April Banter Thread

[MN Transplant]

5 hours ago, WxWatcher007 said:

We're pushing 80 outside and the goshdarn HEAT is on in my apartment (not by choice). Hell, it might as well be 110. 

I'm officially declaring home heating season OVER.

I hated living in the apartments with the systems that had to switch over.  It was either April 08 or 09 had a disgusting early heat wave and it was 88 in my apartment with the radiator still trickling out heat.

That said, the below freezing wind chills on Friday night will be a reminder that it isn't quite summer yet.

[H2O]

no wonder I was soaked after spreading mulch after work yesterday.  It was warm just a tad.

 

Just sweating out some butter apparently

[mattie g]

On 4/3/2017 at 3:10 PM, C.A.P.E. said:

Just talked to the the guy who orders the beer at Washington Street Pub in Easton. I was like dude you need to get some KBS and he literally called his rep right then, and will have a keg of KBS next week. Super pricey of course. He said they will probably tap it with a couple other Founders beers and do like a Founders night deal. Its an awesome place for craft beers btw, always a great selection. Anyway, shooting for next Friday night!

That's awesome. Aside from a big, barrel-aged stout that's been aged for a couple years, one out of a keg can't be beat. I hope you enjoy the hell out of it!

On 4/3/2017 at 3:48 PM, smokeybandit said:

If anyone finds KBS in the area between DC and Baltimore, please share (the location, that is.  I wouldn't expect you to share the beer).

The best thing to do is to call any local liquor stores to if they still have stock available. The TW site says that it's available for pickup in Laurel.

There have been two deliveries that I know of in VA - Saturday and yesterday (Tuesday), and I wouldn't be completely surprised if there's one more coming. It's just matter of who gets what when.

[mattie g]

On 4/3/2017 at 4:39 PM, C.A.P.E. said:

Just about to pour one

The KBS seems much less available over here. I might score a bottle on Wed, and maybe a 4 pack if this other place gets it in. Otherwise I will have to go to the pub next week when they tap their keg.

Nice. I've had a couple SMS this year, and am going to age two others. Great beer!

I picked up another 4-pack of KBS last night at the Whole Foods nearby. They got their delivery yesterday and apparently had a limit of two 4-packs per person, which is unreal. The fact that they even had stock available as of 8:30 pm with those limits was astonishing! And they had the best price I've seen, by far, at $21.99. I'm just in shock at how available it's been this year.

I was just looking at the Founders website, and it does say that MD sees limited distribution, which would explain the relative lack of availability in your neck of the woods. Good luck scoring some bottles!

[mattie g]

Damn, @WxWatcher007...that's an unbelievable score!

If Gonzaga had won, I'd have been killing it and won two brackets. I had the whole Final Four and the championship game teams correct. That's some points...

[smokeybandit]

Looks like Total Wine always say the store that you're looking at doesn't have it in stock, but claims nearby stores have it. 

[showmethesnow]

Getting excited for camping season. Was just up at our permanent site for our trailer which is in the mountains just outside of Pine Grove Furnace State Park. Cleanup was minimal due to the non-winter that we just had which was nice. Except for water, which I will hold off on for another couple of weeks, all systems are pretty much go for camping after we return from a trip to the in-laws for Easter. 

[nw baltimore wx]

1 hour ago, showmethesnow said:

Getting excited for camping season. Was just up at our permanent site for our trailer which is in the mountains just outside of Pine Grove Furnace State Park. Cleanup was minimal due to the non-winter that we just had which was nice. Except for water, which I will hold off on for another couple of weeks, all systems are pretty much go for camping after we return from a trip to the in-laws for Easter. 

How difficult is it to keep water lines clean in campers?  We rented a camper when Cal was inducted in Cooperstown, and although I never intentionally drank the water, I must have swallowed some while showering and ended up sick for a week.  Another guy with us had the same problem.  Horrible experience.  But I've always considered a small or pop-up trailer as an option for the summer traveling we do.

[Bob Chill]

1 hour ago, nw baltimore wx said:

How difficult is it to keep water lines clean in campers?  We rented a camper when Cal was inducted in Cooperstown, and although I never intentionally drank the water, I must have swallowed some while showering and ended up sick for a week.  Another guy with us had the same problem.  Horrible experience.  But I've always considered a small or pop-up trailer as an option for the summer traveling we do.

It's easy but you have to be diligent. A simple bleach flush of the entire system does it just fine. You can buy water system cleaning products anywhere they sell RV's or online too. Using a water treatment during the season is important too. I have limited experience with RV's but plenty of experience with boats and they are essentially the same exact thing. 

