What beer will you choose to toast the Super Bowl? - New York Giants Football Fan Center - NJ.com

Go here and tell The Star Ledger what beer you'll be drinking on Super Bowl Sunday!

What beer will you choose to toast the Super Bowl? - New York Giants Football Fan Center - NJ.com

Burn Awareness Week

This post is about burns, not beer. Piggy-backing off my last entry, and being fortunate enough to have Erin Varga (Hero Jimmy D'Heron's daughter) send me the information, I thought I'd share it.

Makes sense.

Read and learn.

Burn Awareness Week
February 3 - 9, 2008
Preventing Gasoline Burns

www.burnawarenessweek.org
www.ameriburn.org
www.burnsurvivor.com

"Burns and fires are the leading cause of accidental death in the home for children 14 and under and the third leading cause of accidental death for adults."
www.burnsurvivor.com

"Burns are one of the most expensive catastrophic injuries to treat. For example, a burn of 30% of total body area can cost as much as $200,000 in initial hospitalization costs and for physicians fees. For extensive burns, there are additional significant costs which will include costs for repeat admission for reconstruction and for rehabilitation."
www.burnsurvivor.com

Let's all learn more so we can help prevent burn injuries, & please feel free to share with your address book! Remember, burns can happen to anyone at any time.

In good health,
Erin

Jimmy D 2008

Oops! They Did It Again!

Th 3rd Annual Jimmy D LoveFest was everything it was cracked up to be. The Harvest Moon Brewpub in New Brunswick was--once again--wall-to-wall with supporters of hero Jimmy D'Heron and his brothers in arms. The cold temperatures did not negatively impact attendance, and the heated outside tent may have been warmer at times than the interior of The Moon, which had to keep its doors open to accommodate the throngs who came to pay their respects to the fallen New Brunswick firefighter who paid the supreme sacrifice by single-handedly saving fifteen people from a fiery death four years ago.

As predicted, space inside the Moon was at a premium as Jimmy D's Firehouse Red Ale and other fine Harvest Moon brews flowed steadily to slake the thirsts of those who came to pay tribute. The Middlesex County Pipes and Drum Corps regaled the crowd with musical favorites and patriotic tunes to honor Jimmy D, his fellow firefighters and those who perform so nobly in the service of the nation's military.

Again, Matt McCord's brew served as a lubricant, not to drunkenness, but to fund the Connecticut Children's Burn Center, one of Jimmy D'Heron's favorite charities. Representatives of the Burn Center were on hand to witness the outpouring of love, respect and emotion that accompanies this annual George St. event.

It's truly a worthwhile effort which brings folks together from across the state to honor a hero's memory.

The 2008 version of Jimmy D's Firehouse Red was a tad different from past versions, exhibiting a maltier, sweeter character with a reduced hop presence. An infusion of Crystal malts in this year's edition made for a very drinkable, very satisfying brew
which had the heads of beer cognoscenti like Kevin Trayner nodding in appreciation. And with a huge portion of the proceeds going to that Burn Center, the quaffing not only tasted good, but served a good cause. More than $37,000 had been generated for the Burn Center prior to 2008, and it appeared that the $40,000 mark would be surpassed by day's end.

If you missed today's gala, you still have a chance to quaff for the common good. To the credit of the Moon's ownership, Firehouse Red is available year-round, and the donations to the Burn Center continue apace throughout the year.

Moon Shots

Moon over Lambeau

See you at The Moon!

January 18, 2008

By Kurt Epps

 

Yeah, I know the Giants and the Packers are playing Sunday to see who goes to the big dance. But this time Sunday (1:45 PM), I'll be sidling up to the mahogany bar at the Harvest Moon Brewpub in New Brunswick, NJ raising a glass of Firehouse Red to a true American Hero—Jimmy D'Heron. If you don't know who or what I'm talking about, you need to do two things. First, Google Jimmy D, Firehouse Red and Harvest Moon. Then just scurry on down to the George Street establishment on Sunday, January 20 sometime after the noon hour.

Once there, pick a spot against the wall or the bar (the bar is better) and watch what happens. Look for me and we'll clink glasses to a guy who gave his life to save fifteen other common folks like us from a house fire. You'll feel good knowing there were—and still are-- guys like Jimmy D in every firehouse across the fruited plain. And every pint sends a sizable donation to one of Jimmy's favorite programs—a Burn Center for kids.

