Homebrew Demonstration by Austin Homebrew Supply

Our poker games rarely get more than a few guys ready to give us their money at the table. But a good buddy brews his own beer and his poker games are packed with guys eager to drain the latest keg in a converted refrigerator in the garage. This buddy makes a weekly pilgrimage to Austin Homebrew Supply on Burnet Rd. in Austin.

JB at Austin Homebrew Supply is the king of homebrew in Central Texas - part bartender, part connoisseur, and all mad scientist, JB will bring his beer wisdom and beer making stuff to the Featured Event Stage of the Texas Testosterone Festival to demonstrate how homebrewing is done for the novices, and how it can be perfected for the experts.

Bring your notepads, questions, and palate to The Texas Testosterone Festival Saturday August 15 and show up when the doors open at 10:00 AM for your own beer pilgrimage. And quick note - the Cash Bar, presented by DWIDude.com, will be open and serving when the Festival doors open - so you can get in the… mood.

Beer Guru on… Kegerator.com

Halfway through grilling season we start to get bored of the tools on hand and begin looking around for ways to accessorize. Since the grill has what it needs we shift our focus to what goes with the grill - beer. Kegerator.com has a whole gamut of unique and interesting tools for serving beer, not least of which is their namesake Kegerator, a miniature refridgerator with a tap so you can slip a keg in and have draft beer.

We asked Resident Beer Guru Patrick Wardrop to look through Kegerator’s offerings and pick out the three things he puts at the top of his wish list.

1. Beer Tube

I’ve never seen one of these before. What a great new way to serve beer. This tube is 100 ounces and keeps the beer inside cold while it sits on the table waiting to be tapped. It would compliment a poker game nicely as long as you position the flop just right. The Beer Tube would require less trips to the tap during a game, and that helps my ROI. At less than $100 if you catch it on sale it should pay for itself within a couple showdowns at the river.

2. Chalkboard Beer Tap Handle

As a homebrewer, I’m always changing up my kegs and, let’s just say that sometimes, after a few beers, my buddies will ask what beer they’ve been drinking has been and, lo and behold, I can’t remember my own name, let alone what’s in my mug. The chalkboard beer tap handle is a cool way to write and remember what’s coming out the tap right below. This would be nice, makes it easy to switch up a keg too.

3. Beer Volume and Temperature Monitor

At less than $10, it’s novel and cheap as well as one of those accessories one might actually need at some point. When friends are coming over and that keg has been in there for a few weeks it’s easy to forget just how much has been drained. This strip monitors what temperature the beer is inside as well as how much is left. Unless you have see-through kegs, you’ll need this. And usually you’ll need it at exactly the wrong moment.

DWI Defense Guru on… Getting Pulled Over

DWI Defense Guru the DWIDude.com (Jamie Balagia) answers some of our questions about how we can judge our level of intoxication without the fancy equipment, what happens when we get pulled over, and what our good buddies the cops are looking for when they pull us over. We drink responsibly when we’re out and we’re planning on driving but we have put DWIDude.com’s phone number in our car and our cell phone anyway. (512) 278-0935

1.How do I know if my blood alcohol level is at or above .08?

DWIDude.com:One way is to go to our website and on the left hand side of the Home Page is a BAC calculator.  The instructions are on the page that you will be taken to once you click on the link.  This is a rudimentary calculation like the police and prosecutors use but it is a close approximation.  For a much better predictor you would have to do a drinking simulation at my office while we drew blood and took breath samples at the same time.  Even then there are deviations that would apply to give a different result than your true BAC.  Not much of answer is it?  That’s because every individual changes in their absorption and elimination factors over a single drinking period and from one drinking period to the next.