A simple de-winterization bleach flush at the beginning of the year and keeping your stored water treated takes care of 100% of the problems. The question is do rental places diligently clean and treat their rental campers? I would say no. Not a chance. 

I had a pop-up for a while. They are great and they suck at the same time. The great part is they are really easy to tow because they are light. They don't take up much room storing them (I didn't have an indoor place to store and that's mostly why I sold it. Just one more thing sitting outside to maintain). Setting up at a site is easier than a tent. And they are easy to work on because they are simple.  The soft canvas part is a pain in the ass to maintain over time. They love to figure out how to leak somehow. Just part of the game I suppose.  Heat and AC doesn't work well during extreme temps but considering we were tent campers for years nobody complained much.  I rarely hooked up fresh water because it was just easier to bring jugs and use campground water faucets. Maintaining a porta potty is fairly digusting but if you use campgrounds with facilities exclusively you never have to use it. After 1 clean out I put a permanent "out of order side" on mine. LOL

 

 I bought a barely used fleetwood at deep discounts off craigslist and sold it a few years later for just about what I paid for it. The absolute best time to have a popup is during a nasty thunderstorm. We had some hairy experiences tent camping in storms. In a popup you just hang out and play games until it's over. Overall, popups are like super glamorous tents. 

[showmethesnow]

1 hour ago, nw baltimore wx said:

How difficult is it to keep water lines clean in campers?  We rented a camper when Cal was inducted in Cooperstown, and although I never intentionally drank the water, I must have swallowed some while showering and ended up sick for a week.  Another guy with us had the same problem.  Horrible experience.  But I've always considered a small or pop-up trailer as an option for the summer traveling we do.

It's not difficult if you use potable water. But you have to be careful because some campsites offer water but it is not potable (for basically showering and other non-drinking uses) so you are running potentially contaminated water through your system.  You normally see this with the more rustic and out of the way campgrounds. There are simple treatments that you can run through your system to clean it out if you have any doubts. One other thing that you may wish to use is a simple filtration system to help purify the incoming water. 

Ninja'ed by Chill.

[CAPE]

4 hours ago, mattie g said:

Nice. I've had a couple SMS this year, and am going to age two others. Great beer!

I picked up another 4-pack of KBS last night at the Whole Foods nearby. They got their delivery yesterday and apparently had a limit of two 4-packs per person, which is unreal. The fact that they even had stock available as of 8:30 pm with those limits was astonishing! And they had the best price I've seen, by far, at $21.99. I'm just in shock at how available it's been this year.

I was just looking at the Founders website, and it does say that MD sees limited distribution, which would explain the relative lack of availability in your neck of the woods. Good luck scoring some bottles!

The 2 liquor stores I go to regularly are getting it in today- each of them will have one case! Lmao!!

Now that is limited. I will do my best but man that is like gold. I might head to Annapolis this weekend so I will try there. Otherwise my guy at the pub will have it on tap next week.

eta- Ever tried Thick Mint from Southern Tier? Its part of their Blackwater series. Really good!

[nw baltimore wx]

2 hours ago, Bob Chill said:

It's easy but you have to be diligent. A simple bleach flush of the entire system does it just fine. You can buy water system cleaning products anywhere they sell RV's or online too. Using a water treatment during the season is important too. I have limited experience with RV's but plenty of experience with boats and they are essentially the same exact thing. 

A simple de-winterization bleach flush at the beginning of the year and keeping your stored water treated takes care of 100% of the problems. The question is do rental places diligently clean and treat their rental campers? I would say no. Not a chance. 

I had a pop-up for a while. They are great and they suck at the same time. The great part is they are really easy to tow because they are light. They don't take up much room storing them (I didn't have an indoor place to store and that's mostly why I sold it. Just one more thing sitting outside to maintain). Setting up at a site is easier than a tent. And they are easy to work on because they are simple.  The soft canvas part is a pain in the ass to maintain over time. They love to figure out how to leak somehow. Just part of the game I suppose.  Heat and AC doesn't work well during extreme temps but considering we were tent campers for years nobody complained much.  I rarely hooked up fresh water because it was just easier to bring jugs and use campground water faucets. Maintaining a porta potty is fairly digusting but if you use campgrounds with facilities exclusively you never have to use it. After 1 clean out I put a permanent "out of order side" on mine. LOL

 

 I bought a barely used fleetwood at deep discounts off craigslist and sold it a few years later for just about what I paid for it. The absolute best time to have a popup is during a nasty thunderstorm. We had some hairy experiences tent camping in storms. In a popup you just hang out and play games until it's over. Overall, popups are like super glamorous tents. 

