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Priscilla and I are really looking forward to attending our first National Homebrewers Conference in a couple of weeks. RCB has a group of about 10 or 12 attending, ASS has a bunch and now 2 from Auburn. There are lots of other brewers from the mid-south attending, and I’m sure we’ll have a blast. I’m taking 5 kegs to include in RCB’s Club Night booth. We should have about 40 kegs total. We’ll be sending the kids off to visit their grandparents/aunt, unlce and cousins on Tuesday, going up to Cincinnati on Wednesday in time for the Zinzinnati Pub Crawl, where:

Participants will have the opportunity to explore Hofbrauhaus Newport , the first authentic Hofbrauhaus in America. There they can drink liters of German beers made in accordance with the Reinheitsgebot, eat the best pretzels in town, or seize the opportunity to dance on tables to an oompah band. The pub crawl will also visit the Newport’s other beer attraction, the Beer Sellar on the Ohio River with its 60 taps and 120 bottles. Unusual for a pub crawl, the bus will stop at a retail liquor store– but not just any store…The Party Source! With over 2,500 beers represented and just enough square footage to keep them all cozy, The Party Source in Bellevue, Kentucky, serves as a one stop destination for seven day a week access to an unparalleled selection of microbrews and imports. Not to be missed, the pub crawl will visit the heart and soul of the city of Cincinnati – Fountain Square. Here is arguably the best location of any Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery.

Then Priscilla will enjoy doing whatever with the rest of the RCB/ASS girls, while I get to soak up some knowlege and inspiration from

• Jim Koch, who began his career as a homebrewer, leading to the creation of Boston Beer Company.
• Jess Caudill and Greg Doss from Wyeast Laboratories, discussing Brettanomyces
• Denny Conn, discussing all grain brewing
• Jeff Current, discussing acidity in the Berliner Weisse
• Ray Daniels, author of Designing Great Beers and Director of the Cicerone Certification Program
• Kris England, Beer Judge Certification Program Education Director, discussing Mead Making
• Ken Ewing and Dave Harsh, discussing bourbon barrel-aged beer
• Michael Ferguson, discussing hop substitution
• Antony Hayes, discussing beer styles from an English homebrew perspective
• Steve Holle, discussing German brewing techniques
• Randy Mosher, author of Radical Brewing
• Ken Schramm, author of The Compleat Meadmaker
• Chris White, President, White Labs, discussing high gravity fermentations
• Jamil Zainasheff, two-time AHA Ninkasi Award winner, co-author of Brewing Classic Styles, host of “The Jamil Show” on The Brewing Network