Here Comes Oktoberfest!

It's getting to be that time of year again. Let the Oktoberfests begin! TDA is heading back to Mammoth Lakes, CA on Sept 22 to kick off our bellows and beer season. Then we head up to OR for 3 dates the following weekend.  Get more info on our Tour Page. In meantime, enjoy a Glass of Beer with TDA and Drew Carey.

Bratwurst: Cook 'Em Right!

An excellent article by Bob Currer on how to properly cook a brat. It also gives mention to TDA's "First Bratwurst Of Summer". I'm looking out at the grill and thinking it might be time to attempt a mid-winter fire-up.

Oktoberfest Etiquette Tips

Tips for surviving the beerfest nearest you: Get beer wise with the Oktoberfest etiquette primer from Wired.com.

This will come in handy, I'm sure, for everybody headed to the two remaining Oktoberfests we'll be playing this year: Oktoberfest at The Village at Mammoth in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 3; and Oktoberfest Northwest in Puyallup, Wash., on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9 and 10.

Photo by Flickr user a4gpa


Related how-to's:

• Cook Beer Brats


• Make Sauerkraut


• Tap a Keg

Barbecued Oysters, Brats And Beer!

MMMMMM! It must be time for the Seaside Oktoberfest. This has become one of our favorite Oktoberfests and we were quick to add it to our 20th Anniversary Tour. Not only is the food great and the beer better, but the folks at the Seaside Elks are wonderful. It also doesn't hurt that it's located in beautiful Seaside, OR. I got a call today telling me that the phone has been ringing like crazy and they expect to have a big crowd this year. Looks like it's time to party in Seaside! We are playing 3 sets, so this is a chance to get a full dose of TDA. The fun begins this Saturday, Sept 19 at 12 noon. See you there!

A Toast To Those Darn Accordions

In the secluded studios of the TDA graphic arts department, a special commemorative pint glass is being prepared. Rumor has it that the TDA van will be making a diversion on its trip across the United States to pick them up at a secret location known only to a few select band members and the 100 or so employees that work there and their other customers and I guess anyone else who knows how to Google. Stay tuned for more info and how you might be able to procure one of these limited-edition glasses.

Beer Sommelier Makes Food Pairing Easy

At a loss as to which kind of beer to drink with your Memorial Day meal? Probably not. But if you are, the Beer Sommelier is happy to help. Just select your meal's main ingredient, then select the dish, and the website will bubble up a handy list of appropriate brews.

OK, now I'm thirsty.

P.S. If you choose to enjoy a beverage on this holiday, take a second to lift it to the sky and offer a toast to all those who have served (and are serving) in our nation's military.

Drew Carey Takes One For the Sounders

Our pal Drew Carey is a minority owner of the Sounders, Seattle's new expansion soccer team that is up in my neck of the woods. He recently had to dodge a beer thrown from a rabid Toronto fan during a game in Canada. The ever witty Carey emerged unscathed and got off a rejoinder to the Toronto fans. Speaking of beer, we've got our own Carey beer connection right here. Go Sounders!

Video: Robot Fetches a Beer

Thirsty? Watch as these robotic bartenders pour, then deliver, a cold beer to their human overlord.

Current price for one of these metallic manservants: $400,000. But Tokyo University engineers hope to cut that to just $40,000 within 10 years.

Beer Gear, From Can to Refrigerator Robot

One thing that is not missing here -- beer, beer, beer.

Wired.com's gallery of
beer gear mashes total gadget geek-out with breweriana.

("Mashes" ... get it?)

The reason? Today marks the birthday of that most modest of summertime beer-drinking essentials, the styrofoam cooler.

Beer Week Comes to San Francisco

The event: SF Beer Week.

The dates: Feb. 6 to 15, 2009.

The deal: "America's original craft beer-drinking city" pops the top on seven days of high-end suds. SF Beer Week is already twittering away.

There's only one thing missing here: bratwurst.

Widmer's Oktoberfest this Saturday

TDA returns to the Widmer Brothers Brewery in Portland, Ore. this Saturday.