 

2 hours ago, showmethesnow said:

It's not difficult if you use potable water. But you have to be careful because some campsites offer water but it is not potable (for basically showering and other non-drinking uses) so you are running potentially contaminated water through your system.  You normally see this with the more rustic and out of the way campgrounds. There are simple treatments that you can run through your system to clean it out if you have any doubts. One other thing that you may wish to use is a simple filtration system to help purify the incoming water. 

Ninja'ed by Chill.

Wow, thanks gentlemen.  Great answers.

Bob, I did a lot of backpacking and bike camping way back, and have gradually moved into car/truck camping.  I still like romanticizing a long day hiking on the trail and or winding down some desolate road by bike, totally self-sufficient, and then digging out my gear for dinner, bathing in a river, and eventually crawling into my tiny tent for night of deep sleep, but we all know it rarely turns out like that.  I've grown to like comfort, so over the years I've found truck camping as a great alternative.  I can still bring my bike, boots, and even canoe, and still do all the activities but be so much more comfortable.  Not to mention, it's easier to drive to get beer than to bike. 

I've got a pretty good system worked out and should probably leave well-enough alone, but a pop-up or small tear-drop sounds like something I may look into down the road.

[showmethesnow]

1 hour ago, nw baltimore wx said:

 

Wow, thanks gentlemen.  Great answers.

Bob, I did a lot of backpacking and bike camping way back, and have gradually moved into car/truck camping.  I still like romanticizing a long day hiking on the trail and or winding down some desolate road by bike, totally self-sufficient, and then digging out my gear for dinner, bathing in a river, and eventually crawling into my tiny tent for night of deep sleep, but we all know it rarely turns out like that.  I've grown to like comfort, so over the years I've found truck camping as a great alternative.  I can still bring my bike, boots, and even canoe, and still do all the activities but be so much more comfortable.  Not to mention, it's easier to drive to get beer than to bike. 

I've got a pretty good system worked out and should probably leave well-enough alone, but a pop-up or small tear-drop sounds like something I may look into down the road.

If you do decide to purchase a pop-up or some other small hybrid trailer you may want to keep your investment in it to a minimum. The chances are good that after a year or two of camping in it that you find that you want or even need other features that you never even considered. If there is minimal investment it makes it much easier to upgrade then if you have sunk top dollar into it. And who knows, you may even find that trailer camping just doesn't suit you. 

This RV show is well worth the time if you are interested. It is held every year in September @ Hershey. Wife and I have gone 4 of the last 5 years and find it very enjoyable. The amount of product that is on display is unbelieveable and on occasion you can find some great deals to boot. If nothing else it can help you get an idea of what features you do want.

https://tradeshowz.com/hershey-rv-show

[mattie g]

3 hours ago, C.A.P.E. said:

The 2 liquor stores I go to regularly are getting it in today- each of them will have one case! Lmao!!

Now that is limited. I will do my best but man that is like gold. I might head to Annapolis this weekend so I will try there. Otherwise my guy at the pub will have it on tap next week.

eta- Ever tried Thick Mint from Southern Tier? Its part of their Blackwater series. Really good!

One case?! What's the point?

Reminds me of when one of the TWs near me had only one or two cases of Backwoods Bastard this past fall. They were selling one bottle per person...then I went to the little Whole Foods near me, and they were selling them by the 4-pack. One bottle per person? Come on...

Never had Thick Mint. Is that a play on Girl Scouts Thin Mints? If so...:lol:

[CAPE]

55 minutes ago, mattie g said:

One case?! What's the point?

Reminds me of when one of the TWs near me had only one or two cases of Backwoods Bastard this past fall. They were selling one bottle per person...then I went to the little Whole Foods near me, and they were selling them by the 4-pack. One bottle per person? Come on...

Never had Thick Mint. Is that a play on Girl Scouts Thin Mints? If so...:lol:

Well, I lucked out lol.

The one place got 2 cases! So I scored a 4 pack there and a single at the other place. Gonna pop one open tonight.

 

And yes I think it is. I just had to try it when I saw it, but wasn't sure what to expect. But man its just a good Imperial Stout. The mint is there on the nose, but its about as perfect as it can be, and then the bitter dark chocolate takes over. Its nicely balanced. I bought another one today.

