Don’t Rush It

This isn’t the first time I have posted about breweries and brewpubs rushing to get the beer out the door and QC dropping as a result. The last time I was talking about a brewpub IPA which was cloudy, and this time it was an overly fruity Belgian-style beer. Now this most recent occurrence was at a restaurant known for high quality beers and from a brewery who has been getting high marks. I’ve probably had this beer on 10 different occasions and it has always been excellent, but last night the beer had just a strong banana ester it was pure monkey juice. The only thing I can come up with is the brewery is trying to rush things and is pushing product out the door which isn’t quite up to snuff. A strong banana ester would signify a warm fermentation which could come if the beer wasn’t cool enough when it was pitched since ester formation happens early in the process. I hope this isn’t a sign of where their beers are headed. I had another from the same brewery and while it was good, the esters on it were extremely strong as well, but any banana was masked by hops and oak.

If you are a brewer, be sure to not let the quality drop in a rush to move things along with the beer. Beer takes time, give it what it needs and you will be rewarded.

H937 Signed Into Law – The Details

House Bill 937 was signed yesterday by Governor McCrory. I thought it might be good to go over exactly what the bill says and what it will do. For reference you may want to open up the bill from the NCGA website. I already detailed Section 17 and what it means for the PPP system in NC so I will not be covering that in this post.

Please keep in mind this does not become law until October 1, 2013.

Section 1
This basically allows one to have a gun in the car in the parking lot if you have a CHP.

Section 2
This section allows one to have a gun on school campuses in the vehicle if they have a CHP. It does not allow someone to carry concealed outside of their vehicle.

Section 3
This section allows CHP holders to carry concealed where admission has been charged and in establishments where alcohol is served. To clarify those who have a CHP will now be able to carry in places like movie theaters and restaurants which serve alcohol. The amount of alcohol you may consume is still ZERO!

Section 4
This section clarifies the law in regard to children under age 12 being able to have access to firearms. It allows use with adult supervision and parental permission

Section 5
This section increases the penalty for a felony conviction using a firearm.

Section 6
This section clarifies the only places where local government may restrict concealed carry.

Section 7
This section details when the clerk of superior court should notify the FBI NICS system an individual is ineligible to purchase a firearm and also mandates the information must be reported in 48 hours.

Section 8
This section also deals with notification to the FBI NICS system.

Section 9
This section clarifies the process for a person to remove mental commitment from their record.

Section 10
This section clarifies if the record is clear then §14-415.3 does not apply.

Section 11
This section clarifies one can get a CHP if mental commitment has been removed from their record.

Section 12
This section makes the CHP records confidential to everyone except law enforcement.

Section 13
This section makes firearm sales confidential to everyone except law enforcement.

Section 14
This section just clarifies some minor verbiage.

Section 15
This section allows concealed carry at parades and funeral processions. It does not make it legal to have a firearm at picket lines and demonstrations on health care facilities.

Section 16
This section increases the penalty for carrying concealed with a permit in places where it is prohibited by statute. Specifically where a sign is posting prohibiting concealed carry. The other increased penalty if concealing while consuming or with alcohol in your system.

Section 17
Discussed earlier.

Section 18
This section removed verbiage which was no longer relevant.

Section 19
This section clarifies what happens to a service firearm of an officer in the event of their death or retirement.

Section 20
This section clarifies the revocation of a CHP.

Section 21
This section allows a District Court Judge, magistrate, clerk of court, and register of deed to carry concealed and clarifies the law.

Section 22
This section clarifies the definition of certain persons, mostly court related.

Section 23
This section allows hunting using a noise suppressor.

Section 24
This section redefines a qualified retired law enforcement office to meet US Code.

Section 25
This section is clarified due to he change in definition for a retired officer.

Section 26
This section adds new statute verbiage to define habitual felon.

Section 27
This section adds new statute verbiage regarding sentencing when a firearm is used to commit a crime.

Section 28
This section details which sections become law on October 1, 2013.

So what does all that mean for you and I? You can now go more places with a CHP and even if you are not allowed to carry on certain property you can lock the firearm in the car while in the parking lot. If you are reading the law Sections 1 through 3 are where you should spend the majority of your time.

