A Scary Scary Ride

I'm wanna talk a little bit more about this whole Tebow thing.  Tons of people are writing stuff everyday about my boy.  You hear about him on every radio station around the country.  Since becoming the starter of the Denver Broncos, his winning ways have brought a lot of attention on himself.  Everyone has an opinion on the outspoken and talented FOOTBALL PLAYER(notice I did not say Quarterback).

My biggest problem with all of this attention is the fact that it feels like everyone is just waiting for him to lose so they can pile on and say how bad he is.  No he doesn't do it the normal way.  No, he doesn't have good throwing mechanics.  No, he isn't accurate.  Currently he is playing very well and silencing most critics.  They're still talking, but instead of bashing him, you're hearing a lot more: "I can't believe", "I'm amazed he's", and "there's no way he".  fortunately for Tim, he thinks that his team can beat anybody.  None of us have any real reason to think they(the Denver Broncos, not the Denver Tebows, that team doesn't exist) can't.

This isn't a fun ride to be on at the moment because despite how much joy he gives me, I know that I have a facebook page and twitter account full of people who know and despise my stance on Timmy, and can't wait to pounce.  The fun part is, as long as the Broncos keep winning and in many cases keep staying competitive, I love know all those people are just stewing and yelling at their TVs, frustrated by the success of someone who does it different.

I'm all over the place with this blog, I just wanted to crank one out.  Give my boy a full offseason to continue to learn the position from the best guys in the league and allow the Broncos to bring in some pieces around him and let's see what these guys can do.  I'm all for him and Thank you Broncos big wigs for giving my boy a chance, seems like he's earning his stay.

Free Tim Tebow!!

Ok, so I thought this would be the absolute best time for me to really go off on how frustrated I am about the whole Tim Tebow as 3rd string quarterback topic.  Why did I feel like this was a good time?? Well i have been watching football all weekend like most Americans(or some Americans), I am sleep deprived and finally, I've been drinking!!

Before I dive in about how PO'd I am, I am going to give everyone a brief(and that is probably an exaggeration) synopsis of who Tim Tebow is. Tim Tebow is a 2 time National Championship winning, Heisman trophy winning QB out of the University of Florida.  He was a home schooler who goes on missions trips during the off season, professes his love for Christ and at a point mentioned keeping his virginity until he would become married(although I'm sure he has some of the most pristine options(code word for hunnies(code word for sexy ladies))coming his direction and if he maintains it he would be a far better man than I.  Until then, I am the better man because I am a superior provider for my family, less his absurd athletic ability).  Tim is not your conventional QB and doesn't have the best mechanics but has always been a winning QB wherever he played. 

Last season, Tim's rookie season, he was the backup to starter Kyle Orton.  Fair enough as MOST rookie QBs don't start right off the bat.  Well Kyle Orton has never been a winner.  Kyle Orton has never been a sexy player.  Kyle Orton has never been debated as a top tier fantasy QB.  Kyle Orton kept the starting job and went 3-10 as the starter.  My boy, Timmy when finally given a chance, went 1-2.  Not a winning record, but a better percentage than Orton.  Statistically speaking, had Tebow been given the same opportunity as Orton, would have had a 4-9 record.  Tebow also averaged a better TD to turnover ration in that short sample than Orton did in his time as well.

This isn't me saying that Tim Tebow is some amazing QB, but an opportunity is just that, a chance.  Wake up Denver Bronco big wigs, Kyle Orton isn't and has never been, much less ever will be a good QB.  He isn't sexy and definitely isn't a winner.  Kyle Orton couldn't beat out Rex Grossman for a starting job in Chicago.  Enough said!!!

At 4:25 left in the 4th Quarter of the Raiders v Broncos game IN DENVER, Kyle Orton has yet to help his team score.  His stat line includes an interception, a fumble and no TDs.  Kyle isn't a winner.  Your team isn't good.  Why not see what you have on your team and see if you can possibly make something happen for the future.  the fans in the game are currently yelling for TEBOW now. hahahaha.  Wait, look at that, Orton just threw a pass that Lance Ball took, jumping completely over a defender for a TD.  That's good for him.  Orton is gonna need all the help he can get after this game is over and the newspaper articles start rolling. 

