Tailgating Tech – Inaugural Blacksburg Edition

Almost there. All.. Most. There..

From the Whit gets it file- Yesterday, Hokie Sports reported the Virginia Tech launched a smartphone app, just in time for the season. We can keep up with the other important scores while watching the game, not the other scoreboard hoping to catch the game info we want. Free, its in the iTunes App store and Google Play. Heres some features

The Virginia Tech Game Day App is packed with robust social, on-campus and stadium features that enhance the game day experience by delivering:
Free live game audio;
Real-time Instagram and Twitter feeds from the team and fans;
The official game-day guide with key times, events and need-to-know information including stadium maps and parking to plan the day;
Enhanced location-aware maps for fans attending both home and away games;
Live Conference and Top 25 scores, real-time stats;
Opt-in alerts for weather updates, pre-game events, play-by-play information and more

Hokie Sports app announcement

Its the first game of the season so, just a few reminders.

Trash Dont forget to bring trash bags and a few extras for those that forgot. Leave the place cleaner than when you arrived. VT has been trying to get a game day recycling program rolling for a couple of seasons now, the sustainability program people tell me they are in need of money to make it a regular program. This year they hope to have a few games with recycling opportunities but, so far they have nothing regular. You can find about 100 fat cans around campus that are essentially solar powered trash compactors with trash on one side and recyclables on the other.

Fire extinguisher Id like to urge everyone to bring a small fire extinguisher, especially if you are cooking at your tailgate. Dont rely on water, if you have grease involved your can cause harm with platter, the hot or buring grease will cause the water to explosively turn to steam and cause bad things.
Get a chemical extinguisher, look for an A,B,C type fire extinguisher. You can normally find them at your local hardware store and sometimes supermarket. $20 cause you never know. Ive seen some now in a simple aerosol can. I know nothing about them, maybe we have an expert among us that can fill us in.

Tent corners weight down the canopy. At the Marshall game last year, lots of canopies were all over the place and destroyed. Weights designed to fit on the feet can be had at your local fan shop.

Canopy weights

I cant vouch for these but they look exactly what Id want. Theyre stackable and put no stress on the legs of the canopy. I would not rely on just 1 in a wind. Remember; do not destroy the parking lot by driving spikes into the pavement. Personally Id select a different, less expensive method such as a heavier kettleball set on the foot and fastened to the post or a weightlifting disk, bucket of sand or water. Repurpose what you have, just keep your canopy from flying.

Stuff you can use
Youve got a plate of food and a beverage but only 2 hands You need a 3rd hand to raise the food to your mouth.
You can wear a good hat and solve the problem

Or maybe not.
Try something like this.

Canopy Beer tray

Handy tray that attaches to the legs on your canopy. This particular model has a clamp on either side. Choose one depending on whether your canopy legs are angled or straight. A rubber band slid up the canopy leg or tie in the appropriate spot where you want to position the tray, will help the tray from sliding down the leg.

Stainless Steel (SS) pint glasses Beer can be damaged by light. Glass is less than optimum for walking around a parking lot during the 5th hour of the party and if you are a craft beer fan, you want to drink from other than the bottle or can so you can smell the beer and really enjoy it.

These are available from various manufacturers as single wall or double wall, with tops and various accessories. SS is durable, but dont leave it in acidic stuff or outside or, it will rust. It inhibits rust but isnt impervious to it. 304 SS is the material you are looking for. BTW, beer is acidic (though it would take many months to even notice), wash them normally when you wash the rest of your stuff. Start at $10 for good ones.

Insulated SS growlers Buying beer by the growler, at the brewery, is the most economical way to buy your beer and, its normally more fresh that way. Rule of thumb is that a growler, that normally holds 4 pints (64 oz) cost the same as 3 pints. With a good cap, even the glass growlers, unopened, the beer will normallystay fresh up to 2 weeks. Stay under a week, if you can, just to be sure. The cap is the key. If you get a cap you like for your glass growler, hang onto it.
Stainless Steel growlers are outstanding, in my opinion. The double wall growlers use air to insulate and will keep your beer cold for a long time. It has the normal benefits of SS and are very durable, useable for hot or cold drinks. Make the good coffee at home and bring a half gallon to setup the tailgate and have some left over for the Irish coffee. Several breweries have these around.

Flying Mouse in Trouville (Rt 81 exit 150) has the best price that Ive seen anywhere for these.

FOD (Food Of the Day)
Bacon because Why not?

Salty, crispy, smokey snack. Or go with pepper bacon or maple syrup bacon or bacon dipped in chocolate.
Friday, put your bacon on a wire rack set it on a baking sheet to catch the grease and into a hot over on low. Let the fat render out. When its given up most of the grease, turn the oven up and cook it to the point of being crisp. Take the whole thing out of the oven, pour off the fat to use for tomorrows breakfast gravy and let the bacon cool. When cool, put it in a ziplock bag and chill it and bring it to the game. To serve, just put out a few pint classes with the stiff bacon sticking out like bread sticks.
BTW, chocolate wont stick directly to bacon when it is hot. Let the bacon cool, then dip it in the warm chocolate. If it still wont stick, sprinkle the bacon with powdered sugar.
If you dont like your bacon cold, toss it on the grill momentarily to just heat it through. Prob'ly best if there's nno chocolate on it at that point.

Whats up with beer brewing near Blacksburg?

Theres only 2 breweries in the immediate environs of the town but theres a lot going on in Virginia taken as a whole.

Bull and Bones Brewhaus and Grill 1470 South Main St. Suite 120 Blacksburg, VA 24060 | Phone: 540-953-BULL(2855) | Email: info@bullandbones.com
http://www.bullandbones.com/
Bull and Bones is a brewpub. They make their own beer as part of a restaurant.
Being in Blacksburg, the beer here is very VT oriented. 2 of the beers are called Lunch Pale Ale and Maroon Effect Ale. They have a total of 7 beers currently and are part of a trend that I like, they have a homemade soda on tap too. They will fill growlers and they have growlers to purchase.
Maroon Effect Ale is commonly seen in local grocery stores and convenience stores in the fall.
Bull and Bones has a full menu, an outdoor eating area, a restaurant side and a pool table side. This is a popular place to go after games.

The River Company Restaurant and Brewery 6633 Viscoe Rd, Radford, VA 24141
Phone:(540) 633-3940
The River Co.
The River Company is a fine restaurant with a nice bar. The food is upscale and well done. I especially like the trout.
The beer. The River Company likes to keep 8 beers available including a seasonal in rotation. The porter and brown I can recommend from here. I see their new seasonal is the Shot Tower Imperial India Pale Ale. Ive not had this, if someone here tries it, give us a review, please.

They will do growler fills and keg purchases. To get a keg from the source (always the best option for fresh beer), go to the website and drop an email. The bottom selection on the home page is for keg fills.

Ive seen the address for The River Company listed as both Fairlawn and Radford so, take your pick.

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