De Proef Flemish Primitives

Way back in 2004 De Proef began releasing their Flemish Primitive series of six beers. It took two years for all six to finally show up and they were all wonderful. Shelton Brothers wrote a note about the series which details how they came into being. The first out was Pig Nun in the fall of 2004 followed immediately by Spoon Whacker. Surly Bird came next in 2005. In 2006 Pin Head was released followed by Demon Fish. The last out of the gate was Rat Rider and it seemed to be rare and very difficult to find. When these were released each release seemed to get better and better. The first three were corked with natural cork and the last three with rubber corks.

Last week my fermentation freezer died and I was storing the bottles in there for some impromptu tasting at a future date. I figured since I had all six variants it might be a good time to spend the weekend seeing how time had treated these old friends. What I found was interesting. The natural corked finished bottles seemed to be more lively and held up although the beers were not stored on their sides. The rubber corked bottles seemed to have lost some carbonation and also seemed a little one-dimensional. I realize the rubber corked bottles were fresher, but seven to nine years is plenty of time to develop complexity. All of them had a distinct haze and that is a departure from what happened when I initially had the beers. Back then all were crystal clear.

Anyway, it was a fun time and luckily I still have a few bottles of a few of them. If you were a fan of the beers when they were released you might enjoy seeing the labels. I tasted them as I grabbed them from the fridge so the order was Pin Head, Demon Fish, Rat Rider, Spoon Whacker, Pig Nun, and Surly Bird.

Why Media Scare Tactics?

With the passage of H937 (not yet signed by the Governor) it did not take long for the fear-mongers to crawl out of the woodwork. The bill allows concealed carry in restaurants, all restaurants, including those who serve alcohol. What the media and others have tried to present in law-abiding citizens with concealed handgun permits will be drunk and shooting up the place. The current law is extremely clear the amount of alcohol you can have in your system and conceal in NC is ZERO! The new law makes no change to the current law. So repeat after me, the amount of alcohol you can have in your system when you are carrying concealed in NC is ZERO! You can neither be consuming or have consumed any alcohol or your forfeit your ability to conceal.

For the life of me I cannot understand why anyone believes a person who has went through a training course, filled out a permit application, been fingerprinted, paid for the permit, and had an extensive background check desires to the break the law by drinking while carrying. Someone is so naive as to believe that a person who is not going into a restaurant with a bar because they cannot conceal legally today will magically become a law-breaker on October 1 if/when the bill is signed into law. The vast majority of media reports I have read and seen never indicate what the current law is and what will change with the new law. They overlook the fact that drinking and carrying concealed is a crime currently and will be in the future.

Restaurant owners are free to post a sign which prohibits concealed carry, but they should be aware the sign may also alert criminals they are fair game. I know if I was a criminal mastermind I would try to conduct my nefarious business in places where it would be unlikely I would meet resistance. While that may sound like reverse fear mongering on my part, it really is the truth. Luckily for most businesses who post signage against concealed carry the majority of criminals are anything but masterminds, the question is do they want to take the chance and expose their business to the potential for crime not to mention the potential loss of revenue from those gun owners who refuse to do business in places which post.

AR-15 turnaround

I have a friend who I speak with regularly who was adamant after Newtown the AR-15 was pure evil and needed to go away. He had drunk the media Kool-Aid and just needed a dose of reality. We have touched on the topic several times and he was beginning to realize there was nothing about a black gun which is any different from a wooden stock rifle with the exception it is lighter and easier to handle/carry. Recently his son decided to join the Marines so before he shipped off to Parris Island he and his son went to a range and spent time in a class shooting AR-15s. I think he came out a changed man. They apparently shot ARs with and without optics as well as .22 LR variants due to the cost of the .223 ammo. It is nice to think someone so up in arms late last year now has turned 180 degrees and realizes just how wrong they were to blame a black gun for the actions of a troubled teen.

Goobye Old Friend!

A long time ago I was picking up a garage fridge for $65 and as I was leaving the owner said they were also getting rid of an old upright freezer. I asked how much and they said $35. I took it thinking it would not last long, but for $35 who cared. I gutted the shelves and removed the inner door liner covering the insulation with plastic. I built a shelf a mid-height and found it would hold 6 carboys or IIRC, 12 corny kegs. I put it on a temperature controller and for quite some time that was my kegorator. Then later I actually got a kegorator and I turned that into my fermentation freezer.

