A might be considered safe and Shop B might not be. The flawed thinking that bars and taprooms are too dangerous is troubling because it means that the virus will have free rein elsewhere.

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The Firkin for June 2020

I have never been able to work a yo-yo but governors of states these days seem to be masters of it.

California Governor Gavin Newsom took away the bar opening rule practically minutes after giving it the OK. I will frame this by saying that I am totally down with the lockdown. We should totally be following the New Zealand model and we could be in stadiums watching sports by now. But we are in full yo-yo mode. Opening for Memorial Day, then reeling it back in after cases spike three weeks later.

I will also add that I am in no damn hurry to go back and sit in a bar or taproom but I do feel that I am being yanked around when I can go into a bottle shoppe for the first time in months and buy (after being temperature gunned) local beers. But the very next day, they had to shut.

If I, the customer felt yanked around, imagine the person who runs the store. They redesigned their store. Bought sanitizer. Stressed. Bought the damn temp guns to abide by the law. Now, they are shut again despite following all the rules. They spent time and money and it is now earning them nada.

Now, these places could just keep operating in the hope that enforcement is as up and down as the open and close orders, but why are we punishing the good actors, the ones who are serious about this process? Or I guess just go back into restaurant mode which is apparently A-OK because we all know forcing a food order makes the same space safer.

Here is what needs to happen. Pay people. Help people. We need masks on and social distancing but it can be done without destroying the entire economy or dicking small business owners. That means that the government has to not expect ANY taxes from all of the businesses that they are shutting down, then expecting to open after spending their own money, then shutting again.

We need clear rules and we need to hear sorry from the government for the screw ups. Otherwise, the dumb people are going to freak out. More on that in a day or two.

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Review- All Together / Frogtown via Other Half

I have seen some All Together cans hitting the market but I went with the one that would deliver to me. Mostly because I wanted to test how it worked. So without ado, how did Frogtown Brewing do with the Other Half recipe…

.. this is quite the strange beer. The initial aroma was a weird mix of menthol and mint. I thought, at first, that something was amiss. But as the beer warmed up, the gentle palate brushing bitterness kicked in and some fruit punch notes started to come into play. I am going to let my other can sit a bit and see if time is needed for the flavors to come together.