I am a bit of a homer.  I love the University of Florida.  I root for Tim Tebow.  Cameron Newton, a QB who left UF(University of Florida) because he couldn't pass Tebow on the depth chart, went to a junior college and won a Championship.  he then transferred to Auburn and won the Heisman and a National Championship(like Tebow) and was later selected 1st overall by the Carolina Panthers just threw for 422 yards and scored 3 TDs in his 1st career game.  His team has given him a chance, despite him not knowing the full playbook, being very raw and having a shortened off season.  he showed them what he could do.

I wish the Broncos nothing but the worst and I hope Tim gets all the reps in he can and continues to make himself the best he can.  Maybe they can release him at the end of the year and he can sign with a team willing to give a proven winner a chance.  Last I checked, winners are pretty few and far between and are always in high demand. 

My favorite recipe: Rivalry Soup

Steelers and Ravens.  Nadal - Federer.  Gators vs Seminoles. Yankees and Red Sox.  The Entire NFC East vs The Entire NFC East.  Lakers - Celtics.  I could go over a lot of different rivalries and ofcourse you're probably already upset that I didn't mention yours.  Get over it.  But what does it take to make a rivalry? 

Generally speaking, one would think it is 2 winners who meet each other in crucial events deciding championships.  We know that is the case for the likes of the Lakers/Celtics, Bulls/Knicks and Notre Dame/USC.  These are awesome battles that make for riveting TV events that are almost always a much watch.  Sure you don't have any real rooting interest in either team.  You may have come to pull for one or the other over the years like I have for the Patriots over the Colts.  My reasons are that the Pats have drafted so many Gators to their team that just watching them allows me to keep up with a ton of the guys who helped bring championships to Gainesville.  You may very well have your reason as well.  I don't put quite as much weight into these rivalries as I do for local rivalries. 

The Texas/Oklahoma, Cubs/Cardinals, Dodgers/Giants or Alabama/Auburn.  This is where you stake your claim on your local team, the one you ride through thick and thin, championship or lottery.  Your heart and soul is in these rivalries.  There should almost be subsets of this rivalry as very often this rivalry is between a winner and a loser as well.  The big brother beating up the little brother, year after year.  Your locational rivalry can be as bold as the perpetual Boston vs New York rivalry which has shown itself in almost every league.  Hockey has the Bruins/Rangers, NBA has Celtics/Knicks, NFL's Pats/Jets and of course the grandfather of them all; The Yankees vs The Red Sox.  These rivalries have taken another city and decided I to blow up this whole war to a completely different level.

I decided not to preface too much about rivalries and not go too in depth into their histories and how they're built before I got to the one that I really want to talk about...

Washington DC vs Baltimore
The Battle of the Beltway

This is a newer rivalry in lots of ways.  The first rivalry and the one currently closest to my heart is the Baltimore Orioles vs The Washington Nationals.  As it is well documented, I am a DC boy stuck living and working in Baltimore markets for the last 10 years or so.  The people of Baltimore love the Orioles.  The downside is that they love winning more.  This just means that had the Orioles been a winner any time in the last 15 years, they would be a bigger draw, more appreciated and loved than their football counterparts, The Ravens.  This totally helps out this DC/BMore rivalry because all DC has known over that same timeline is losing(except the brief and rare winnings of the Caps and Wiz making a couple playoff runs over that span).  The Nationals have only existed since 2005 and winning teams don't leave cities(Baltimore knows all about this).  The Montreal Expos were a perfect fit for DC and our culture of being lovable losers.  So here we are now with the Orioles and Nationals who wouldn't even play if it wasn't for the implementation of MLB's inter-league play.  In baseball, American league just plays American league and National plays National, except when they finally meet in the World Series.  Well, let's be honest, by the time that Nationals and Orioles meet in the World Series, they will have the makings of a very nasty rivalry.  I don't even know if this rivalry means anything at all to the players, but Os fans hate Nats fans.  Mostly cause Baltimore loves to hate on people.  Luckily, DC loves to hate you more after you hated us first!

