Tailgating Tech - ARRRRGGHH Edition

Yeah, Pirate themed stuff.
Apparently the red skies will be in the morning on Saturday.

Check eshiben5s weather thread.
Official Unoffical gameday weather but a sure sight better than the NWS.

Do not forget, Saturday is the White Effect Game.

From the Whit gets it file-
Ticket packages they are calling Hokie Village Experience Packages
Theyre designed to attract teams of 25 or 50.
Heres a video theyve promoted help sell them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qYUx3BC2L0&feature=youtu.be

A friend with a roach coach tells me they have invited more of the same to the Hokie Village this week.
There should be more chow available. I understand the lines were pretty long against Bill & Mary.

ECU Pirate game kickoff is at noon
And those mean weather guys are gonna make it cool and rainy.
Yeah, normally Pirates mean rum but, Im going with a hot drink this game.
I love Irish coffee. Ive also worked out a good way to get it good and fresh on Saturday morning at the tailgate. I will be bringing a gallon of hot coffee Saturday morning.

Those Stainless Steel Insulated growlers I mentioned in the season opener. They are good for keeping stuff hot too. And, theres a method to the madness for getting the most out of the Irish coffee.
First off, pour some boiling water into that growler and get it hot inside while you brew your coffee.
Make your coffee strong. About 1-1.5 tablespoons of grounds per cup of water. But, dont let the coffee sit on those grounds long. If you have a French press, 3-3.5 minutes tops.
Why is this? The bitter components of the coffee (other than the caffeine) are the heaviest and take the most time to dissolve into the coffee while the sweetest and most aromatic are the lightest and fastest to dissolve. Take your water away from the grounds or dont let it drip too long. Once most of it is done running, in your drip coffee maker, take away the filter and let the last of the water run down the drain.

Ok, dump the boiling water from the growler and immediately fill it with the hot coffee and your golden.
Part 2 sugar. Ok I know some of you guys dont put sugar in your coffee but, with the bitterness from the coffee and the alcohol, you might want some balance. Use good turbindo sugar.

Good Turbinado sugar is less processed and is brown from molasses still mixed in. It adds body and flavor to the sugar that will come out in the coffee.
Whipped Cream, and I mean real whipped cream, not that flavored vegetable oil that comes out of the spray can. Get some heavy cream and use a hand blender. Drop in a little powdered sugar and maybe a drop of vanilla. Whip it until it forms soft peaks. The tops fall over under their own weight. Now put this in a glass container like one of those pyrex things with the red lids. Why glass? Because plastic is too close to the structure of cream and it will hasten its collapse. You can use stainless too. I like glass though.
Now pack these, the whipped cream should be on ice. Everything else just high and dry.
For the Irish, I prefer Bushmills in coffee. Others for sipping but Bushmills is a very good choice here. The type of bite from normal Bushmills really melds well with the rest of the drink.
Heres how you build it. The order is important.
Teaspoon of sugar then load 4 oz of coffee on top. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
Scoop a very heaping tablespoon of cream in your spoon but, dont add it yet. Measure out a heavy shot of the Irish but dont add it yet.
Now, shot in one hand, cream in the other hand.
Pour in the Irish and very quickly slide the cream on top, off the spoon.
Why the dance? The coffee is hot, the volatile flavors and alcohol evaporate very quickly at 200F. The cream, seals the top and prevents all that good still from escaping.
Let it sit for just a bit and let the cream melt into the coffee. Then consume. Itll keep ya warm when your are wet and cold and, wake you at the same time.
For your girl, you can scrape some chocolate on top. Also, if you put a bit too much coffee in, you can add more Irish right through the cream on top. It doesnt seem to work out that way for the first shot though.

Weve covered the breweries in Blacksburg so lets check out whats near ECU

Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery 4519 W. Pine Farmville, NC | Phone: 252.753.7745
http://www.duckrabbitbrewery.com
These guys are what is called a production brewery. They mainly produce beer for packaging. They do have a tasting room but, it is only open on Friday evenings 3-10PM.
Duck-Rabbit Brewery beers are quite available in the Valleys and have a pretty good following.
This is their 10th anniversary. However, if you find yourself down there this weekend, they are having a bit of a party.

In other brewery news, for those Hokies in Florida

Boulevard Brewing will expand distribution to Florida in October. Their distributor there will be Brown Distributing, a huge player in FL. Hassle your local retailer.

A New Brewery in Roanoke opens its doors the same day as the ECU Game.
Big Lick Brewing Company
http://biglickbrewingco.com/
Downtown Roanoke, across from the Roanoke Times Building. Corner of Salem and 2nd.
135 Salem Avenue, Roanoke, VA 24011
It will be open Saturday 1-9 PM, if he still has beer left by 9.

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No camels were harmed during the filming of this edition.