Ok, a little background for those of you who may be reading this who yet again have forgotten the importance of keepin’ up with the minutiae of my life. I am now employed at a Miller Brewery in exciting metropolitan Albeeny, Jawja. I am entering my fourth week of employment much to the amazement of Special1.
I have learned all kinds of new stuff about the brewing and production of beer. I am on the production end of things on two of the can lines. In case I have not mentioned this there are seven can lines and eight bottle lines on the production side of things. Production means making sure beer gets into all those cans and bottles, making sure all those cans and bottles get packaged in whatever of the bazillion ways they are packaged, making sure the packaged up cans and bottles get to palletizing so they can be put on to pallets and shrink wrapped, and getting ‘em all over to distribution whence they get put onto trucks or railcars so that everybody can have a never ending supply of Miller Beer products. No need to thank me. They pay me well for this.
I have learned two important facts that I feel I must share with y’all.
The first is that full 16 ounce beer cans sometimes suffer from Erectile Dysfunction. That’s the name we give to their tendency to sometimes fall over when they are coming out of the pasteurizer onto the conveyor (two lines there) and onto the combiner belt whence they zip along to packing. Since I have spent a lot of time with the pasteurizer as of late, I have had the thrill of sometimes being the one who stands on a platform and erects fallen beer cans while awaiting beer that is in the pasteurizer to do its thing and get all pasteurized so that it will contain no icky bacteria and has a longer shelf life. Thus, I do my part in the fight against beer can E.D. Now, personally, I think 16 ounce beer cans are kinda tacky. I would never purchase 16 ounce cans but enough people do to make it worthwhile, so good for them, I say. If you should be one of those people who prefer his or her beer in 16 ounce cans and live in the greater southeastern U.S., or in certain parts of Europe, Asia or Africa, you may purchase beer one day that I have had a hand in making sure it got to you. Those very cans may be cans that I personally assisted in overcoming E.D. Think about that and the horrible difficulty those cans may have had to overcome to reach you.
The second thing is that all the yeast used in the making of Miller products comes from what is referred to as “the mother yeast.” What I have been told is that this “mother yeast” is over 150 years old and has been makin’ baby yeasts all this time. “Mother yeast” lives in Milwaukee. Her babies are sent to all of Miller’s breweries. It is a special yeast that they claim gives Miller products part of their distinctive taste. Personally what I think gives all beer its distinctive taste is beer’s ability to numb your tongue after the fifth of sixth beer. What do I know though. I just produce it, I don’t brew it. That’s a whole other side of things that I have yet to see.
Oh, and, DRINK MILLER BEER! there are no DRINK MILLER BEER! subliminal messages DRINK MILLER BEER! in this OP. DRINK MILLER BEER! None at all. DRINK MILLER BEER! Really.
DRINK MILLER BEER! Trust me.
Great OP, swampy! The idea of a motheryeast sounds kinda scary to me, though. I imagine something like a queen bee, sitting in a corner, sending her offspring into the world and contemplating world domination. :eek:
I should shower and mull over tomorrow’s lesson before falling into bed. But I’m having too much fun playing my guitar right now to move from the couch.
Fun OP, Swampy. You’re early! But that’s okay. Lets me get in on the action before tomorrow morning, when I’m sure I’ll already have a full page to catch up on.
Of course, I just had to show up just before I’ve gone to bed, so I don’t suppose my post does me much good because I’ll still have a full page to read up on tomorrow morning. Oh well – at least I’m a few messages ahead of the game. I’ll post a larger response tomorrow.
Well, fortunately for me, Noor is an early riser (it’s just after 7am here and HRH has already been up, and had me up since 5! :eek: ), so when I saw swampy’s post in last week’s MMP to expect the new one at midnight, first I had to find out what the time difference is between here and Jawja, and then patiently wait (meanwhile reading other interesting MPSIMS threads). And lo and behold, spot on midnight swampy time, a new MMP appears!!!
