Walkin'. . . Shinin'

It's always a good move when you take a morning walk here in Anna Maria. This morning we loaded my girlfriends' dog in the truck and headed up the island to the brewery. From there we took a walk around the north end to Bean Point and soaked in the morning sun & breeze for a minute. Butch the dog was in heaven every time we walked through the shade of the palms and pines along the way. He's a hundred-ten pound beast(around 7.8 stone for all you Brits out there). Wait, hold on, to call him a beast would not do his heritage proud. You see, Butch is mostly Argentinian Dogo. His personality is more of a brutish gentleman than slobbering beast in search of small mammal blood. He is oft misunderstood and mistaken for a pitbull, and is generally given a wide berth by the local geezers. His presence in the brewery is the stuff of legend -- I find he is most at ease when attached to a pony keg which allows him to wander but not run off. For some reason this really amuses the locals including the Sheriff. An hour walk brought us back to the friendly confines of Little Giant where Butch climbed back in the truck bed and laid down, Happy as a Dogo could be.

Well, what is the purpose of this rambling and waxing? Honestly it's the fact that I quaffed around six pints of my latest brew last night. "Big Deal!" you may say. "Six pints is just lubrication for serious beer drinkers!" This may be true and I may not be as prolific a beer drinker as I try to convince myself I am, but in light of the late night pints, I felt seriously fresh and energized this morning. I think this brew definitely makes strides toward providing my people with a beer that maximizes the quasi-therapeutic nature of fresh, locally made beer. It's gotta be the hops.

In honor of Butch, we are naming this beer the the Laughing Dogo. Think about a Happy Buddha crossed with a very very large canine who wonders why you share your bacon with him but not your beer.

Laughing Dogo is:
Malts Bill:
Canada 2-row Pale
German Munich I
Belgian Cara-Pils

Hops:
UK Fuggle
US Cascade

Chico Ale Yeast

Call me if you want some samples, I'll even provide a jug if you want.