Brew into Books Fundraiser

"This book is the sh!t. Can I steal it?"

- Joe, age 16, high school student and convicted car thief. He stated this was the first book he had ever read.

Last year, I had an immensely successful year getting some pretty rough teens at an alternative school totally into reading. In fact, for the last few weeks of school most of them refused to do anything, but read. A couple of other English teachers were awed at the transformation of alternative students into avid readers and have started independent reading in their classes. Hurray!

The next stop on my tour through the metro area will take me to White Bear Lake. Wooooeeee... It is a long way from my beloved North Minneapolis. One of my former North students called me this summer and we figured out that I'll be teaching at the school she went to for four months last year. Andrea stated, "Ms. Osborn, those white kids are crazy!" Apparently, it won't be as easy as I was hoping. I will have the challenge of getting suburban ninth graders who are up to their eyeballs in entertainment media interested in books. As I've seen in the past four years, all it takes is getting the right book in the hands of a teenager, and even the roughest ones will love reading.

Extra Pale Ale We continue last year's guest brewer spot by featuring Mike's Extra Pale Ale. A little bit hoppy, a little bit malty, a whole lotta homebrew goodness. Crisp, citrus Cascade hops compliment this standard pale ale to form an American classic.

Scottish Ale 80/- We're not only having one guest brewer, we're having two! Jerry's Scottish ale will be a dark amber color but not heavy. It will balance toward the malty side, with caramel and perhaps even smoky notes. Put this baby on draft and it won't last long.

ESB Don continues his transition into all-grain brewing with his first-ever ESB (Extra Special Bitter). Since we'll have an American and a Scottish style, why not an English beer? This amber brown beer should hint at the bitters of London, and offer a generous hop nose. But don't let the name fool you, it will be nicely balanced.

Suggested donation: $5