Needless to say, I went to my first Nats/Os game in Baltimore at Camden yards a couple weeks ago and despite being kicked out after my team had a 12-5 lead that would later become a 17-5 win, I had a blast!!!  My Os fan friend that I went with was distraught that he had been kicked out again(I think he said 3rd time), but I had a great time being heckled by all their fans for being one of what couldn't have been more than a hundred or so Nats fans at the entire park.  that heckling is how rivalries begin to brew.  IT ISN'T ABOUT THE TEAMS!!!! It's completely about the fans using the teams as their representatives of their passions and their home!!  My team isn't any better than the Os and yet I was being berated(and I love it) by bitter fans because I was the representative of the team who was beating them so badly on this day.  I am very optimistic of this rivalry and it's future and even more excited about bringing my buddy to the Nats park when the Os come to town in July.  Let's battle, let's fight and let's make this rivalry great!!!

Know what... I'm not good at blogging consistently at all... but I'm gonna try and  give you the Redskins vs Ravens blog the week prior to their preseason game in August.  It probably won't happen and even still, we may not even have a season, much less a preseason for me to reference this game, so... until then.  Here's my rolling top 5 beers of all time list for you to enjoy on your way out.

1. Goose Island: Bourbon County Stout
2. Weyerbacher: Insanity
3. 21st Amendment: Monk's Blood
4. Lagunitas: Brown Sugga (preferably the barrel aged)
5. Stone: Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout(would be much higher but isn't available any longer)
5a: Weyerbacher: Imperial Pumpkin Ale

What has DC done to deserve this???

The Capitals, had a very roller coaster season that included an 8 game losing streak that ended very smiler to last season with an Eastern Conference "Regular Season" Championship.  They entered the playoffs just like last season, with the #1 seed and the belief of all the "Hockey's Whos-Whos" that the Capitals would make it to the Stanley Cup Finals.  Showing some signs of struggle in the first series, including going down 3-0 in the 2nd period in game 4, a game in which had the Rangers won, would have tied the series at a 2-2 tie.  They would rally back and win 4-3 in OT.  I suggested on twitter (@jbsully) at that point that Bruce boudreau might wanna pull up the ol' resume and start fine tuning when he gets home.  Those same signs of weakness took center stage in the next round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.  The Capitals struggled to stop the perceived lesser offense of the Lightning and it all came to a swift halt in 4 games last night in Tampa Bay. I could go into some analysis and try to show some hockey knowledge but that isn't what this particular blog is about...

This post is about how DC, the District of Columbia, Washington DC, The Capital, The Hockey District, Chocolate City and the Home of the Hungriest Fans in the Country have been so horribly wronged by each of our sports teams.

We, as a city haven't won a Championship since the Washington Redskins won the super Bowl in 1991.  We had won another 2 Super Bowls within 10 years prior as well.  The Washington Bullets(Now NBA's Washington Wizards) won the NBA Championship in the 1977-1978 season.  So to even remotely remember that you would have to essentially be 42-45 years old.  THATS IT! We got nothing else! This isn't the City of Champions that Pittsburgh is.  We aren't New York, LA, Chicago or Boston.  All of those cities have loads of championships spread out over loads of different sports.

Now sure, I feel very good about having an exciting team to watch in the Capitals who are going to make sure the entire season is a blast to watch.  Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nick Backstrom, Mike Green and loads of other talent SEEMS to be set to be competitors for years to come.  Hopefully growing and maturing and getting beyond their youthful woes that have led to back-to-back early playoff exits.  As exciting as they have been, sooner or later they will need to put it all together and win in the playoffs or they will quickly lose this entire city that has come to love them as they seem to be our only hope to give us that elusive championship.

We only just became lucky enough to get a baseball team in the Nationals.  They came from the horrible Montreal Expos but have put together a pretty smart group of people who seem to be putting together a FUTURE competitor.  The likes of Danny Espinosa, Wilson Ramos, Ryan Zimmerman and the two young phenoms Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburgh give all of us great reason to have hope for upcoming seasons of POTENTIAL winning.

Now our perennial loser, the Wizards.  The Wizards are primed to go heavy youth under the ownership of Ted Leonsis, the same owner of the Capitals who guided this heavy youth movement.  they seem to be making smiler moves by building from the draft with the likes of Nick Young, JaVale McGee and John Wall.  They will have another lottery pick this year and should be in line to start to put some things together so they can finally make some sort of playoff push of their own, BUT until this point we have seen absolutely nothing from them.

And finally the Washington Redskins, the jewel of the district, and the heart of the our entire tri-state area(minus those tools in Baltimore - Really easy to cop out and run from the Skins when the other team up the beltway established themselves as winners).  I have to blame Daniel Snyder and if you've ever read my blog in regards to the Skins, then you know that I almost exclusively blame Snyder as we haven't REALLY won much of anything except for offseason titles since he took over the ownership back in the mid 90s.  If and when this team finally starts to put it together, we as a city will be all aboard.