It's a great way to spend your beer bucks. And though I can't predict who'll win the NFC Championship, I can say with certainty that plenty of burned kids will win big time if you're there. If you're lucky, you may get a chance to chat with Jimmy D's sparkplug daughter Erin Varga. One of the reasons I go is to get in a picture with her. If I'm lucky enough this year, I'll post such a photo on this blog when it's all over.

Big time kudos are due to the Moon's owners who have instituted and kept up this great tradition for a regular guy who made the supreme sacrifice for his fellow human beings.

I'm sure the Moon will have Jints/Packers on somewhere anyway. The bagpipes will add a nice touch to the background, too. Who knows/ maybe your raised glass will be toasting a Big Blue TD or a Brett Favre toss simultaneously.

See you then! And please drink responsibly.

A Christmas Eve Proposal

The PubScout has a suggestion for all those who love good beer and the special feelings Christmastide brings.

Gather your family around the living room or den. Their ages do not matter. Grab a bottle of Troeg's Mad Elf and have the best reader in the room read this poem aloud.

(If that's you, read  between sips.)

Merry Christmas!

Night Before Christmas

Joe Skelly’s I P(olitical)A

By Kurt Epps

 

Beer has a way of breaking down barriers between people, even if the barriers aren't really anything more significant than politics or religion. Sure, you can get into some heated arguments about politics and religion at the bar over a few brews, but only if the brews aren't the focus of the evening, which is the case with all those canoe beers.

But real beer drinkers don't usually drink canoe beers, so politics and religion are usually ancillary topics that really matter very little. Joe Skelly, a real beer drinker, can often be found barside at Uno's Grill and Brewery in Metuchen, where his favorite Mike Sella brew is the Porter. Between sips, he's usually blowing everyone away at national trivia, because the guy's a virtual repository of knowledge (which makes his liberal politics even harder to comprehend).

I mean, as fellow Democrats, we should be seeing eye-to-eye on most issues political. The problem is that I'm a conservative Democrat (OK, a staunch conservative Democrat) who voted for Reagan (a former Democrat) and who remembers when my party was the party of the workingman. Today, it seems to be the party of those who won't work, which is why my vote in the last two presidential elections went to neither Bush nor Kerry nor Gore. My vote went to a guy whose political stance was about five hundred yards to the right of The Minutemen of the American Revolution. I didn't even care that he wasn't running.

But this column is about beer, not politics. In fact, it's about Joe Skelly's beer. You never really know a guy until you drink his beer, and I'd always thought Joe was a great guy. But after downing his 2007 Homebrewed IPA, I've had to kick my assessment of him up a notch.

I'm a big fan of IPA's. I love the hops and the way the beer goes with almost every food I enjoy. Uno's puts one out that is probably my favorite year-round brew—Ike's IPA. You won't get a better meal match than Uno's Steak or Shrimp Quesadilla and an Ike's.

Unless, that is, Joe Skelly's IPA is available. Joe was kind enough to bring in a sample for me after our last beer dinner at Uno's as a Christmas present. That's the kind of guy Joe is. Even after suffering through my jokes and schtick, he had enough Christmas spirit left to give me a present.

Housed in a well-sealed plastic bottle with a hot pink label (Joe is a liberal Democrat after all) I pulled out the brew to enjoy my Friday night at home. I confess that I wasn't expecting much. Liberal Democrats usually hold Natty Light in high regard. But this was Joe Skelly, a real beer drinker, so as I poured the brew into my brand new, handy-dandy Sam Adams glass, I hadn't lost all hope. The question was, "Would a real beer drinker be able to make a real beer that was drinkable?"

Damned right, he would. This was very delightful, somewhat different example of the style. First look was that the beer was a tad darker in color than many IPA's. Its clear, dark amber was appealing to the eye in a curious way. First taste revealed that the hops were subdued more than those of the typical eye-popping IPA. Mouth-feel was extremely smooth, again somewhat atypical for the style. There was an unusual, and equally subtle, sweetness that was very pleasant, and the finish was clean. I'm guessing that the very slight sweetness was a product of the malts Joe used, but he didn't tell me what went into his creation.

I enjoyed it so much that I finished the entire quart after dinner. It must not have been exceptionally high in alcohol content either, because even after the quart was drained, I felt no effects. That's a good thing.

In sum, Joe Skelly turned out a damned fine brew, and if Uno's brewer Mike Sella ever organizes a homebrew tasting at Uno's, he should make sure Joe's IPA is entered. If a liberal Democrat can make a beer worthy of the homebrewing Minutemen of the American Revolution, I can ignore his politics.

Provided, of course, that he sends me another quart.