Fast forward to yesterday when I brought home some beer and was going to stick it in the freezer for long-term storage and found the temp was hot inside. I quickly removed everything of value from the unit and turned off the power. Then later I plugged it back in, but it did not seem to be cooling. I unplugged again for a short while and the same result. Now it has been off for more than 8 hours and I will give it one more try shortly to come back to life. If it does not cool it will be time to say a fond farewell to my old friend. Probably the best $35 I have ever spent and this unit has seen a plethora of beer over the years. Oh the stories it could tell. I even switched it back to a freezer on a few occasions.

If the old girl is gone I don’t think I will replace it. It will limit my brewing to only ales and typically those that don’t require precise temperatures. I don’t brew much anymore so having a separate unit dedicated for fermentation is not as much of a priority. Fingers crossed the unit comes back to life, but if not I will have to say goodbye to an old friend!

Don’t hate the Player

Yesterday a post appeared on the wall of Player’s Retreat in Raleigh which was so out in left field it requires a facepalm. I’ll post it so you can absorb what it says:

The NC Legislature and Governor McCrory are about to put into effect a new law which will allow people with concealed weapon permits to bring their weapons into bars and restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages. The law makes it illegal for them to drink alcoholic beverages in a bar or restaurant while carrying their weapon. Under the new law, bars and restaurants may prohibit customers from bringing weapons into their business, which the PR will do. But, how do you know whether they have a weapon or not?

As the owner of the Players Retreat, I am very concerned about a person carrying a weapon into the PR and drinking alcoholic beverages. I am not comfortable trusting those carrying a weapon to come into the PR and not drink. Since they are allowed to conceal the weapon how would any bar or restaurant owner or employee know they have a weapon? If anyone believes all those people with concealed weapon permits are going to refrain from drinking alcohol while carrying their concealed weapon, they need to have their head examined.

The PR is and has always been a place where parents feel comfortable bring their kids. I don’t want that to change. So what can I do to keep weapons out of the PR? One suggestion is to put a metal detector at the door. Another is to use the metal detector wands to scan everyone coming into the bar.

I do not like the idea of scanning everyone that enters the PR, but I’m not sure our Governor and our legislature have left me any choice. I am open for ideas. Please let me know what you think.

Gus Gusler

 

Gus, Gus, Gus, how dumb are you really? Is this a marketing campaign to get your name in the news or are you really that stupid. So you want to put up a sign and don’t feel that will keep out law-abiding citizens who have undergone extensive background checks and been fingerprinted. Currently the law does not allow one to carry in a place which serves alcohol, so how do you currently keep law-abiding citizens out. Hmmm, maybe the LAW might be the reason.

Let’s explore Gussy a little. So he purchased PR a few years back and he is a LAWYER. Don’t lawyers have to know and read the laws. Can you not figure out that your problem is not going to be law-abiding citizens and certainly not due to some law change. Gus later on Facebook said he had a sign about weapons already and he had some “friends” who came in with weapons and drank. Gus you need to do a better job policing your friends and you also need to call the police on them. The current law does not allow anyone in your establishment with a firearm and further if they have a CHP and are concealing and drinking they are breaking the law and need to be arrested and prosecuted.

So please by all means put up a metal detector. Maybe that will stop your friends from bringing their weapons into the establishment. The fact that you appear so ignorant and are unable to understand that the law keeps law-abiding citizens in check when you have a law degree, makes me question if you could even make a sandwich properly. I haven’t been to PR in some time and I can assure you I won’t be back. Not because they have a sign which prohibits weapons or install a metal detector, but I’m afraid I’d go in there and their stupidity might be contagious.

H937 is moving to the Governor

H937 was revised by the Conference Committee and emerged to pass both the House and Senate. The bill will now move to the desk of Governor Pat McCrory where he can sign it, veto it, or allow it to become law by not signing the bill and it would automatically become law after 10 days. If he does veto it, and I do not believe he will, the veto could be overridden if the House and Senate are still in session and they decide to override the veto. The reason I do not believe he will veto is the House passed the original bill, the Senate amended the bill and passed it, the House then decided to make the PPP verbiage more palatable by sending it to committee and the bill was passed by both the House and Senate once it came out of committee.

The last version of the bill only changes what happens with the PPP. I’m going to wait until this becomes law to go through every nuance of the bill, but it is worth the time to talk about what this law will change in regard to the antiquated PPP in NC. Section 17 is the area of the bill I want to focus on today.