There is your backstory... how often does a backstory take up 90% of a blog, I have no idea ;) Needless to say, I really want to know what it was that caused such a ferocious black cloud to plant itself above this sports city.  We're great fans who support through thick and thin. Yet still we cannot seem to get over the hump and the team that we placed all of our hopes and dreams upon was just swept in the 2nd round.  Do we fire a coach? Do we trade some pieces?? I have no clue and as much as I love to play armchair GM, I don't know what I would do in this situation.  ...I usually do.  I just want a winner in DC.

For your enjoyment, he are a couple picks from my most recent brewing session with my brother Adam. 

Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda and still losing...

Alright,  so I'm gonna attempt to write an entire blog on my cell phone(I failed and as you can see have since edited it), connected to the Bob Evans' wifi while I'm waiting for my Sante Fe to go through winterization... this should be fun... oh and it isn't letting me use capital letters or some punctuation, lovely... here we go.

So I was thinking about how much surroundings and circumstances design and build who who people become in sports. I have a couple different concepts that I believe we have all thought of before.  I want to put a slight spin on it though.

The first being. Even if we knew who would be great ahead of time, if they came to the Redskins or we drafted them, would they become the players they are today??  Ofcourse I am putting this in a Redskins spin because we've really missed on opportunities in the draft and even free agency over the past 15 years.  Now obviously in some situations that is an absolute NO.  Would Tom Brady become Tom Brady for any other team besides The Patriots? I definitely think not.  Every single team passed on him multiple times.  Part of what made Brady who he is today are his coaches and more specifically, Bill Belichick.

The idea that if I took a trip back in time ten years and all my knowledge of the last ten drafts and loaded our team with Haloti Ngatas, Chris Johnsons, DeMarcus Wares, Clay Matthews and Reggie Waynes, would they become the same players we know and love today???  Would Danny even heed my factual wisdom???  Here's a list of a couple big misses we've had(and every team has had a some) over the last 10 years.  I'll give you a look at who we could have had and also could have had even if we took the same position player, assuming that the position we drafted was in fact the correct need at the correct time.  Just something to remember, my draft strategy is very different then the skins, I am a trenches first kind of guy.  O and D lines are what I care for most. That may or may not show up in this list.

2001: 15th Pick: WR Rod Gardener - passed on: Reggie Wayne, Drew Brees, Matt Light and Chad Johnson
2002: 32nd Pick: QB Patrick Ramsey - passed on: Bart Scott, James Harrison, Michael Lewis
2003: No 1st Rounder -  Lost the 13th pick to the Jets for Lav Coles(REALLY?) and thus missed on Troy Polamalu, Dallas Clark and Nnamdi Asomugha.  After only having a 2nd rounder selected WR Taylor Jacobs and passed on Anquan Boldin, Dallas Clark, Antonio Gates, Osi Umenyiora, Lance Brigss and Asante Samuel.
2004: 5th Pick: Correct Selection of: FS Sean Taylor - 3rd Rounder: Chris Cooley. No 2nd and 4th. 5th could have been Michael Turner, Wes Welker, Jason Peters
2005: 9th Pick: Carlos Rogers / 25th Pick: QB Jason Campbell - Passed on DeMarcus Ware, Jamaal Brown, Aaron Rodgers, Roddy White and had NO 2nd or 3rd rounder.
2006: Again no 1st, 3rd or 4th Rounder - lost the 22nd pick but had the 35th pick and took LB Rocky McIntosh and thus missed: Nick Mangold, Marcus McNeil, Greg Jennings, MJD, Brandon Marshall, Miles Austin... rough draft
2007: 6th Pick: I believe correct pick of LaRon Landry despite passing on: Adrian Peterson, Patrick Willis, Revis Island.  SHOCKER, the Redskins also had NO 2nd, 3rd OR 4th round selections
2008: No 1st rounder: 3 2nd rounders: 34th: WR Devin Thomas, 48th: TE Fred Davis, 51st: WR Malcom Kelly - missed on A TON: Ray Rice, Desean Jackson, Jamaal Charles and when they traded away the 1st rounder missed out on Chris Johnson, Sam Baker and Rashard Mendenhall
2009: 13th Pick: The correct selection of LB Brian Orakpo, despite Clay Matthews and Brian Cushing both being available. No second rounder because of the One-Year-Not-So-Wonder Jason Taylor trade and yet didn't seem to miss on anyone exceptional.
2010:  4th pick: Trent "Silverback" Williams - No 2nd rounder(thank you Donovan McNabb) thus missing: Nate Allen, Jermaine Cinngingham, Carlos Dunlap, Mike Williams and Ricky Sapp.

