The Fairer Sex

I’ve noticed a trend in pistol classes. More and more women are becoming involved. My last class was 75% women and I spoke with another instructor last night and his last class was 100% women. What’s interesting is neither of these classes has been publicized as a women-only or a mostly women class. I’m not exactly why more women are taking classes, but I like it, I find it interesting, and I hope it continues.

 

Can I have some Moa?

I happened upon some New Zealand brews while tooling around the bottle shop and despite the somewhat high price of admission decided to give them a whirl since I could not recall having a Kiwi beer. The brewer is Moa and the first beer I opened was their pale ale. The bottle says this rings in at 5.5% ABV and the website lists Cascade and Nelson Sauvin hops. The aroma was muted hop character, but the flavor had a nice bittering component and a strong aspect of caramel malt. It was a bit on the hazy side and I am not sure if that was poor decanting on my part or if the beer is generally hazy. If you are expecting an American Pale Ale, keep in mind this beer comes from New Zealand. If this is what we can expect on a trip as the standard pale ale I would have to say not too shabby. Not the most awesome pale ale on the planet and the price of admission was a little on the steep side, but if you have not had a Kiwi beer, pick one up and take it for a test drive!

Going To School

I had to go to a school area yesterday and later this week may trade some ammunition for a few accessories. I put the ammo in the trunk and was starting to leave the driveway when the thought hit me if someone spots that ammo I might be in for a long period of questioning about why I have ammo in a school zone. I knew the law said no firearms in NC, but this school area was in VA and I decided to be smart and not tempt fate.

Turns out I would have been fine in Virginia according to their laws so I was worried about nothing. I also have not been able to find anything in NC law which would make carrying the ammunition illegal. It’s hard to believe anyone can follow the laws when you have to spend so much time to ensure you don’t accidentally break one.

I wish we would enact a law similar to Virginia in regard to weapons at schools. It is straightforward and easy to understand, especially the exemptions.

§ 18.2-308.1. Possession of firearm, stun weapon, or other weapon on school property prohibited.

A. If any person possesses any (i) stun weapon as defined in this section; (ii) knife, except a pocket knife having a folding metal blade of less than three inches; or (iii) weapon, including a weapon of like kind, designated in subsection A of § 18.2-308, other than a firearm; upon (a) the property of any public, private or religious elementary, middle or high school, including buildings and grounds; (b) that portion of any property open to the public and then exclusively used for school-sponsored functions or extracurricular activities while such functions or activities are taking place; or (c) any school bus owned or operated by any such school, he shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

B. If any person possesses any firearm designed or intended to expel a projectile by action of an explosion of a combustible material while such person is upon (i) any public, private or religious elementary, middle or high school, including buildings and grounds; (ii) that portion of any property open to the public and then exclusively used for school-sponsored functions or extracurricular activities while such functions or activities are taking place; or (iii) any school bus owned or operated by any such school, he shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony.

C. If any person possesses any firearm designed or intended to expel a projectile by action of an explosion of a combustible material within a public, private or religious elementary, middle or high school building and intends to use, or attempts to use, such firearm, or displays such weapon in a threatening manner, such person shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony and sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years to be served consecutively with any other sentence.

The exemptions set out in § 18.2-308 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the provisions of this section. The provisions of this section shall not apply to (i) persons who possess such weapon or weapons as a part of the school’s curriculum or activities; (ii) a person possessing a knife customarily used for food preparation or service and using it for such purpose; (iii) persons who possess such weapon or weapons as a part of any program sponsored or facilitated by either the school or any organization authorized by the school to conduct its programs either on or off the school premises; (iv) any law-enforcement officer; (v) any person who possesses a knife or blade which he uses customarily in his trade; (vi) a person who possesses an unloaded firearm that is in a closed container, or a knife having a metal blade, in or upon a motor vehicle, or an unloaded shotgun or rifle in a firearms rack in or upon a motor vehicle; or (vii) a person who has a valid concealed handgun permit and possesses a concealed handgun while in a motor vehicle in a parking lot, traffic circle, or other means of vehicular ingress or egress to the school. For the purposes of this paragraph, “weapon” includes a knife having a metal blade of three inches or longer and “closed container” includes a locked vehicle trunk.

As used in this section:

“Stun weapon” means any device that emits a momentary or pulsed output, which is electrical, audible, optical or electromagnetic in nature and which is designed to temporarily incapacitate a person.

 

2013 Beerdrinker of the Year

The Beerdrinker Of The Year competition was held on Saturday. I am told the competition, Kevin Cox of Muncie, Indiana and  Jen Schwertman of New York City, was fierce and in the end Warren Monteiro of New York City took the top prize. This was Warren’s third time to Denver to compete for the top honor and his beer philosophy for his 2013 beer resume said, “It’s not a habit, it’s a lifestyle. This is why I constantly travel – to get a taste of a new brew or one I’ve been missing, and to find a way to share it whenever possible. I consider creative beer drinking to be an essential part of the tapestry of art and fellowship contributing to a full life.”