Interesting OP, Mr Bear! The Mother Yeast, huh? Sounds kinda gross! I have to admit we don’t drink our beer out of 16 ounce cans here. We actually try to avoid 'Murkin beer altogether, since it’s a bit weak for our taste (coming from Australia and all! )
Well, Noor is gradually running out of steam, after stubbornly refusing not 15 minutes ago to go to sleep - takes after her mother, darn fool child!!!
I spoke to my sis in Cleveland last night on Skype - she is getting ready to go to Chi-Town next weekend for the Lollapalooza Music Festival. Is that any good, Haze? Never heard of it! Sis just said it must be more interesting than Cleveland right now, which is really wearing her down with its boringness (new word!!!).
Okay, okay, HRH is getting really grumpy so I gotta run!
Lollapalooza is awesome! Or so I hear. I’ve never been, but all my native Chicago friends rave about it. What bands is your sister going to go see? I’m thinking about going on Saturday to see Regina Spektor, depending on my financial situation.
Not sure what bands she is going to see. I asked her if she was going to take time out to go see Oprah ( ), but she wasn’t interested. What else would you recommend to see in Chicago?
Well, I’d think Lollapalooza will take up most of her time, but the Art Institute is one of my favorite attractions in the city. It’s right next to the park where Lollapalooza takes place. Has she been to Chicago before?
Swampy, I’m so glad you are, once more, a productive member of society. Even if it is involving packaging K-9 liquid body waste.
You don’t mention the most important thing… how was the birthday!? What prezzies did you get? Sorry about the cake, I was bringing in here, but the cats ate it. [sub](yeah, that’s the ticket, the cats.)[/sub]
No fair posting while I was busy getting up and getting ready for the day. I end up at Post #10! Hrmpff!!
Judging by the taste Miller had when I last drank some (about 20 years ago), I think the Mother of all Yeasts was ready for retirment then. But (as I’m sure **Sean **will be along to say shortly), what would an Israeli know about beer? :rolleyes:
Oh, and I think they need to give you a month severance so they’re figuring they might as well get a month of work out of you first!
nice to see you! You should drop by more often, we miss you.
swampy, thank you for the lesson in beerage. I wonder if the Mother Yeast is sisters with the about-the-same-age Mother Starter at Boudin’s Breads in San Francisco?
I got your message, LOUNE, and I’m calling you out!
gathering up clumps of dirt and small pepples while patiently waiting for LOUNE to appear in the schoolyard
I’m up at 3 AM because of a Charley horse bad enough to make me cry. It was in an odd place, not my leg, so just walking around didn’t fix it. It’s starting to go away now, but I figured I’d post anyway.
Hubby gets them a lot. Try a HOT towel, as hot as you can stand. Also take a Tums the calcium helps, if it’s from dehydration. Eat a banana, same reason.
Morning, humper-mumpers! Excellent OP, Swampus - were there beers involved in your buffday celebrations?
I don’t think I’ve ever tried Miller, since I am of the Real Ale persuasion and don’t like lager-type drinks at all. Especially over here because lager in the UK tends to be over-gassy and generally doesn’t agree with me. Having said that, we’ll be in Belgium next weekend and the only thing I’ll be drinking there is Stella Artois (or it’s clones - Jupiler and Maes) which although it looks like lager, doesn’t taste like it. Confused? Good, perhaps you need a drink!
Finally, it’s sunny over here and looks like it may remain so for the next couple of days which will give things a chance to dry out. Our two lower floors at work are still damp but I think most of the water is now gone, it’s just the mess that’s left behind. I don’t envy the estates section that kind of clean-up job.
I’m about to make a cup of tea to get my day started properly, we have a new person starting in our section today so I have to be extra nice to her. The boss says so. Good job I have a large piece of chocolate cake to see me through the morning.
It was in an odd place, not my leg, so just walking around didn’t fix it. It’s starting to go away now, but I figured I’d post anyway.