A Holiday in the Making...

Although no members of the B.O.A.R.D. have been nominated to the Council of Legendary Figures just yet, plans for the Valley's first Repeal Day Celebration since 1933 are taking shape and tickets are selling rather well.
Just tonight I dropped off tickets and signs to M&M Beer and Chestnut St. Cafe. I'll get them to Erme's tomorrow. John, the signs and tickets look great!
Beers for the event will be provided through the generosity of M&M Beer, Vecenie and Erme Distributors, as well as the Dogfish Head, Erie, North Country, Victory, and Voodoo Breweries.

More to come. Stay Tuned.

Media Coverage about Repeal Day Beer Taste

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette has a small item on it's website. Check it out. It's near the bottom of the webpage.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07291/826262-389.stm

Also, here is the Press Release for anyone looking for more information on the Repeal Day event.

The "BOARD" of the Shenango Valley is happy to announce...their 2007 Charity Repeal Day Celebration with all proceeds benefiting the Shenango River Watchers.

WHAT: 1st Annual Charity Repeal Day Celebration and Beer Tasting.
WHEN: Wednesday, December 5th from 6 to 10pm
WHERE: Chestnut Street Cafe, Downtown Sharon, PA
WHY: The event will raise money for the Shenango Valley River Watchers while promoting an appreciation for fine craft beers made available through local beer distributors and microbreweries.
WHO: The BOARD (The Brotherhood Of Appreciating Repeal Day)

The history behind the BOARD...
The B.O.A.R.D. is a loosely affiliated fraternal organization founded by a small group of friends who enjoyed good beer and good times with higher a goal to make Repeal Day an annual celebration with a noble cause.

Repeal Day marks the repeal of the 18th amendment to our constitution, representing the end of a 13 yearlong ban on the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcoholic beverages in the United States. With the help of several local distributors and microbreweries, we have put together Western PA's first Repeal Day celebration since 1933. Participants will enjoy samples of a wide array of craft brews poured by experts that pride themselves on the craft. Live music, pub snacks, and a silent auction of beer paraphernalia will provide diversions for all.

The Shenango River Watchers are a non-profit watershed group founded to clean up, preserve and protect the environmental, scenic and recreational attributes of the Shenango River. For more information about the River Watchers visit their website at http://www.shenangoriverwatchers.org/.

For more information or if you are looking to purchase tickets please feel free to contact the BOARD via email at repealday@gmail.com. Or call John Mikulas (Media Contact) at 330-502-9415.

Oldest Brewery in the World

This week's brewery tour takes us to Germany. Home to the Weihenstephan Brewery which claims to be the oldest brewery in the world. It started brewing beer in 1040. I had the pleasure of tasting their German style Hefeweizen beer last weekend and really enjoyed it. Their Crystal wheat beer was the Grand Champion of the Australian International Beer Awards 2007. Check out their site. Watch the intro if you have a minute. It features some great pictures and German style beer music.

http://www.brauerei-weihenstephan.de/index.php

Beer Sighting: Our Gang's Lounge

Just want to express my endorsement of a sweet lineup of four fine beers at this Sharpsville Avenue establishment:

Left to Right from the patron end of the bar you'll find Blue Moon, Dogfish Head 60 min IPA, Stoudt's Oktoberfest, and the Heritage Alt of Erie Brewing CO...

Certainly something for everyone and all the beers appear to be moving to assure a fresh pint.

I had not been there for a while, they've installed a new smoke-eater system, and the place has an overall new look. Check it out.

Also, Repeal Day plans are solidifying... So far we have confirmed Erme's, Vecenie, and M&M Beer as supporting distributors. Our breweries consist of Dogfish Head, North Country of Slippery Rock, and Erie Brewing Company!!! Tickets are being printed and will be available soon.

Weekly Brewery Profile

In an effort to add something new and fun to the site, I am going to feature a different brewery each week. A new brewery profile will be added every Monday night.

Tonight, the blog will feature a local favorite The North County Brewing Company.

http://www.northcountrybrewing.com/welcome.htm

Located in Slippery Rock, PA. Jodi and Bob McCafferty turned the old coffin making shop into the brewery in 1998. Gregg Kristophel did a great job with the woodwork inside the building. With more than a dozen beers to choose from everyone will find something they will enjoy. Your best bet is to order the sampler. You get to taste just about everything and the staff also has a strong knowledge of their beers. I know most of the BOARD has visited the brewery at least once. I would give The North County Brewing Company 5 out of 5 kegs.

And if anyone is looking for tickets for the Repeal Day event, you can contact the BOARD at repealday@gmail.com. Thanks.

Local Beer Tournament

I haven't made it out to any local places this month but just wanted to add something to the Blog. I did, however, run across a new brew (new to me at least). I really enjoyed. It's called Yuengling Premium from the oldest brewery in the country. I've added the link to the brewery's website.

http://www.yuengling.com/index.htm

Also, last year the Washington Post ran a "March Madness" type beer tournament. I just wanted to pass along the link.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/08/AR2007030801737_pf.html

I think the BOARD would have fun running our own tournamnet sometime in the future.

Temporary Itinerary for Repeal Day

Win for Trying.

No, this is not a photo from the last B.O.A.R.D. Meeting. This is the staff of the Union Brewing Company of Sharon, Circa. 1905, who proudly produced 50,000 barrels of their ales and lagers annually. Most of these guys would have lost their jobs when prohibition hit in the following decade.

Down on Chestnut St. there is work underway on a new 6-pack shop that is due to open soon.

We will host our October meeting there on Thursday the 18th.