A safe estimation is to figure that a “normal”  160 pound male absorbs about 0.020 per 12 ounce beer (Bud, Miller, Coors) and eliminates about 0.015 per hour.  So after drinking one beer per hour an increase in BAC of 0.005 would occur since you are absorbing and eliminating at the same time.  If you increase the amount absorbed then the BAC would be higher since usually the elimination rate stays constant.  (Except that in heavy alcohol dosing situations without eating or an extreme alcoholic person at a high level of intoxication can cause the liver to excrete an enzyme that supercharges the elimination rate.)  A simple example is if you drink three beers per hour (0.06 per hour) for three hours (0.06 x 3 = 0.18) and you eliminate the 0.015 over the three hours (0.015 x 3 = 0.045) you would be at a 0.135 (0.18 - 0.045 = 0.135) and you are going to jail!

2.What are my rights if I am pulled over by the DWI COPS?

DWIDude.com: You have the right to remain silent. Be polite but invoke your right to remain silent, you don’t have to answer any questions.

You have the right to refuse the SFST’s (Standardized Field Sobriety Tests)- the walk and turn, the one leg stand, and the HGN (eye test). You have the right to refuse the breath test! Don’t blow in any machines. You should have the right to leave unless they tell you are under arrest or being detained and then you should insist on having me there as your right to an attorney attached in that circumstance.

3. Why should I refuse the breath test?

DWIDude.com: A - You are already under arrest if you are being asked to blow into the Intoxilyzer 5000.  They do not “un-arrest” you if you blow under a .08

B - How do you know if the reading on the machine you are blowing into is accurate?  Is it error proof? Is it calibrated correctly, is the operator using the machine correctly?  Is the machine detecting other things in your body besides alcohol that is contributing to the “alcohol” reading (yeast, ketones, other interferents, etc.– see the “Intoxilyzer 5000″ section of our website for other factors that may affect a breath test read out).

C - The State gets a “free” expert witness at trial and you may have to hire your own expert at your expense to counter his “bad science”.

4. What are the cops looking for to indicate a person is driving while intoxicated?

DWIDude.com: During the VIM (vehicle in motion) portion of the investigation the officer is watching the vehicle for certain clues to investigate further. The list of clues, or cues, as originally published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is as follows:

Turning with a wide radius
Straddling the center or lane marker line
Appearing to be drunk
Almost striking an object or vehicle
Weaving
Driving on other than designated roadway
Swerving
Slow speed (driving 10 mph or more UNDER the speed limit)
Stopping, without cause, in the traffic lane
Following too closely
Drifting
Tires on center or lane marker
Braking erratically
Driving into opposing or crossing traffic
Signaling inconsistent with driving actions
Slow response to traffic signs
Stopping inappropriately (other than in traffic lane)

You will notice that “speeding” is not one of the listed cues, nor is defective tail lights or license plate lights. In other words, many DWI investigations begin with non-DWI traffic stops.  The DWI investigation then begins due to issues that begin during the Personal Contact phase of the stop. (see the FAQ page of our website to learn what the cops have been trained to look for during phase 2 and phase 3). Our office has enjoyed great success in DWI trials during cross examination by showing that there were no “drunk driving” facts in the case. Many officers have spread the word that it is better to follow the potential “DWI victim” for some distance in order to observe traffic violations that are on the list.  This allows the testifying officer to beef up the probable cause to make and support the actual DWI arrest. Think of thousands of traffic violations that occur each and every day in your city. Add in the odor of an alcoholic beverage and you have the average “Drunk Driving” arrest.

Breweries Still Can’t Sell Us Beer - Update

 

We’re not fans of politics, just fans of beer. When someone says “no beer for you” we get hostile and uppity. We don’t know the details, but the I Love Beer blog does. Click here for an update on what’s going on with Texas breweries’ attempt to get permission to sell beer. Looks like the compromise limits us to two cases of beer on our way out of a “brewery tour.”

Officer, that’s as much as we limit ourselves to.

Seems we can’t drink the beer at the brewery, however, which kind of defeats the purpose.

Oh well. Saves us calling DWIDude.com on our way home. Just… in… case. (Save Jamie Balagia’s phone number to your cell phone (512) 278-0935 in the Austin area or (210) 394-3833 in the San Antonio area.

Update 5/24: Beer bill is bumped.

