11 Friday Jul 2014
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A brand new, super awesome twitter account just popped onto my radar–always suspect the worst muse!
I can’t even choose the best ones. Just check it out!
–Adrienne
12 Wednesday Sep 2012
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So that fantastic brewery that I blogged about this weekend has started to expand. In an effort to get a canning line (so we can take their beer home!) and get the local community involved, they have started a Kickstarter campaign:
This campaign allows anyone and everyone to support the brewery with donations as low as $1, and for that simple donation you get the chance to vote for their summer seasonal.
At $5 you get to vote for the seasonal beer and get an exclusive sticker;
At $12, you get a seasonal beer vote, and exclusive sticker, and an imperial pint glass;
At $25, you get all of the above plus a laptop skin;
At $40, you get all of the above plus and exclusive t-shirt;
At $60, you get the vote, the sticker, the t-shirt, a special stainless travel coffee mug, and a reusable shopping bag;
At $100, you get the vote, TWO stickers, TWO pint glasses, a t-shirt, two coozies, a bar towel, and two coasters;
At $200, you get the vote, two sticker, two pint glasses, a special button-down embroidered shirt, and a NEW REPUBLIC THONG! (This is the one I want!!)
At $500 you get to vote on both the name and the style of the summer seasonal, a pint glass, FIVE stickers, a work shirt, AND you get invited to the brewery to help or observe a brewday of your choice. That sounds amazing!
At $1000 you get a bunch of the above stuff, plus the head brewers, Dean and John, will travel up to 300 miles (most likely bringing beer!) to hang out with you, at the place of your choice.
At $2500, you get a tailgating set, which includes the votes, 8 glasses, 8 coasters, 8 coozies, a banner, a tap handle, and a jockey box;
At $5000, you get double the previous rewards to outfit your tailgate in style.
How much fun is this? Be a part of something new!!
09 Sunday Sep 2012
New Republic Brewing is the only production brewery in BCS. What does that mean, you ask? It means the brewery cannot sell on site, but can sell in local bars and stores. They can also give away beer at the brewery, which is where the tour comes in!
The boys at the brewery charge $6 for entry, which includes a pint glass and two complimentary pints of whatever is on tap.
The brewery boasts two beers year round: Bellows, a hoppy amber ale, and Skylight, a sweet heffiweisen with slight marshmallow flavors.
They have just started their “rough draft” series, which allows visitors to try out new brews currently in development, and give feedback directly to the brewers.
Each tour usually feature live music, so be sure to bring your camp chair and hang out in the brewery back yard to take in the free concert.
Recently, the brewery started inviting food trucks to feed the masses. This week, the famous Chef Tai will had his truck out, and next tour Stover Brothers will make an appearance.
On top of all this, the brewers give a tour of the brewery, giving visitors a chance to chat with the brewers and ask questions about the brewing process.
What more do you want? Beer and friends and music and food. Come on out!
For more information, visit the Facebook page, or the website at NewRepublicBrewing.com.
03 Friday Aug 2012
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At the top of this page you can see a picture of downtown Bryan. Right next to the great facade of the Queen theater is a smaller venue, but one that has enjoyed no less notoriety in the past years. That is the Stafford, a sometimes bar, sometimes dance hall, sometimes eyesore that has the potential of becoming a great destination in downtown.
A few months ago, Cody Marx Bailey, downtown Bryan’s own jack of all trades, decided something needed to be done with the theater.
He’s the one on the left. This photo easily stolen from his blog, http://codymarxbailey.com/
So he did. He and some other big players in the town (namely Jose Arredondo) decided to update the space into a high-quality, cutting edge music venue that would attract the kind of names only dreamed about in this tiny college-adjacent town.
Re branding done right!
The insides were gutted to make room for the new acoustics, lighting and production capabilities. Anyone who has visited the venue in the past few years knows it was a crowd control nightmare right at the front, opening to not enough seating and an uncomfortable view of the stage. Not anymore. The new owners have focused on ease of entry, plenty of room (the place now supports 400+ people) and an over all great experience.
There are full service bars on both the ground and second floors (with New Republic on tap, I hear!), newly designed bathrooms, and every effort given to make this an enjoyable audience experience.
Cody wants this place to be a music venue first and a bar second. There aren’t a lot of choices for music in the area, and the promise of having a dedicated place for larger names to come is very exciting. So far in the lineup:
Ishi, Featherface, GOBI and The 71’s on Sept 6, and the show is a CD release for two of the bands
Grupo Fantasma with El Tule & Strawberry Jam on Sept 7
(Incidentally, Grupo Fantasma is a Grammy winning band. Just an FYI. We have a space for Grammy winners now!!)
