With the summer solstice in the month of June, our longest day of the year will be upon us on June, 21st. The heat is already being felt, and if you haven’t began your batch of summer beer you need to get started. 

 

             The Hefeweizen is a popular summer beer, and if you brew now, it will be drink-ready by July! Hefeweizen was invented by the southern Germans a very long time ago. It uses wheat in place of barley, and the main flavor ingredient is the yeast! This yeast strain gives wonderful aromas and light flavors of bananas and clove. Contrary to popular practice, placing a lemon or orange slice in the beer actually takes away from the natural flavor. It is meant to be enjoyed cloudy, (yeast residual) and that’s where the best flavor will be enjoyed from.

 

             Right now, you can get some of your own Hefeweizen for the summer heat by calling : 688-7770, or emailing: info@winestock-online.com. 1 batch of Hefeweizen yields 5 gallons of beer, or 48, 12 oz. bottles.

                

                 Steve Edwards, nationally recognized fitness expert, has recently declared that microbrews are a much more healthy drink for you than many “sport drinks” on the market! The reason is the same as I’ve been touting about to all of you for months now. Microbrews are made using quality ingredients of barley/wheat, hops, yeast, and water. The “yellow fizzies” contain rice, corn, and other color and flavor additives. Microbrews will usually have 4 times as much electrolytes and twice as much protein than the cheap light beers. To read more about it, please visit this link: Steve Edwards beer info. There is some great info on the health benefits/drawbacks of different alcoholic beverages.

 

                

 

                 According to information compiled to realbeer.com, the U.S. beer market is one that is in excess of $100 billion dollars. Each year the craft brewers are taking a bigger portion of the industry that was once totally controlled by the “kings of beer”. They have begun to make an impression on the beer consumers of the country.

 

         I am not so much happy for the downfall in business for the large conglomerates, but rather happy for the fact that more Americans are demanding quality. Between 2007 and 2008, there was a 5.8% increase in volume for craft brewers! Finally, there seems to be some kind of recognition on behalf of the beer drinkers of the world to not buy the “little yellow fizzies” that have ruled the Earth up until now.

 

 

 

                 I’m calling for a boycott on a certain pizza maker. I won’t outright say the name...but it rhymes with: Meatsa Shut. Usually, pizza and beer accompany one another, and I thought this would be an entertaining story that everyone could appreciate.

 

           Recently, I was enjoying a very lazy afternoon with my better half. Seeing as how I had succumb to an attack of lethargy, I thought it prudent to order a pizza to subdue the hunger I felt. Easier said than done, my friends. I proceeded to make a call to my local “Meatsa Shut” establishment, and speak with a very exuberant young lady who seemed very eager to take my order.

 

           After being given the time span of about 16 seconds to comprehend the 9 specials they had, I went ahead with my order for two. It was AMAZING! I was placed on hold at least 6 times while the novice order-taker asked a superior if I could be given what I wanted. (Apparently, there’s some kind of “Meatsa Shut” policy against satisfying their patrons.) I honestly felt bad for the girl after she had to turn me down on order #4. She was trying very hard to stay positive and cheerful, and she did a very good job at it. I can only surmise that there was some kind of electro-shock device attached to the seat of her chair that would send a current through her anytime she sounded upset.

 

           So, I finally placed an order that she liked, and was given authorization to pay them for food. I was given the total of $46.95 for a medium pizza and some pasta...I told her I had to retract that order seeing as how I wanted to be able to put gas in my car for the rest of the week. She giggled thinking that I was joking, and then we renegotiated an order that was acceptable. At one point during our conversation, I asked her: “So you mean if I’m willing to pay you extra, you can’t put ONE MORE topping on that pizza?”  The answer: “NO, sorry it doesn’t come that way.”

 

           Now, if someone was asking me to pay me MORE, and just throw it in a box for delivery, I don’t see where the problem is. “Meatsa Shut” does see a problem with that, and will not accept ANY customers getting used to it! During this entire phone call, the charming Merrissa was giggling at the conversation every time I was placed on hold or denied the chance at nourishing our bodies with their food.

 

                  

            To make a long story longer, I got into some kind of query with the girl about their hot wings, and then finally, finally settled on an order that I could both eat...and afford. At the end of the call, the young lady told me that the order would be arriving 45-50 minutes later. My stomach boomed in dissatisfaction, but I was a broken man at that point and nicely agreed to wait. I got off the phone and looked at my call timer. Twelve minutes and two seconds. While Merrissa used her powers of positivity and laughed her way through it, I had to literally take a minute to comprehend that it actually took that long to order a pizza! I sat in luxurious silence (other than Merrissa’s laughing) and looked forward to the meal.

 

           Sitting on the couch, I felt like a little boy on Christmas Day when the delivery boy arrived 58 MINUTES LATER! I dashed to meet him at the gate for the food. The boy gave me a total of $33.18. I told him that I would give him $40.00, hopefully to get his mathematical wheels turning BEFORE he tried to hand me the food. He actually asked me, “Do you want change?” I don’t know about any of you...but I can’t imagine tipping a delivery driver $6.82. I nicely replied: “Yes”. He added: “Um, we don’t carry coins, so this is as much as I can give you…” as he handed me back $6. I’ll just let you all read that twice, because I couldn’t believe it either.

 

           When I had my food in-hand, and began retreating towards my house, I remembered that I was out of parmesan cheese. I quickly told him: “Oh, yeah...can I please have some cheese?” He looked as if though I gave him an algebraic equation to work out and then replied, “Oh, sorry. You have to request it now when you order...we don’t carry any with us…”  I then accepted the final disappointment of the evening and went inside to eat. When I finally sat down, I realized that not only did I have to fight for what I wanted to eat...I had to wait 70.2 minutes to receive it (including the ordering time) and pay over $30 dollars for all of it!

 

           Ladies and gentlemen, the world is a changing...take comfort in the fact that there are still people out there (such as myself) who care about customer satisfaction. This makes for an entertaining story, but please remember that you should get what you want...especially if it has to do with food or drink.

 

Cheers,