Greetings from Surf City, NC

[Hippiefreak]

Moved down here from DC area a few years ago to follow a girl and a job lead...the job fell through, but the girl still keeps me around - she encouraged me to give homebrewing a try.

Nothin like standing over a pot of brew and watching the dolphins swim by - beer in one hand, some dead or bluegrass blasting out of the garage - watching the looks on the tourists faces as this crazy hippie is dancing around a giant brewpot!!

Got an 'Imperial Chocolate Coffee Stout' (don't ask - unless you really want to know ) ageing in bottles, got a Bavarian Pils-type in the kegerator, and an ESB sitting in secondary. These were all partial mashes, and not long after this post goes up - I'm sacrificing one of my old coolers to become my first mash/lauter tun...hoping to do something similar to the Dogfish Head 60 (which is how I stumbled across this site - looking for recipes).

Looks like a great community - I am glad that I found it.

Peace, love, and spare beer,

Chris aka Hippie Freak

 

[Boston]

Hmmm....looks like we may have a lot in common. Does your yard have room for a tent?

 

[Hippiefreak]

The yard at the beach house is well, typical beach property - 44x100 lot that is mostly driveway, house, and the rest is pretty much landscaped.

You could probably set up a tent in the backyard - just have to remember to turn the irrigation system off

Chris
http://db.etree.org/chorner

 

[Boston]

I nominate Hippiefreak to host the next GRABASS/VAgraNCy brew fest!

 

[Hippiefreak]

and what, exactly, is a GRABASS/VAgraNCy brew fest? SWMBO is up for it, provided she doesn't have to stop partying to kick ass. <wink>

Got some 'bad' news on the homefront......after several years of housesitting and pretending that we could actually afford a million dollar oceanfront house (well, second row on a section of the island that is only about 3 blocks wide) - my folks have decided that it's finally time to start 'living the good life' and went and retired on me!!!! I should've seen the handwriting on the wall when they asked me to oversee construction of an 1800 sq ft addition they wanted to add - and I thought they were doing it just to give us more space

Dad always joked that the first person who offered him a million for their 10 acres in Leesburg, VA, could have the furniture and everything!!!! Well, beyond their wildest dreams, it happened. Not a bad investment for a property that was less than 200grand when they bought it in '86, so I can't say I blame 'em (and I can't blame anyone for wanting to get the hell out of the rat-race of NOVA - that's why I came down here - well, there was a girl down here, too...but that's a whole different story).

Not so bad for me n SWMBO, though......Dad's first gift to himself was to go out and buy a 28' Grady White sportfisher....woohooo...she loves fishing more than I do - and judging by her reaction to the boat when he brought us aboard - she is more excited about it than me. Man, I love this woman!!!!

So, it's back to our Home Sweet Home....we love our singlewide steel box, nestled on a little dead-end dirt road halfway between Wilmington and Surf City ( I can pay the rent with one week's pay, which leaves more money for brewing supplies). We don't spend much time indoors so all we needed was something waterproof to protect us from the elements...hehe. We're still only 15 minutes from the commercial beaches, and half hour to the ones that only have a few dozen folks in the middle of the summer. I choose the half-hour drive every time (plus the parking is free, and we usually get home cooking as well )

The good thing is, I've got more room here for camping than at the beach house..maybe a 1/3 to 1/2 acre in the backyard, and on the other side of the back fence is a KOA! My 'brew-cave' is a barn at the back fence that is bigger than our trailer - complete with electric and wireless ethernet. Got a stereo out there streaming music from the house server, and have had more than one person poke their head over the fence from the campground to compliment me on my selection...then when they see the brewery, they're like whoaaaa...beer, live bootlegs, and a roaring campfire....it don't get no better than this Met many cool folks that way....almost as much fun as being on tour again (and I don't have to worry about the bus breaking down, or the parking lot Gestappo hassling me).

So, if that still sounds interesting, and you can handle surroundings a little more rustic and not 'quite' as close to the beach (the KOA has cabin rentals as well for those who don't want to 'rough it', and RV parking for you rich #@$@#@ers) - then we're all for meeting some of you other brewing freaks.

Come down here during shrimp/clam/oyster/scallop season (most still going on now) or fishing season (getting ready to start), and we could have some seriously good food for cheap as well...you'll never eat frozen seafood again once you taste what its really like when it just came out of the water!!!

OK, in case you hadn't figured it out, I'm a long-winded M#@F@#$er....damn ADHD is a curse and a blessing

Peace, love, and local oysters,

Chris (aka Hippiefreak)
http://db.etree.org/chorner

 

[Boston]

You & SWMBO need to come up to Raleigh in April and meet the gang.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=20491&highlight=raleigh

Lots of beer, food and comraderie. Deadheads & Bluegrass junkies are especially welcome.