The free, 21+ Oktoberfest event starts at 3pm and is expected to draw over 3,000 people. Food will be traditional German grub and live music throughout the day will include TDA, Debra Arlyn, Tea for Julie, Keegan Smith and The Fam, and Colin Lake and Wellbottom.

Come out, enjoy the predicted 80° day, and throw back a pint or two with TDA.

9 Things (You Think) Your Beer Says About You

Just in time for the Labor Day weekend, a wacky list of "9 Things (You Think) Your Beer Says About You" bubbles up on Cracked.com.

Pretty funny, but be warned -- there's some salty language!

P.S. Please note that Widmer Brothers' tasty beer -- which we will undoubtedly be sampling in Portland, Ore., when we play the brewery's fourth-annual Oktoberfest on Sept. 6 -- is not on the list. What does drinking a Widmer say about you? It just says you're cool (and possibly that you're listening to accordion music).

A Short History of Hangovers

Pour a tall one and enjoy a classic article on the international phenomenon known as the hangover. "A Few Too Many" is a great piece of writing from The New Yorker, complete with colorful anecdotes, science and a some suspect hangover remedies.

Submit your own morning-after miracles over at Wired magazine's culture blog, the Underwire: "What's Your Magic Hangover Cure?"

(And might I be so bold as to recommend that you listen to "Hungover in Clover" as you contemplate this subject?)

Photo: aerodesign.pl/Flickr

The Bowling King Dethroned

Say it isn't so! First the breweries left town, now it looks like the United States Bowling Congress is threatening to leave Milwaukee and move it's headquarters to Texas.
That's just not right. Of course, that doesn't mean folks will stop bowling (or drinking beer) in Milwaukee, but it is another chink in the grand history of this great midwest blue collar town. Who knows when the next pin will drop? Perhaps only The Bowling King! Whatever happens, we can rest assured that there will always be Koz's Mini Bowl to fall back on!

Beer Can Table: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Modern Mechanix is showing off a cool picture of a table made of beer cans. The frothy furniture was assembled out of 420 soldered-together beer cans by Chicagoan Bernard Dier.

The photo ran in Science and Mechanics magazine in 1936, when people apparently had a lot more fun.

(Via Boing Boing)

Robots Serve Drinks at Roboexotica

Robots? Booze? How can you not click on "Boozebots Get Their Shot at Roboexotica"?

Squeeze and Vino: I Guess It Works

I'm getting a little fascinated by the accordion/wine convergence. First it's accordions as the backdrop for a Canadian grape-stomp competition. Now comes word that accordion music fills the air at an Oktoberfest held at Lynfred Winery in Roselle, Illinois. The Daily Herald reports that the event also features barrel races and grape-spitting and -stomping contests.

Now that's news to me. I always thought Oktoberfests -- like the Columbia County Oktoberfest we're playing tonight in Oregon -- were all about the beer.

Fun's on Tap at Columbia County Oktoberfest

My heavens -- The Oregonian boasts a beer blog called The Beer Here, and blogger John Foyston taps the info keg on the Columbia County Oktoberfest we're playing next weekend.

It's a fun festival with plenty of sausage, beer and sauerkraut (not to mention some delicious barbecue, if past years are any indication). The Oktoberfest takes place at the Columbia County Event Complex in St. Helens, Oregon, about 30 miles north of Portland. If you're anywhere in the area, come on out!

Have Beer, Will Travel

An idea whose time has come: Deschutes Brewery's Neighborhood Hops, a "traveling beer festival" designed to bring excellent beer, food and music to Seattle enclaves. Reproduce, please. (Can you hear me, Speakeasy?)

TDA Bubbles With Enthusiasm About Widmer Oktoberfest

Speaking of beer, Those Darn Accordions plays the third-annual Widmer Brothers Oktoberfest in Portland, Ore., this Saturday. Other bands include Curtis Salgado, Dr. Theopolis and Widmer's own Colin Lake and Wellbottom.

Personally, I'm looking forward to the giant lemon drop (as described on the brewery's website): "Test your catching skills at the world's biggest 'Lemon Your Widmer' Event, in which lemon wedges will be dropped from the brewery roof to Oktoberfest-goers 40 feet below ... all while enjoying delicious Widmer Brothers beers!"

You'd have to be a real sourpuss not to get a kick out of that.