Green River Ordinance Sept 8
Jason Castro with Jimmy Needham and Lindsay Harris Sept 15
(Castro is that guy from American Idol who sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow all amazing-like)
Rock 103.9 Homebrew Live Sept 16
The Band of Heathens Sept 22
The Bright Light Social Hour with Quiet Company Sept 27
Ray Wylie Hubbard with The Dead Exs and Black Pistol Fire Sept 28 (The guitar work on these songs is AMAZING).
…and that’s just September.
Cody and company are focusing on getting as many huge bands in as possible (when the inevitable “you should get so-and-so” comment came the other day, Cody quickly remarked “can we fill the theater? What are the credentials?” They are looking for the best of the best to bring to our expanding downtown, and I, for one, cannot wait to be there.
20 Wednesday Jun 2012
In an area that’s economy is primarily driven by a university, you wouldn’t think that it would be necessary to “bring back science” to the community. Yet that is the tag line to the monthly Science Cafe, held at Revolution bar and cafe ind downtown Bryan.
The premise is an interesting one: organizers locate local scientists and invite them to speak at a laid-back environment with the express purpose of getting general science info out to a new audience.
So far this year, tue cafe has had a forensic entomologist, an astronomer, a
physicist, and a group of therapists that use animals to help people. It’s a good variety of information, and it’s presented rather simply. Questions are encouraged through out the presentation, and the audience is lively if small.
The event is held at Rev, a bar and cafe, so both alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks are available for purchase, but not required to attend science cafe.
The talks can last anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, depending on the speaker an audience. The audience members tend to be regulars, too, and you end up running into the same folks month after month.
All in all, this is a family friendly and fun way to spend a Tuesday evening and make some new friends to boot!
For more information, you can “like” the Science Cafe page. You’ll then get invited to each event and get some inside info on the speakers. You can also suggest speakers you’d like to hear, and the organizers make every effort to accommodate. Hope to see you next month!
A special shout out to tonight’s speaker, a representative from Pets with a purpose.
19 Tuesday Jun 2012
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This isn’t homebrew, but a great part of this club is the large amount of awesome commercial beer that we share.
My husband and I moved from what we like to call “beer Mecca” (read: the San Francisco Bay area). As beer lovers from that area, we were used to a large number of locally brewed craft beers, and a large group of people to enjoy them with. We were active members of the Silicon Valley Sudzers, a good group of men and women who loved making and drinking good beer. Once a month the group would meet at someone’s house to exchange 30 days’ worth of brew and some good cigars, and plan one of many road trips to the area’s breweries. Once a year we had a camping trip with other local clubs to exercise our pallets (and livers) even further. It was always a good time.
Fast forward a few years and we move from that area to BCS. There were rumors of home brew clubs from the past, but even though this is a thriving college town (with a thriving thirst for beer), there were no organized groups. What a shame! So we spent a few weeks and found some like minded individuals. The Texas Aggieland Brew Club was born!
The yearly barrel brew. A large group of us brew small batches of beer and then condition it together in an old wine barrel.
Our very first meeting was a brew in!
TABC is a group of local beer lovers that has been around for about three years. They meet the third Friday of each month at a member’s house, and everyone brings beer and/or food to share. The meeting usually starts around 7:00 pm and lasts until about 11 or so (or whenever the host kicks us all out).
They also host brew ins–when people get together on a Saturday or Sunday and brew whatever their little hearts desire. It a great way to spend a day…sitting out side and socializing while every once in a while getting up to stir the mash.
Drinking and eating at the latest meeting. What more could you want?
For those new to the hobby, the group is very welcoming, and is happy to answer any questions or assist with any brewing problems. Just show up to a meeting or post a question on the Facebook group to get started!
For more information, visit the Facebook page. The next meeting will the the third Friday of July, although the place has yet to be determined. Hope to see you at the next meeting!
This has GOT to be the cutest TABC member.
With this happening each month (an d the prospect of group tours in the future) how in the world can BSC suck?
03 Sunday Jun 2012
The first Friday of of every month is host to a festival-like event in downtown Bryan, called First Friday. This is a free event that sees local downtown businesses opening their doors to the public and often providing free food and drinks.