[CAPE]

 I poured my first ever KBS. Two-thirds through it. Epic stout. Top 5 for sure. I was a bit surprised though, because it reminds me of (a less boozy version) of Dogfish Head's World Wide Stout, which I have been drinking since last fall. More refined though. Was expecting more bourbon, but barely a hint. Nonetheless, you can "taste" the craftsmanship in this beer. Cant wait to try it on tap at the Washington Street pub. Anyone want to meet me in Easton next week for a beer?

[mappy]

Home ownership is the worst sometimes. Mr. Map went to disconnect washer/dryer as our new set delivers tomorrow. Water valve at the wall won't close, water everywhere. Plumber hopefully will be here in morning to fix, before Home Depot arrives in afternoon. Otherwise, I've gotta shut water off to whole house, flip breaker for hot water heater, then drain whatever water is in the line before they can disconnect old and reconnect new...then turn it all back on.

Yay

[MillvilleWx]

Home ownership is the worst sometimes. Mr. Map went to disconnect washer/dryer as our new set delivers tomorrow. Water valve at the wall won't close, water everywhere. Plumber hopefully will be here in morning to fix, before Home Depot arrives in afternoon. Otherwise, I've gotta shut water off to whole house, flip breaker for hot water heater, then drain whatever water is in the line before they can disconnect old and reconnect new...then turn it all back on.

Yay

Washer and dryers are brutal to change out because there always seems to be a water issue along the line. My girlfriends family got a new washer/dryer set last year and they both came out fine and nothing leaked from wall, but water in the line from washer spilled everywhere when they went to move it. It must have been sitting in the water compartment of washer and it was disgusting too. Washer was like 12-13 years old. Smelled and got all over the wash room and into dining room connection. Needless to say, I don't ever look forward to doing that. Hopefully Plummer can fix the issue quickly. Good luck getting it all taken care of! It'll be worth it once you have a nice, efficient system. Just a PITA to switch out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nw baltimore wx]

10 hours ago, mappy said:

Home ownership is the worst sometimes. Mr. Map went to disconnect washer/dryer as our new set delivers tomorrow. Water valve at the wall won't close, water everywhere. Plumber hopefully will be here in morning to fix, before Home Depot arrives in afternoon. Otherwise, I've gotta shut water off to whole house, flip breaker for hot water heater, then drain whatever water is in the line before they can disconnect old and reconnect new...then turn it all back on.

Yay

That sucks. When I was doing my home renovation here, the plumber did a pretty nice thing. He added a wall mounted valve just before the connection to the washing machine. It's just a lever switch that easily turns off the water between washes and when we are on vacation to avoid surprises. Might be a good time to install something similar.

[nw baltimore wx]

13 hours ago, showmethesnow said:

If you do decide to purchase a pop-up or some other small hybrid trailer you may want to keep your investment in it to a minimum. The chances are good that after a year or two of camping in it that you find that you want or even need other features that you never even considered. If there is minimal investment it makes it much easier to upgrade then if you have sunk top dollar into it. And who knows, you may even find that trailer camping just doesn't suit you. 

This RV show is well worth the time if you are interested. It is held every year in September @ Hershey. Wife and I have gone 4 of the last 5 years and find it very enjoyable. The amount of product that is on display is unbelieveable and on occasion you can find some great deals to boot. If nothing else it can help you get an idea of what features you do want.

https://tradeshowz.com/hershey-rv-show

Cool. Thanks! I enjoy doing stuff like that so maybe my gf and I will check it out. It makes it doubly interesting because of all the decent breweries in that area.  

i think the fairgrounds in Timonium do an RV show at some time during the year too, but heading to Hershey for a day in early fall sounds pretty enjoyable.

[mattie g]

14 hours ago, C.A.P.E. said:

Well, I lucked out lol.

The one place got 2 cases! So I scored a 4 pack there and a single at the other place. Gonna pop one open tonight.

 

And yes I think it is. I just had to try it when I saw it, but wasn't sure what to expect. But man its just a good Imperial Stout. The mint is there on the nose, but its about as perfect as it can be, and then the bitter dark chocolate takes over. Its nicely balanced. I bought another one today.

Nice...what a win! It's nice to have the extra so you can try one or two out, then let a few sit for a year or two. That's my plan, anyway. Maybe...just maybe drink one this weekend, then save the other five. I promised my buddies that I'd share with them next fall, so that's two more out the window, leaving only three more for me! Of course, there will be more to buy next year! 

