Your going to want to select a paler ale. Something that will hold the color nice, and not so dark that it is difficult if not dare we say impossible to color correctly. Irish beer while not required is certainly preferred. Your coloring beer green for St. Patrick’s day so don’t go getting all schmuck like  now by choosing a piss pour non-Irish beer and thinking it’s equivalent. It. Is. Not!

First thing your going to want to do is pour a nice big glass of beer with minimal head! Do this buy tilting your glass and pouring slowly. I know your wondering why you want very little head when normally everyone wants a decent amount of head. (Yes we are still talking about beer.) The reason is that when you add your coloring you really don’t want a bunch of green foam.

Now that you have a nice glass, a good pour, and minimal head you want to add about 6 – 9 drops of green food coloring and stir gently. Very gently. At this point you should have a nice green color, you want it just a tad darker than the green you are going for because now you can add just a little more beer to blend the color in and create a little white frothy head.

One final tip if you have people waiting for your green concoction it is always a good idea to say something like “Ooops messed that one up!” then drink it while making the second one. This way you can get your fair share and not be everyone’s beer bitch all night with no fringe benefits.

Oh sure there are several methods to knowing when your getting close to the wire. At my house we open the door and kinda give the keg a little shake. Short of letting us know if we are flat out about to be empty this method really doesn’t accomplish much.  At one point I think during a moment of brilliant drunkenness we decided if we put a scale down and let the keg sit on that we could determine when it was almost empty without having to shake it. We never really got around to trying that method. I digress.

The important think here is that once again the Linux community has found a serious shortcoming in the world and addressed it. Kegbot! is packed with some insane features. Not only will it tell you how much beer is left, but it will also monitor the temperature, tell you how much you have poured each and every time, allow you to setup various users to see who is drinking more than their fair share, and you can even have full control over the access of your taps.

The best part is the software is free! You will however need a few small parts for sensors and such, however the whole thing can be built for about $80.00 and in some cases you may have a few of the parts so you can shave that off as well.

If you want to read more about Kegbot! you can have a look here, and you can check back in a couple of weeks because as soon as I have a free weekend I will be setting this up on my own kegerator!

So with very little effort on our parts we purchased a keg conversion kit for around $100.00 bucks. The installation into the old fridge was super easy. We took out all the shelves, drilled a whole in the front for the tap, went to our local keg supplier, and within an hour had Miller Light pouring (didnt want to go expensive the first time). Adjusting the pressure was not that difficult, but it did take some tweaking to get the perfect pour. For anyone who wants to try this I recommend pouring into a picture to begin with, this will save you a ton of wasted beer.

The cost for buying beer by the Keg has saved us a lot of money, made for less bottles hanging around, and we actually think we drink less since we are no longer racing to see who can get the last bottle out of the pack.

Anyone else have any experiences with their own kegerators?

Oh and for those naysayers who are thinking of emailing me about how it isn’t possible to want to drink anything other than that frothy drink from the gods known as beer, there are a couple of reasonable reasons as to why you might need a good drink recipe. For example maybe you finally scored a date with that really attractive girl who just started working with you, and she doesn’t like the taste of beer. Obviously you want to make a good impression and Cocktail.com can help with that. To be honest though I think I would go out with the other new girl maybe she isn’t quite as good looking, but she can throw some mean darts while polishing off a couple of stouts with you.

PHILADELPHIA, February 4, 2009 - Philly Beer Week is one of the countless reasons to Love Philadelphia. From March 6-15, 2009, beer lovers from all over can sip their way through more than 100 events at the second annual Philly Beer Week, which attracted more than 15,000 participants during its first year.