What do we see most from this list?  Well, i don't expect us to make all the right choices when it comes to players. But the fact that we selected 4 good players in 70 rounds of drafting over the last 10 years is a problem.  That is an astonishing embarrassment!!  This has to change or The Washington Redskins will never win another Super Bowl ever again.  Mark my words.

Before we shut this down I want to take a final look into the idea of how circumstances and surroundings effect a player.  I'm only going to use one example and I'm sure you'll think of a lot yourself.

What if it sounded a little more like this: With the 1st pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, the San Fransisco 49ers select: Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback from California...


What would have changed?  Prior to the draft it was unknown who the 1st pick would be and Mel Kiper Jr actually had Aaron Rodgers as the 3rd best player available and the top QB with Alex Smith as the 4th best player and 2nd best QB.  I remember people saying that had Rodgers gone 1st then it would have changed the whole board because like 6 teams in the top 10 would have selected Alex Smith.  In hind sight it was the wrong decision as we can all see.  We have to look at how the situation was different.

Aaron Rodgers got to sit behind Brett Favre, arguably the best QB of all time on a 10-6 team that won their division.  Alex Smith started right off the bat for a team who went 2-14 the year before.  Rodgers also got to mature while watching the whole Ted Thompson-Brett Favre situation hit the bloody wall.  By the time he came out to start, it was a fresh start for the city and the expectations of his 20 pick falloff a couple years earlier had made it much easier for him to play without the weight of an organization on his shoulders. You also have to look at what impact his coaching staff had been.  Alex Smith went into 1st time Head Coach Mike Nolan's defense first, rookie head coaching hands.  It must be noted that Mike Nolan is currently the D-Coordinator for the Miami Dolphins and not the Head Coach of the 49ers.  Mike McCarthy just ended up as the right person for the Green Bay Packers and Rodgers became the right Quarterback and thus the story is now what it is today.

Would Rodgers been the same if he was a 49er.  Impossible.  Worse? Maybe.  Better? Possibly.  Different? Absolutely.

Now how do we make sure the Redskins move closer to the Green Bay Packers then the San Fransisco 49ers in this scenario.  I have some ideas.  But Danny doesn't care about my ideas...

Save us Rex Grossman, you're our only hope!

My buddy Jeremy had an interesting post on his Facebook which has sparked some very fascinating conversation.  I thought you might want a glimpse of its value.  I applaud Jeremy for his silly(silly is a good thing) knowledge.  he can say something sporty and he has an opinion to back it up.  Jer can also get very passionate, just ask his broken Playstation controllers.  So when Jeremy made this post, I knew he was gonna spit fire.  I just have a slightly different view on the scenario, not necessarily correct, but different.  Afterwords I comment on the overall state of the Redskins and give a blueprint to success in DC.  It wasn't what I was planning to write but my fingers just did the talk and I let my heart bleed all over the keyboard...

Jeremy.  Facebook.  Redskins...
Jeremy: For the record, I hate Mike Shanahan. He has lost his mind. He was chased out of Denver, he will be chased out of DC.

Deborah: Hate is a strong word how about dislike instead.

Jason: Na

David Mann: Looks like you don't have to hate Hainsworth any more. 

Jason: Do you not like the benching Jeremy?? I like it!! McNabb's favorite target is the dirt, I'm done with that dude
Jeremy: I don't like it all. You think Sexy Rexy is better? Really? Have you lost your mind too? Every thing Shanny does has become a negative debacle. Haynesworth, The Detroit Benching, and now this. Just utter stupid nonsense. Reports are coming out that he's lost the locker room now, reports that they're doing it get money by preventing McNabb from completing some of his bonus goals, etc etc. I'm so sick of this.

