Saturday, September 30, 2017

Thirsty for some new brews....





11 days ago, the long-awaited Edmund's Oast Brewing Company opened its doors as the 21st local craft beer brewery.

I was fortunate to have General Manager Devin T. Marquardt chat with me at the bar and give me a behind-the-scenes tour of the new facility.

They will be adding additional products and right now are pouring four new draft beers and two cask ales.

First cask ale I've had at a brewery. It bodes well for the future.

Closed For Business on King Street has one cask setup and, I believe, there are two cask stations on Vanderhorst at Kudu. The problem has been getting the beverage from a brewery.

Up till now, brewers had to juggle things around to make a small, delicate batch of this ale.

Time and circumstances dictated when this might happen.

Apparently, bars were never sure when a keg would become available.

Now we have a local brewer who is committed to brewing it often to supply its own taps daily and, of course, to pour at its nearby namesake restaurant.

A few weeks ago, as this area began to hunker down for the approaching hurricane Irma, there was a long-awaited opening of local craft brewery number 20.

Well, Pawleys Island Brewing in North Charleston had not factored in a hurricane but the opening went well.

Head Brewer Daren McLean gave a guided tour and explained the steps involved in making their beers.

A Friday-after-work group from nearby Bosch arrived and quickly designated this would become a weekly local stop.

Founder Fraser Blake, was behind the bar, talking about their goals for the brand new entity.

All around him, snazzy new blue t-shirts were being sold that displayed the turtle logo elements.

Several other new breweries are planned around the Charleston area and a few are close to opening, notably Munkle on upper King and Commonhouse Aleworks on O'Hear  in the Park Circle area.

Living in Hanahan, the East Montague 3-block beer, wine, and eats places are close at hand so any and all new openings have my attention.

As usual, I will stop in, sample what they have to offer and try to spread the word with my blog.

It's a pleasant task...which just happens to rhyme with Cask!

.
* I had a vast array of casks while in Europe and the UK. 

Here I am in Edinburgh after the barkeep offered to let me "pull my own."

 I had asked if I could take a photo of him pulling my choice and he said "NO."

 I was taken aback until he added: "It will be me taking a picture of you doing that!

And he did. 

 It tasted delicious.

I can add barkeep to my resume.

Labels: , , , , , , ,

posted by chuckography @ 12:58 PM 0 Comments

Saturday, September 23, 2017

Something about "compound interest"....

I receive a daily "newsletter" from San Diego compiled and edited by former newspapermen (and women) who had worked for the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper.

 I was a staff photographer there in the 1960s and belonged to the editorial staff as opposed to pressmen and plate makers.

 I like to submit an item now and then and the "Editor" Jack Reber graciously includes them in the newsletters.

 Here is a recent one I submitted:

  CHUCK BOYD writes:

I had mentioned a while back that in 1964 I took a photo of QUIET plowed into a field near Miramar. The paper was not interested so I offered it to LIFE magazine.

Back in the sixties, LIFE was a biggie and the photo staff all had fired off photos, hoping to be part of this national treasure. 

 We usually received polite rejection slips.
          
This time they CALLED me to say they wanted it for the Miscellany Page at the back of the magazine. A full page in LIFE!
          
It ran in 1964 (yes, I have a copy or two) and I received not only a photo credit for me - and the newspaper - but also a check for $300. Wow.
          
I was telling someone about this and he said: "I wonder what that would be worth in today's dollars?" I Googled that query and got this back...
          
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the dollar experienced an average inflation rate of 3.98% per year. Prices in 2017 are 689.6% higher than prices in 1964.
          
In other words, $300 in the year 1964 is equivalent to $2,368.90 in 2017, a difference of $2,068.90 over 53 years.
          
Too bad I didn't invest that $300.




Today there was a follow-up comment by a fellow photographer:


ERNIE COWAN writes:

Regarding payment for Chuck Boyd's "Quiet" image:

Sadly, today the photographer would earn very little for a similar shot. The advent of digital photography and good cameras has made everyone a "photographer." 

Two examples:
          
I lead photo tours and it amazes me that just about everyone who participates has a business card
Identifying them as some kind of photographer. Most have no real clue about taking pictures. 

Also, I was recently contacted by a resort asking to buy some of my images to promote their property. 

I quoted standard rates, and the person at the other end laughed, saying "I could find dozens of similar images on Facebook for $15 each."



Labels: , , , , ,

posted by chuckography @ 11:21 AM 0 Comments

Sunday, September 10, 2017

"My Friend Irma"....NOT!

When we first heard about the huge category 5 Hurricane Irma with winds of 180mph heading our way, the state of South Carolina paid attention. 

Many still remembered the devastation by Hurricane Hugo in 1989  when it clobbered Charleston with a direct hit. 

As it got closer, the "spaghetti" trails on the weather forecasts seemed to center on Charleston,

Well, it sure seemed that way to me!

OK, we all began preparations to be ready. 


I moved all of my deck plants inside.

I stored chairs, tables, lamps and other items that would fly around like deadly missiles in the projected huge wind.

I did leave up all the wind chimes, 

I remembered my dad telling me years ago "Don't hang up another one, there's not enough wind for two." 

I think he was joking.

He also said he didn't like all the noise they produced.

Dad could be difficult at times. He thought the same of me I am sure.

A gallon of water per day per person seemed to be the norm suggested. I was all set for the long haul.

Glad I thought ahead because about a week out, all the  expensive bottled water suddenly evaporated from store shelves. 

I filled empty sweet tea jugs with tap water.

Also, the bathtub would be filled to be used to flush toilets if needed. Plan for the unexpected.
I also saw a telling sign at Home Depot.

This warning alerted buyers of generators not to even think about bringing it back after the storm passed.

You buy it, you keep it.

Mine is 11 years old and has NEVER been used during an emergency.

I did crank it up ever so often and followed the suggestion to drain the gas out each year so things didn't get all gummed up.

Armed with a generator,  I decided to hunker down and ride it out. 

I hoped for the best and reminded myself this house withstood Hugo and all the other storms since it was built in the 1950s. 

The 2-story is elevated and never has had more than a large puddle form in the yard so not likely to be flooded.

My buddy booked a room for himself in Atlanta for Sunday and Monday, just in case we remained a major target on the weather forecasts. He also could cancel on short notice.

Charleston started to relax a bit as the projected track wandered Westward. 

The warning tone shifted to a pretty sure tidal surge but I live 12 miles from the coast so didn't worry about beach erosion in my back yard. 

Those with houses on beaches had real concerns of course and it could be very damaging from flooding and brute force slamming ashore on a high tide.

I asked my brother about his son living in Tampa, the new designated ground zero after Irma had her way in the keys and lumbered up the state. 

He responded that the family of four people - and 2 dogs - had hopped in their van and were heading to stay here until it was safe to return to Tampa/Clearwater.

The wind is still just a breeze this Sunday afternoon and, on my tv in the background, I am hearing dire reports from Florida as well as detailed local updates from our mayors, first responders, and even the Coast Guard. We are indeed a harbor city.

Hope to wake up tomorrow with an all clear as stormy Irma decreases intensity and continues limping north into hurricane history.

(Click on the photos for more details.) 

Thanks for hunkering down with me. 
Hope you and your families are safe.



Labels: , , , , ,

posted by chuckography @ 4:28 PM 0 Comments