Day: October 8, 2005

Karen and I went to our first beer tasting put on by Free The Hops. In a single word, wow!

We met a lot of new people.

We met a lot of new beers, too!

We all have Danner Kline to thanks for heading Free The Hops.

Everyone was enjoying themselves.

The service was great and always with a smile.

Another happy customer!

You will find more pictures here.

Karen and I had time to kill and we were getting hungry as we drove around Birmingham, Alabama. We have already driven by the Liberty House which will be hosting the Free The Hops party later tonight. So, we decided to find something nearby and we had been looking for the Purple Onion, but the one that our GPS found had been closed down.

We decided to give The Metro Bistro & Market a try. We both had great sandwishes. Karen had a turkey while I had a B.L.T. Everyone was getting hungry smelling the bacon cook.

Once the staff determined we were from out of town, they filled us in on the local scene. We talked with the bartender and the cook, Josh and Mike respectively, about the Free The Hops, brewing beer, and our favorite Hefeweizen.

Everyone had fun and the food was great. After eating to the point of needing to pop, everyone headed over to where the Alexander homestead had been many years ago. You can see signs of where the cellar and corn crib was on the land. The old spring is still flowing, but it has gone undergrond for the most part.

We even got a group picture to boot.

Karen and I will be heading to the reunion for her mother's side of the family. Karen sent out invitations to everyone to encourage a good turnout.

I think the weather is going to be great. Karen's co-worker, Larry Woellhart, smoked us a pork butt which should be super. Larry is known for his ability to smoke anything from catfish to pork butt to walnuts.