Jason
Take his damn money!!! Bonus for what!?!?! Bonuses are intended for superior performance. I'm not getting a bonus at work this quarter but he can go in there, throw 2 more interceptions and cough up 7 more dirt balls and get a bonus because he throws for 300 yards from us being down all game!?!? Career high in INTs and you want a bonus? Forget that, keep the money.

Shanny blows. Kinda makes you want Zorn back because at least you know he didn't know what he was doing and if he ever learned along the way it might actually help the team. Well, this dude is supposed to know. And he doesn't. You do, to a level have to coddle players a bit. He doesn't seem to get that at all. That's part of being a leader.

Is Rex better? No! BUT!! If Donovan were to lead us to a 33-17 victory over the surging Cowboys IN Dallas, all of a sudden it looks like it might be a good idea to keep him around for a couple more years. And then we're screwed for the next 10 years. get used to it buddy, we're not gonna be a competitor until I'm nearing 40. It's just the way it is.

SEXY REXY is our only hope!!

Great American Beer Festival: My first visit

September 16-18 Denver, CO. The Great American Beer Festival: The American beer playground.  The largest beer festival in the world, serving up 3523 different beers.  That is an increase of over 7% over last year alone!!

One of the best things about the event is the commotion it brings to the Denver area.  Colorado already has a lot of brew pubs, ale houses and quality draft bars.  The whole concept of "good beer" goes so far beyond the foolish mid-atlantic's view that good beer is Yuengling.  Don't get me wrong, I can drink Yuengling... but let's be real, it's no Southern Tier Mokah.  Getting me off topic, like usual.  As I was saying, COLORADO loves themselves some beer.  You take this beer loving place and bring to it the biggest beer event in the world.  The entire city adapts perfectly to the changes.  We visited 2 really cool pubs before heading to the festival itself.: The Cheeky Monk Belgian Beer Cafe who had all 3 versions of the new Saison Du Buff, each brewed by Dogfish Head, Victory and Stone Brewing Companies.  http://www.stonebrew.com/news/100225pr/  for more info.  This beer was a collaboration of sorts brewing a traditionally spicy Saison but with the added flavors of different herbs such as sage, parsley, rosemary and thyme.  Its wild and I am proud to say I enjoy the Victory brew the best.  But as I was saying, the Cheeky Monk made a really big deal out of this and it was so exciting to be there while a couple of the brewers were as well.

The next spot we hit was an awesome pub named The Falling Rock Tap House(above).  The FR Tap House has over 200 DRAFT BEERS that change weekly!!! Do you get this concept!?!?!  We pulled up to the tap house and it was packed!!  It was pouring out into the streets and we still made our way in to try a couple of brews.  I loved the whole vibe of the tap house and I highly recommend anyone who comes to the Denver area to swing by and grab a beer!  I can't even remember what I had EXCEPT THAT I TOTALLY REMEMBER WHAT I HAD!!!!  We all had Pliney the Elder by Russian River!!!! Well, the guys had that while the ladies tried different sour beers, framboise, and cherry beers.  All of which were amazing!!  but the Pliney was special because we can't get Russian River over here in the east and it has become the standard of IPAs amongst the industry. 

We had our beers and headed to the convention center... I HAVE NEVER SEEN A LINE SO BIG IN MY LIFE!!!  It 8-10 people wide and as long as I could imagine.  I thought it would take us hours to get in... but it didn't.  We were in the center within a half hour!  Looking at the map above you can notice that every tiny little number represents a different brewers table.  As we walked in, we were totally wiped for the whole experience and grabbed our mini schooners to grab some beer and get the party started!

I mean, the place was huge!!! Obviously we had a couple spots we each wanted to hit.  Brewers like great Divide, Oskar Blues, Russian River and Avery were ones we all wanted to hit.  Of course I wanted everyone to try a couple of my favorite beers I've ever had, like Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout!!  Any plan of action we had quickly disappeared.  We never got drunk... no matter how much I regret that in hindsight... It was just that there was so much.  Our best goal was to visit preferred brewers but if while on our way, we came across a brewer that had nobody at their table, in which we would stop and try a beer.  That worked well for about 15 minutes and then we all lost each other again!!

There a lot of fun stuff that they had setup that convinced me that i will be going every year and for more than just one day.  We tried a lot of really tasty beers from breweries that we never would have had before.  They had a cool silent disco and loads of good food.  Overall the experience was a blast and I look forward to next year!!!