The Frame Gallery stuffed with people. Free food at the back! Also music.
Music is everywhere at this event…from bands filling up local establishments, to duets and groups sitting and singing on the street corner.
One of the many, many local bands sitting and playing as the sun sets.
The local guilds also make an appearance, doing demos on the street for passersby. This in tandem with museums and artists opening their doors make up the ArtStep portion of the evening. Maps are available with all the possible art stops on the walking tour, allowing all visitors to catch everything.
A potter doing her thing. Apparently she gives lessons.
The weaver’s guild, weaving.
One art gallery supplied a drop cloth and paint and asked visitors to add something to the cloth. It was fun! They also had cheese to eat. 🙂
It appears that most of these places give lessons and allow visitors to participating in making art.
Before sunset, local farmers and business owners participate in a farmer’s market. I got some great plants and local honey this time. Last time I bought some art.
A booth at the farmer’s market featuring water plants.
Lots of places down town are open late for dinner and drinks. Most of these places feature Aggieland’s local brew.
New Republic! Try Something New.
If sitting in doors isn’t your speed, local food trucks have been making an appearance for your pleasure. One took up residence near the outdoor movie screen, which plays children’s films after sunset.
Madden’s food truck serving guests.
Waiting for the movie to start.
It was a beautiful night…perfect for bringing a blanket and eating some gourmet food in front of the movie screen. As far as I can tell, all movies are family friendly, although the later the sun sets, the later they start, so it may be past some bed times.
This is a great monthly event. We try and make it each time, since you never know what new and fun things will be happening downtown.
For more information, visit the First Friday website at http://downtownbryan.com/blog/first-friday/
Hope to see you next month!
03 Sunday Jun 2012
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Her: “So, what are you going to do now?
Me: “Well, I really like it here, so we’re gonna stay for a while.”
Her: “REALLY?!? But this is Bryan (or College Station, same thing really) and it sucks to live here!”
Me: “What? BCS is awesome!”
I’ve had this conversation so many times, I can’t even count any more. For those of you who haven’t made the trip to the thriving metropolis of BCS (Bryan/College Station), these twin cities are two of the most populous in Brazos county TX, and home to just over 200,000 people. Most people who come to live in Brazos county admittedly come because of the university (in fact, that’s what brought us here, too). I mean, why else would you move to the near dead center of Texas? With a revolving student population topping out at 47,000 this past spring, the population turn over here is significant. As you might imagine, this results in a rich population for part of the year, followed by a near ghost town during break time. It’s hard to develop a sense of community or a bustling down town feel when 20% of the population changes on a regular basis.
The upside to this is no traffic or lines during summer and winter, and there’s a plethora of drinking establishments for everyone’s “enjoyment.” The down side is the inability of this area to create an obvious sense of community…a cohesion of awesomeness, if you will, that most people associate with a great place to live. However, even if most people use this area as a stopping place between the obviously awesome, the brief time here leaves its mark. If you look hard enough, you’ll find that BCS actually has some pretty amazing things to do.
In fact, you might say that BCS Doesn’t Suck.
I guess to really dig into how BCS Doesn’t Suck, I’ll have to quantify what I mean when I say “awesomeness.” I’ve lived in big cities before, and I’ve lived in thriving little towns. I’ve even lived in places that were considered college towns first and foremost. Finally, I grew up in a stereotypical suburb. There are things about each of those places that make them awesome places to live.
1. The people. If you live in an area where people suck, living there is gonna suck. I’ll write a few posts about various groups of people that make living here awesome, and how you can hang out with them.
2. Free things to do. There’s nothing better than finding free stuff to do in your home town, either alone or with new friends. Funds can be a problem, so I like to find things that don’t cost a thing. Lots of free stuff in a new town makes for fun packed weekends.
3. Paid events. Every bustling city is packed to the gills with events that require tickets to attend. Heck, these events are a major draw to many places. I’ll do my very best to visit as many of these events as possible in the area.
4. One-time events. These aren’t as interesting as annual or on-going affairs, since once I bother to write about them they’ll be done and gone, but a bunch of one-time events means that there will be more.
5. Stuff in nearby areas. I’ll focus on what’s available in Brazos County. Since this blog isn’t called “Austin Doesn’t Suck” or “San Antonio Doesn’t suck” I’ll stick to what is in this area, although I may do a piece on some interesting on going stuff within an hours’ drive or so.
Got an idea for something I should go and do? Let me know!
BCS Doesn't Suck! 