Product Review - Twin 6 Messenger Bag

I have a lot of messenger bars. I seem to attract them the way that light attracts moths.
I have several examples of Timbuktu, Patagonia, Crumpler and more, and most of them do get used fairly regularly. In current use, is my T6 Sack, which is a large basic Crumpler back with some very cool graphics. I scored this pack from my friends at Twin Six when I was out in Minneapolis for QBP's Frost Bike.

It is a no frills pack, it has one large main compartment with 3 pockets, a flat zippered front compartment. There are pockets on both sides that easily fit water bottles. Anyone who has seen a Crumpler Bag knows how well they are built.

I've been using this bag for hauling my laptop, a change of clothes and some shoes back and forth to the shop whenever possible. The rising cost of gas sucks, and frankly, I'd much rather spend my money on something more fun. I've not had to fill my car up in over 2 weeks.
Riding a bike is far much more enjoyable too. I've been towing the boy to daycare in his trailer, so I'm using it as an opportunity to spend some time outside with the kiddo, and get a bike ride in too.


It was yesterday though, when the bag really proved it's worth. I was charged with picking up dinner. I didn't have the car, so I grabbed my biggest bag, the T6 Sack. Well. We had some of the ingredients at home, but still needed a few things. We were going to have burritos.
I was able to fit 4 limes, an orange, a lemon, a loaf of bread, a big flat of chicken, a bag of rice and a 12 pack of beer. Not bad eh?

The loaded pack was heavy, but fit snugly to my back with the help of the stabilizer strap. It was also pretty comfy too, despite having huge box of beer in it. I managed to get it all back to the shop safely, without crushing the bread even.


I'm not sure, but I think that if pushed, I might even be able to get 2 12 packs in there!
I give this bag 3 thumbs up (if I had 3). One for top notch construction, one for the excellent graphics, and one for being able to haul the beer home.
Cheers!

East meets West

Unless you've been living on another planet or under a rock, it's no secret that I like beer.

I used to live in San Diego, not 3 miles from Stone Brewing's headquarters. Funnily enough, they liked to ride bikes. Needless to say, back then, I was in a position to help them out, and they were in a position to help me out. I can recall a big BBQ blow out, that dispensed some of the owrst hangovers on record, and the feeble attempt by a friend of mine and I, when we tried to "finish" the keg of Arrogant Bastard Ale that we had tapped the night before.
Sadly we were beaten. How foolish we were...

In subsequent trips to SD, we would always make a pilgrimage to the brewery. We'd hang out in the brewery during happy hour, and bring some swag back to the east coast. Back then, It was cool to bring a case or two of 22oz beers on a plane. Not so anymore.

(Actually, I have a good story about this. Ask me about the 3rd worst plane ride of my life)

Up until just recently, beer this good was only available locally, at the brew pub where it was made. We didn't have such beers available in 6 pack form in VT until just recently. Don't get me wrong, we have plenty of good beer, but not many that can give you "bitter beer face". I love IPAs. Full of hops and flavor, and completely undrinkable by many. An acquired taste for sure.
About a year ago, I found Smuttynose IPA, from our neighbors in New Hampshire. After a few years of de-tuning from Stone's brews, I found the Smutty to be pretty strong, both in character and flavor. Could this be a replacement? Can I stop thinking that the only good bottled beer came from the west coast?
Ponderous.

...Until one day a few weeks ago...
When I find a Stone Porter in the store across the street from my shop. Porter isn't my thing, but there it was, a west coast beer in the cold case not 100 yards from my work stand.
Well, there is only one place I know I can go for good IPA, or any obscure malted beverage for that matter. And what do you know? There are all of my old friends. Ruination, Arrogant Bastard Ale, and Stone IPA 6 packs.

WOW

Well now what?
I guess it's time for a shoot out.
East meets West.
Biggie meets Tupak.
I'm pretty sure I can find a way for both of them to get along...

In my belly!

Ryan in the House!

What a day.
Mondays are typically hectic here, as not only do the weekend orders need to be dealt with, the giant mess I make on the previous Saturday needs to be cleaned up. And when you have a busy Saturday, the shop can be quite messy.
Ryan from Niner made a guest appearance, travelling in the area, and with a day free, took us up on some of our local finest. I love showing folks around on our trails. Having a somewhat decent personal Niner arsenal to choose from, Ryan picked Kermit, leaving me with the RIP.
He tried really hard to not completely blow Davey and I out of the water on the big climb up Perry Hill.
We had a short time to fit a lot of trail in, so we stuck to the ones we knew would delight. Bloody, 6 and Joe's.
A trifecta of the best of what Waterbury has to offer.

Check out Ryan on "Stitch".
He is fast.

We have another angle of The Wall on 6 Flags.

We managed to get our ride in about 10 minutes before the skies opened up and dumped some much needed rain on us. While the trails are really dry, it was never meant to be that way. What is noramally tacky loamy soil, is fine powder. The trails are so dusty that the soil is pushing away from the highly traveled areas. We battle wet erosion with bridges and drainage work, but what can you do with dust?

We followed it all up with a nice dinner at the Alchemist with some of Waterbury's finest ales to wash the dirt down with.
Hopefully, we'll see Ryan again soon. We all had a blast.

5 P.A. 2.0

Back and better than you can ever imagine.

This time, it was left to it's own devices. It boiled in the fermenter for 2 weeks, then bottled and left to condition for 2 months. Oh, it is smooth.

So very smooth.

Cheers to you Nat! Another fantastic brew.