Beer and Football

"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer."
Frank Zappa

The hop harvest is in full swing at the Beerme residence! I picked the US Goldings and most of the Hallertau hops yesterday and set them to dry in my garage. The weather has been gloomy, cool and wet here in Lower Michigan for at least two weeks, now, and it doesn't look to be getting any better anytime soon. I figured it was time. I think I was a little late on picking the Hallertau hops, because they were browner, on whole, than I wanted. I got a pitiful yiels on both of these plants, though.

Today I will pick the rest of the Hallertau and try to get all of the Cascades picked, too. The Nugget hops will be fine for another week, I think. I hope to get a good amount of Cascade for some future IPAs and Bitters. They do smell good!

After the hop harvest is done for the day, I plan on watching the Lions/Bears game. Yesterday was a fine one for Michigan college football, as both UM and MSU won their games. UM's defeat of the "Crying Irish" was particularly fine! Coach Weiss was very gracious in defeat, though, so I shouldn't really use that moniker, but what the hell. The win should place Michigan in the top five next week! Look out Ohio State!

In a year where all of Michigan's sports teams have excelled, it is now the Lions' turn to step up. The Pistons, Tigers and Red Wings all held the best records in their respective sports for most if not the entire seasons-though losing in the playoffs has been another common characteristic that may bode ill for the Tigers. Now let's see if the Lions have improved enough to make the playoffs this year. Should be interesting!

Hey, I just noticed that hop cones are shaped a little like footballs...