So as we alluded to earlier in the Clam Chowdah Saison post - in a rare concurrence of events - Denny and I got to brew because Denny and I were on our way to Brazil! Bonus feature - John Palmer, who lives not too far from me, stopped by and joined the mayhem.
What? (about Brazil, not John Palmer - he's a well known brew hound)
Well, apparently, other countries don't mind Denny's sordid past as a rock and roll roadie. :)
Ok, seriously, did you know there's a growing homebrew scene in Brazil? I've become slowly aware of it over the last few years thanks to trips by our friends, John Palmer and Gary Glass, to Brazilian homebrew events. And it's amazing, starting ten years ago from pretty much nothing, they've built a small, but very vibrant homebrewing culture here. Since Brazil is a very large country, the brewers here not only have their local homebrew clubs, but state associations and the state's put on their own homebrewing convention and competition (think a smaller version of the Dixie Cup or a very regional NHC).
So, it was that Denny and I received an invitation from the "Associação dos Cervejeiros Artesanais de Santa Catarina" or "ACerva Catarinense" aka the Association of Artisanal Brewers of Santa Catarina (one of the southern most states in Brazil, one state north of Uruguay) to speak at the 2nd Annual Techincal Congress of Amatuer Brewers on the lovely island of Florianopolis, the state capital.
After our Monday brew session, Denny and I loaded up the car and went to LAX for the start of a long journey. See, Denny couldn't go alone because this was his first trip outside of North America!
This is what our trip down looked like - LAX to Lima, Peru; Lima to Santiago, Chile; Santiago to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Rio to Florianopolis. It was a short matter of 30 hours!
View Full Size Travel Map at Travellerspoint
It's hard to tell in this picture, but see that tinge of red - this is in Santiago and we both think it's from the volcanic eruption they were dealing with 1000km away.
The worst part for Denny and I wasn't the long hours on the plane - it was the long hours without internet connectivity. We slavishly searched each airplane or airport for available wifi. The Dreamliner's changing lights are really cool, but I'd rather be on a more conventially lit plane with wifi! :) We finally got wifi in Rio - about 24 hours later and we were shaking like a man in need of a fix!
Dreamliner Cabin Lights - Fancy!
more to come!
Day 1 - A Trip to Germany in the Heart of Brazil - Plus Watch How Great Denny is at Blowing!
Day 2 - The Congress Begins with Two Know It Alls Flapping Their Gums and a Brazilian Homebrewers Fest
Day 3 - The Beer Continues Flowing - Denny and Drew both Talk Some More and then off to a little bit of Ireland
Day 4 - More of Germany in Brazil, Denny's Cardiologist's Heart Skips A Beat About Lunch, The Mall and A Final Bit of BBQ
Day 5 - Downtown Florianopolis and Leaving on a Jet Plane
View Full Size Travel Map at Travellerspoint
Florianopolis -> Sao Paulo -> Lima -> LAX
Fin...