Section 17.1
This section really only removes the word license from §14-403 and cleans up the verbiage.
Section 17.2 (a)
This section cleans up the verbiage, but also requires the Sheriff to explain why they are denying a permit and provide the legal reasoning behind the decision. Any permit denial will be public record. This section also instructs the court to notify the NICS system of anything which would disqualify an individual to have a permit. Another change is permits cannot be limited in number or frequency. The section ends with what the sheriff must do to revoke a permit.
Section 17.2 (b)
This section details how the court must report their progress toward implementation.
Section 17.2 (c) 
This section details when things become law.
Section 17.3
This section details the timing for the Sheriff to determine validity of permits.
Section 17.4
This section details the confidentiality of the records.

So in a nutshell the NCSA was told if you want to retain your PPP system you are going to have to do some work and you are not going to get additional funding to help you figure it out. I believe a force smarter that I am was at work here. They realized the NCSA was only looking out for their cash cow and had no intention of changing anything. This revision has teeth. It retains the PPP, but requires the Sheriff to routinely check the records of permits to ensure their validity. I can see the NCSA crying foul when they actually read what this says, but I really don’t care. They organization wanted to have their cake and eat it to and in this case if you want to have your cake you are going to have to work for it.

I especially like the part of not limiting the permits and setting the cost at $5 and no more. Durham can bite my butt. I contacted them asking why they do what they do long ago and they basically said because we can. There is another eastern county which charges more than $5 and now they will have to eat it as well. I like the fact if the PPP system is retained the records are reviewed on occasion and the permit can be revoked for certain offenses. I also like the fact the Sheriff must explain the reasons if they reject a permit application. While eliminating the PPP system would be best, this eliminates any potential loophole. I think ultimately with what is now required of the Sheriffs around the state you may see them desire to eliminate the system.

Now we wait to see if the bill will be signed into law.

 

 

 

 

It is never easy

I have a group who is currently interested in a class, but our problem is there are no public ranges in their area. The closest one is almost an hour away and that is a long drive for qualifying after having your butt in a seat for 8 hours. Finding a safe place to shoot is a chore today. I wish it was easier and ranges were more prevalent. Most people are not opposed to a safe range until they hear one is moving into their neighborhood and then all of a sudden it becomes a matter of national importance. People should be helping locate safe places to shoot as opposed to trying to shut down or stop those in existence. We’ve not progressed with this in my lifetime. I remember as a youngster I could step outside and fire off the shotgun and the police were not called and I honed my skills. Today if you poke your head outside with a BB gun the neighbors are likely to dial 911.

Anyway, if a safe range is operating in your area be thankful. If one is trying to open in your area then help them get the doors open. Otherwise it may be a 1 hour drive just to find a safe place to shoot!

 

BJCP Exam Adminstrator

I’ve seen several discuss what they are doing as a BJCP Exam Administrator and I thought I would pen a few notes which may help those who have an upcoming exam scheduled. I’ve laid it out as a sort of FAQ with my suggestions as the answer.

How do I schedule an exam for my area?
Go to the BJCP Exam Center and check for available dates in the calendar. Typically the exam will need to be setup a year or two in advance. The forms and information are located on the BJCP Exam Schedule page.

How do I fill the exam seats?
I typically save seats for my club members for a period of time and then fill the rest of the seats based on the response from outside the club and the date they contacted me. Often by the time the rubber hits the road people will have found another exam or will decide they are not prepared for the exam.

How do I charge for the exam?
Our club uses PayPal and so I charge the fees (published on the BJCP site) and a refundable deposit.

How do I handle the refundable deposit?
Simple, the taste exam for a first time examinee is $40 so I charge $100 and refund $60 after the person shows up for the exam. If they do not show up the money is not returned.

Should I worry about whether or not they have passed the web-based entrance exam?
IMO no. I tell every potential examinee they must pass before they can sit for the exam. They will need the proof the day of the exam, but I don’t care to have it. If they take the taste and have not passed the entrance exam their exam will not be graded. I make that clear and then I don’t have to worry about it at all.

It’s pretty simple and the exam documents will guide you what you need to do prior to the exam. I pick up crackers, bottled water, cups, paper towels and of course prepare the exam beers the day of the exam. Also you will need at least two acceptable proctors. It is not a minor deal to schedule and give the exam, but with some practice it can become old hat.