Brewing Big Shag Big Stout

In the distant future, in 2009, we approach the end of the Big Shag Big Stout story. With this backpost, we journey back to the beginning of this storied brew. Back in time to the spring of 2005...

We are at our camp at Big Shag Lake. There is a knock at the door. It is our long lost cousins from the West - Matt and Joel.

Joel begins unpacking mysterious supplies.

"Let there be beer." Joel is heard to exclaim.

The brewmaster undertakes a purification ritual before approaching the sacred brewing task.

\

Good water is the soul of good beer.

We use Shag Lake anyway.

Master brewer at work.

The brew is left to its own bubbling and fermenting devices.

Ultimately it is ready for bottling and sampling.

Boxed, bottled, and into the cellar for aging.
So it begins.

Oregon cousins tour the five forties.

Matt and Joel hike the Five Forties with MW and Ken the forester. Some pics from a day in the woods:

The road in through the Norway Pine plantation.

Over the beaver dam.

We consult Sid's hand drawn color map for reference.

Finding a corner plate.

At the poplar swamp.

Matt, Ken Joel

Matt is a tree hugger.

In a maple stand.

Discussing the post- cut status.

Five Forties

Contemporaneous e-mail to our forester planning for the spring trip:

-------- Original Message --------

Subject: Family Forties
Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 13:47:00 -0800
From: MW
To: Ken

Ken,
I hope this note finds you and your wife healthy and doing well. As you may recall, you managed the selective cut for our family's 200 acres during 2000 -2002.

We will be having a mini family reunion in the UP the last week of May. I will be there from May 26 - June 3 along with my brother and father. Two of our cousins ( Matt and Joel sons of Liz), will also be visiting between May 26 and June 1. I am hoping it will be possible to have you guide some of us on a tour of the property and give us a post-cut status while we are there. We won't have the ATV we had when you, Sid and I were last on the property, so - for our part - we will just need to do a little hiking. Let me know if this will be possible, and if so - what dates would work for you. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Regards, MW

P.S. To jog your memory - attached is a panoramic image (be sure to scroll right) with you and Sid and a bad "self-portrait" from the last time we was on the property with you.

Roy's San Francisco Power Tour

On the terrace overlooking Fisherman's Wharf and Alcatraz

In the future, the SF Power Tour becomes a regular feature of this blog and an easy entertainment for visiting guests. As such, I thought I should reprise the first example - this post-dated retrospective dates from 2005, when high school senior Roy had a short window of opportunity before flying home. His debate team had completed their competition across the bay, when we tacked on a four hour tour (including pick-up and drop off in Berkeley)...

Educational opportunity in North Beach

Chinatown

Twin Peaks Panorama (click to enlarge)

In the Castro

Haight Ashbury


Golden Gate Park with new friend


Finally, at the Pacific Ocean...

Uncle Mike completes the first Power Tour

Oracle vs. Alinghi in Moet Cup Challenge Race

After losing the America's Cup earlier this year, Larry Ellison beat the America's Cup winner Alinghi in the Moet Cup challenge series in the bay. Should the America's Cup ever come to San Francisco, this race series showed both promise and the peril of holding the race in the Bay.

"The hour long racecourse, which begins near Treasure Island, will bring the 80-foot boats within spitting distance of the San Francisco waterfront. The boats will tack along the city front between Fisherman's Wharf and Crissy Field, before rounding a buoy near the Golden Gate Bridge and running downwind, then heading upwind again toward the finish line next to Marina Green."

We have a great view of the race from our terrace on Russian Hill. This series of shots from the terrace showed the kind of visibility the venue would offer the race, which is usually held on an ocean track far from the view of landlubbers.


Watching the race we also saw the perils of holding a race like this in Bay. Here the Oracle entry is forced to divert off it's line by a container ship steaming through the middle of the race.


We also watched one of the races from waterfront near Fisherman's Wharf and got another interesting perspective.


Better pictures of the race action from Chuck Lantz and from Latitude 38.

Backposted for future reference.

Eating and Fishing and Eating and Drinking and More Eating at Green Valley Lake

Some pics from Mike & Stan's fishing adventure at Green Valley Lake in the San Bernadino Mountains east of Los Angeles.

Our first day's catch. The big trout was on the grill that evening, and the small trout were in the frying pan Sunday morning.

 

The first day's catch was prepared "au naturale" on the Weber with alder wood smoke and served with rice and green beans for Saturday dinner.

 

The breakfast fish were sauteed in butter, salt, pepper, a "wee-dram" of Balvene scotch. and served with with grits on Sunday morning.

Then back out on the lake for more fish.

The Day two catch (6 more)... 

 

... highlighted by Stan's "dragged worm" trout as we were heading back.

Sunday night's preparation:

After one hour in a soy sauce, hot chili olive oil marinade, the fish was grilled on hand-hewn year old oak planks.

Served with rice, grilled jalapeno, green salad with blue cheese dressing and a 2000 Gabianno Chianti.

 

It was really really good. I can't believe I ate the whole thing.

EDITORS NOTE: This back post from a contemporaneous e-mail to friends and family