This year’s Philly Beer Week will highlight the Philadelphia area’s thriving beer culture with 10 days of festivities. Brewers from the U.S. and beyond, including Fritz Maytag from Anchor Brewing, Garrett Oliver from Brooklyn Brewery and Fergal Murray from Guinness, will journey to Philadelphia and its suburbs to host tastings, dinners and events. The festival will also feature the return of three major beer festivals: the Opening Tap kick-off event on March 6, the Philly Craft Beer Festival on March 7 and the Brewers Plate on March 8. What’s more, organizers are introducing two new festivals, both taking place on March 15: the Yards Real Ale Invitational, highlighting the region’s premier cask ale producers, and Zythos America, featuring the best beers from Belgium and the best Belgian-style beers from around the world. Also in store at pubs, bars and breweries: a chili cook-off and a rock band tournament on March 8, Beer Balderdash on March 10, Philly- and beer-themed Quizzo on March 11 and a brewery bike tour on March 14. phillybeerweek.org

Beer lovers can sip safely while visiting the region by taking advantage of the popular Philly Overnight® Hotel Package, which comes with an extra incentive this season thanks to the new Love campaign. As always, the two-night offer, available at more than 30 hotels throughout the region, includes free hotel parking (valued at up to $75), a Philadelphia Privileges coupon book and a Philly’s More Fun® teddy bear. What’s more, 100 lucky hotel package buyers who redeem their stay before March 16 will be randomly named “Philly Guest of the Day.” Upon check-in, they’ll receive any number of prizes, including museum tickets, hotel upgrades and gift certificates for restaurants, nightspots and shops. The package is bookable at gophila.com/love.

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside® a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality.

For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit gophila.com or uwishunu.com, where you can build itineraries; search event calendars; see photos and videos; view interactive maps; sign up for newsletters; listen to HearPhilly, an online radio station about what to see and do in the region; book hotel reservations and more. Or, call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Historic Philadelphia, at (800) 537-7676

You can help Gina by sponsoring her during this worthwhile cause.

Movie Premier – Orlando based TV series “Havin’ a Beer with Mike” to present the movie version of the TV series titled “Twisted Friends” this February 22, at 5 PM for students and 7 PM for the general public at Full Sail University located at 205 University Park Drive, Winter Park, Florida 32792. (enter from University Blvd next to Ale House, go 200 yards to glass building on the left). Ticket availability is limited and will be delivered on a first come,  first served basis.

Visit www.BeerwithMike.com for tickets. Door prizes will be provided by Yuengling Brewing Company along with a special invitation to an after party with the movie cast. The movie and TV series creator Mike McDaniel will be joined by cast members “Dick Simmons” “Ben”, ”Wolfman” and “The Clogger”.  “Twisted Friends” features ringleader Mike and his band of beer drinking misfits as they embark on a journey into the woods to find “Ben” (a mentally challenged man) who ran away from a swimming pool while wearing a Speedo upon the news that his Evil twin brother is coming to reclaim him. Ben’s misadventures in the woods include an experience with an antisocial homosexual fringe cult that attempts to make Ben one of their own.

So for New Years Eve “AB” picked up Partini and we had some friends over to play. We altered the rules a tad bit by requiring a shot after each round for the losing team. Needless to say we got pretty toasty WELL before the drop off the ball at midnight. I highly recommend this game to anyone. It also seems like a great way to break the ice. Here is what the game consists of essentially:

Partini is the Adult Party Game with a delicious twist! A great mix of games for the laugh out loud party crowd! Open up the game box. Sprinkle friends around the room. Mix up the coasters, then pick ‘em at random to play 6 games. Six games include “Straight Up”-Write something true or funny about a teammate. Will you get points for telling it like it is? “Mime Twist”-Zip your lip and act it out. Will your team guess “stud muffin” in the Lover Boy category? ”Bouncers”-Ready, aim and fire balls into cups. The action changes with every draw of a card. “What Not”-Don’t say what it is, say what it’s not! Will your team guess “hot dog” when you say “It’s not a cool cat” Clay Smoothie”-Mold and fold clay into shapes that your teammates just might recognize..like a snowman. “Hum Punch”-Hum it up in a musical challenge! No singing allowed Ingredients:a crowd of party pals, 6 Partini Games, 35 coasters, 430 cards and 1,000 belly laughs! Contents: 35 coasters, 430 cards, 5 plastic cups, 2 plastic balls, container of Partini modeling compound, 2 pads of paper, 4 pencils, timer die and rules.