 

13 hours ago, C.A.P.E. said:

 I poured my first ever KBS. Two-thirds through it. Epic stout. Top 5 for sure. I was a bit surprised though, because it reminds me of (a less boozy version) of Dogfish Head's World Wide Stout, which I have been drinking since last fall. More refined though. Was expecting more bourbon, but barely a hint. Nonetheless, you can "taste" the craftsmanship in this beer. Cant wait to try it on tap at the Washington Street pub. Anyone want to meet me in Easton next week for a beer?

Awesome. Not sure there's any fairly available beer as boozy as WWS.

Glad you liked it. It's so nice to score and enjoy top beers, and there's just something about sipping on a big, fat BA stout. I'll be leaving the world of stouts really soon, heading into the land of crisp and/or juicy beers on the regular until next fall. Speaking of which...Aslin's releasing two collabs today. Hopefully I can get my hands on a few cans.

[mappy]

3 hours ago, nw baltimore wx said:

That sucks. When I was doing my home renovation here, the plumber did a pretty nice thing. He added a wall mounted valve just before the connection to the washing machine. It's just a lever switch that easily turns off the water between washes and when we are on vacation to avoid surprises. Might be a good time to install something similar.

 

hey, thanks! good idea. Not sure what kind of time it takes to do that, but i will definitely mention it. running a tight schedule between having the plumber fix the valve and home depot delivering my new stuff. fingers crossed it all works out. 

[CAPE]

20 minutes ago, mattie g said:

Nice...what a win! It's nice to have the extra so you can try one or two out, then let a few sit for a year or two. That's my plan, anyway. Maybe...just maybe drink one this weekend, then save the other five. I promised my buddies that I'd share with them next fall, so that's two more out the window, leaving only three more for me! Of course, there will be more to buy next year! 

 

Awesome. Not sure there's any fairly available beer as boozy as WWS.

Glad you liked it. It's so nice to score and enjoy top beers, and there's just something about sipping on a big, fat BA stout. I'll be leaving the world of stouts really soon, heading into the land of crisp and/or juicy beers on the regular until next fall. Speaking of which...Aslin's releasing two collabs today. Hopefully I can get my hands on a few cans.

Yeah it worked out.  And lol at saving them for a year- they will not last a week! My next mission is Backwoods Bastard. Probably none of those left around from the last batch, so I will have to put it off till next fall.

Came across this the other day-

https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/10-incredible-barrel-aged-beers/

[smokeybandit]

One of my favorites (that I saw at the store 2 trips ago, and stupidly didn't pick it up since it wasn't there last time) is Boulevard's Rye on Rye (and apparently there's a Rye on Rye on Rye now too).

[snowfan]

So.....my neighbor had his direct TV dish moved to his roof (we're in townhomes) and the direct TV tech installed it so close to my roof that the dish actually hangs over my roof. Maybe I'm being petty, but it bothers me. The neighbor is out of town......do i wait for him to return to talk with him about or just call direct tv on my own? Last thing I need is an angry neighbor, but I'm big on respecting ones space. I'm sure most will think it's a non issue.......

[H2O]

Just now, snowfan said:

So.....my neighbor had his direct TV dish moved to his roof (we're in townhomes) and the direct TV tech installed it so close to my roof that the dish actually hangs over my roof. Maybe I'm being petty, but it bothers me. The neighbor is out of town......do i wait for him to return to talk with him about or just call direct tv on my own? Last thing I need is an angry neighbor, but I'm big on respecting ones space. I'm sure most will think it's a non issue.......

I know in VA wrt to trees that if a neighbors tree comes into my yard I can do with it whatever i choose.  Not saying you should go saw off the part thats on your side but def talk to your neighbor about it.  If it falls onto your roof and causes damage it might be something you would have to repair and it shouldn't be that way if he has plenty of roof to use.

[mappy]

plumber has come and gone. new valves on the wall. phew. 

[nw baltimore wx]

5 minutes ago, mappy said:

plumber has come and gone. new valves on the wall. phew. 

Nice!  Pros make it look easy. 

[Bodhi Cove]

5 minutes ago, mappy said:

plumber has come and gone. new valves on the wall. phew. 

Where you spared the butt crack view?

[mappy]

1 minute ago, nw baltimore wx said:

Nice!  Pros make it look easy. 

it was super fast. love our plumber, he has replaced our water heater and well pump. real nice guy.

Just now, MiddleRvrwx said:

Where you spared the butt crack view?

haha yes thankfully.