Congrats to Warren for being named The Beerdrinker Of The Year!

Total Recall

It doesn’t happen often, but on occasion firearms and ammunition will have a safety recall. Most manufacturers will place notice of the recall on their website. If you recently purchased the item and it was not manufactured in the last year, it may be a good idea to check the manufacturer’s website to be sure if the product may be subject to recall. If you do not find anything on the website then perform a google search with the name of the product and the word recall to see if you find any information. Most major manufacturers have very few recalls.

Now you may have a singular incident with a firearm. One a forum recently someone purchased a firearm and the feedramp was out of alignment with the barrel. They will need to contact the manufacturer for warranty service. Another friend had a magazine which had no thumb rest. They contacted the manufacturer and a new magazine was shipped. So if you are having a problem it may be a warranty issue and it is best to contact the manufacturer to rectify the situation.

National Margarita Day

Yesterday was yet another libation day, it was National Margarita Day. I made a nice Kirkland Anejo based Margarita in celebration and it was, shall we say, yummy. In case you missed it feel free to mix one up and celebrate today. I won’t tell. 😉

Gordon Biersch Weizen Eisbock

Picked up a bottle of the Gordon Biersch Weizen Eisbock a week or so ago and last night decided to take it out for a test drive. The beer comes in a nifty 750 ml reclosable flip top and tips the scales at 10% ABV and a bitterness level of 30 IBU. The beer had a strong malty flavor which masked the alcohol level, but there was a metallic flavor which lurked in the flavor and was distracting from an otherwise tasty beverage. Later in the night the alcohol made me sleepy, but the warmth of the flavor during consumption was pleasant and well done. Due to the metallic nature this beer is a one and done for me, but if weizenbock is a style you covet you may want to give this one a spin around the block.

Take a number

Back in June 2012 I posted about the S&W Instructor Discount. Finally in November I submitted my order for two firearms. One arrived in December and the FFL I chose to use for transfer let me down and took nearly a week to log in the firearm and call me to come pick it up. I decided to call S&W in January to check on the other firearm and see if I could dump the FFL with the horrible service and was not able to navigate the menus to find the correct person so finally I left a message. This week I once again decided to find the wayward arm and dump the FFL.

I must say, there are some extremely helpful customer service representatives at S&W and they put me in touch with the correct party. It turns out the firearm I ordered will not be available for 8 to 10 months. Let’s put that in perspective, if you add in the time I have already waited it will be over a year before the firearm is produced. I know sales are at a record high for all firearm manufacturers and semi-automatics are all the rage, but can’t someone crank out a wheel gun so my order can be completed? Anyone? Bueller?

Beer is Cool!

Now when did that happen? Was I sleeping? I don’t know if it is happening everywhere, but in North Carolina beer, especially craft beer, is cool. I remember back in the day you were a beer geek, or a beer snob if you were going for the craft beer, now it seems everyone is trying to play with the cool kids. I was at one of my favorite breweries last night and it was a varied crowd and for a Tuesday it was rather packed. I’m just not accustomed to seeing 30-40 people in a brewery tap-room on a non-release random night knocking back a few pints. There was a game on the TV and most were not even watching so that was not the draw, the draw was the beer and a place to have it.

So the next time you go somewhere and order a craft beer keep in mind you have magically become one of the cool kids. So flip up that collar, rip those jeans, polish (or maybe scuff) those shoes, or wear the red London Fog jacket all while knowing beer is cool!

Sneak Attack

As I was tooling around in a local bottle shop I spied a can of Saison, yes, you read that right, a Saison in a can. I was shocked to say the least. The brewery is 21st Amendment and the beer is Sneak Attack. The can lists 6.2% ABV with 38 IBU and they call it a “Farmhouse Saison brewed with organic cardamom pods.” So I open the can and pour into a favorite glass and get a face full of not much. Now to be fair there was some light spice in the aroma and flavor, but it soon became obvious this was a Saison lacking in complexity. There was nothing wrong with the beer and it certainly get’s the nod as the best Saison in a can ever, but if you are going to call something a particular style, you need to at least brew the style. The spice on this was less than I put in my homebrewed Grisette and those generally ring in at only a smidge more than 4%. Now it was tasty, but never exciting. It would go with almost any meal or event, but I’d like to see more flavor and certainly more complexity. I think the problem I’m having is it just didn’t meet style. They could have called it a light farmhouse ale and I would have believed every word, but presenting this as a Saison just demonstrates a lack of understanding of the style.