Texas Microbreweries Want to Legalize Selling their Beer

We’ve been fans of the I Love Beer blog for a number of months now and we’re thankful to them for keeping up with what’s going on between the Texas microbreweries and the state government in their attempts to legalize selling beer at the site of their breweries. Check out their posts for the details but if you keep your eyes peeled for legislative bill HB 2094, be prepared to have a few more choices where to go to drink your beer.

Mmmmm… beer.

1 too many?…or just enough?

“A man upset that a North Austin bar wouldn’t serve him beer rammed his SUV into the building Thursday night, Austin police say.”–keyetv.com

We’ve all been in that spot. You’re standing at the bar, money out, trying to wave down the bartender. Meanwhile he serves every attractive and semi-attractive woman at the bar first. And, you think to yourself, maybe if I just bring my SUV into the bar, that will get this guy’s attention…

Before he crashed his truck into the bar, he first broke down the front doors. Jeez. Really? How do you break down the doors of a bar unless you’re weilding a sledgehammer or…you’re driving a truck? Seems like at that point you’ve reached your limit. If you’re not asleep from too much beer by the point where you single-handedly bust down a door (sans sledgehammer and truck), you pretty much deserve to drink yourself into AA.

Health Guru on… Bad Bosses, Beer, and Being the Best

Resident Health Guru Devon Hornby responds to our questions about bad bosses, beer, and Austin’s status as the #7 best city in the United States for men.

1. WebMD writes a bad boss can cause heart disease. The staff here at The Texas Testosterone Festival has a terrible boss but it’s going to be such a great event and the job market is so bad right now they have no choice but to stay and put up with the bull. Since they are being worked to the bone every day and they are unable to escape the oppressive cubicles in which they are forced to work for long enough to have any significant amount of exercise - what’s the best way for them to prevent heart attacks so they don’t die before their usefulness has been fully realized?

Devon: There is no doubt, stress kills, but stress is in the eye of the beholder. We can do very little to reduce the external causes of stress (i.e. shoot your boss) but we can change the way we feel about it and react. So your boss is an a**hole (no offense to the bright and inspiring leadership at the TTF) blow off his tirades and relax, just do your job and enjoy it. Learning how to breathe deep and consequently lessening the effects of stress on the body is a strategy every man should know, if you plan on surviving marriage or a long term relationship.

2. Men’s Fitness recently wrote of 5 beers as the most potent, spiciest, most un-beerlike, beer with a kick, and just plain unique. Our question to you is - what’s the beer we should feel most unguilty about drinking this new year?

Devon: Guilt is more likely to cause you health problems then a good beer. Seriously, relax and enjoy your favorite. I prefer Guiness which does rate as a healthier beer. It is low carb and actually has alcohol unlike most low carb beers which do not really have the desired effect. Guiness is also filling, a meal actually.

3. Men’s Health Magazine recently wrote Austin is the #7 best city for men in the US to live. Other Texas cities making the list are Lubbock 24th, Arlington 30th, Fort Worth 33rd, Houston 41st, San Antonio 52nd, El Paso 55th, Dallas 59th, and Corpus Christi a buoyant 85th. What is it about the environment in Austin that makes it such a healthy city to live in?

Devon: Well, I looked over the article. They weren’t exactly forthcoming about their criteria, but…Hell yeah, Austin is a great place to live if you have a heart beat, and enjoy it. What makes Austin healthy? I would say the fact that people here actually get off their butts and do stuff is probably one of the main reasons. Beyond that look at the relatively high income we enjoy, those of us who do not work for the festival that is. Great weather, low pollution, low crime, and fun stuff to do are also big factors. Let’s face it though Austin is healthy because we work and play to stay that way. Austin is great because we are, dang it.

Devon Hornby has been studying and practicing the healing and martial arts for most of his life. His is particularly interested in traditional methods of maintaining and improving men’s health. He is director of Tao Health Center in Austin, Texas. Go to TaoHealthCenter.com for more information. Email us your questions for Devon at info@texastestosteronefestival.com or directly to Devon at devon@taohealthcenter.com.

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