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Hidden in the New Mexico desert is a beeritual oasis.
After my trip to Brau Beviale in Nuremberg, Germany (watch this space for the video in a few weeks), I decided to spend a few days in one of my all-time favorite countries, Belgium. The greatest allure, of course, is its brewing culture, rooted in centuries-old tradition. Belgians, in large part, have the monks to thank for that tradition and many in the brotherhood are still brewing at Trappist monasteries.
Soaking in the Belgian beer vibe got me thinking about another recent trip I took and how I've yet to post anything about it. (It was in early July, a month that turned out to be quite dizzyingly surreal for those of us at Beverage World for reasons I needn't expound on in the blogosphere).
On a long holiday weekend in New Mexico, my wife and I decided to check out a Benedictine monastery, on the grounds of which the brothers run a small brewery. The two beers brewed are available commercially (with the help of a contract brewer), mostly in the U.S. Southwest, as, appropriately enough, Monks' Ale and Monks' Wit.
The Monastery of Christ in the Desert is quite literally an oasis in the desert. Finding it involves a journey of Indiana Jonesian proportions. Once we found the exit for the brewery/abbey off of a rural highway--driving through thick plumes of smoke from New Mexico's summer wildfires--the destination was still 13 miles away. Doesn't sound like a lot, but I neglected to mention that it's 13 miles on a dirt road on the side of the mountain…with no guard rail!
As we crawled along at about nine miles per hour we reassured ourselves that it would be fine as long as it didn't rain. Much of the state was an inferno because of the lack of rain, so what chance was there that we'd happen upon a summer shower? Spoke to soon, of course, as the sky quickly turned gray and the first few liquid specks began to dot the windshield of our rental car. (When I picked up the car at the Albuquerque Airport rental office, the rental agent gave me a kind of "Are you sure?" look when I said I wanted a compact car. I thought he was just trying to upsell me to an SUV. Oh well, live and learn.)
Needless to say, we got there in one piece and it was quite a charming compound. Since it's so remote, fuel has to be pumped on site. The monks even grow their own hops. The community is pretty much the picture of self-sufficiency. We were greeted enthusiastically by Brother Bernard and the lay staff, general manager Berkeley Merchant and brew master Brad Kraus, in the brew house, who let us hover over them as they brewed.
As an added bonus, just as we were about to leave, a bell rang and the brothers quickly assembled in chapel to commence a 10-minute Gregorian chanting session. Did I mention this was in the middle of New Mexico?
The point of my story is that it's a story. That's what the beverage business is about, stories and journeys. The story behind a product is often as appealing as the brand itself and is often what distinguishes one product from another in a cluttered marketplace. And it's critical to lead consumers on that journey to discover the story, which, ultimately, translates to brand loyalty.


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Area college baseball: Gossett's gem sends Clemson past GSU
Published: Friday, May 10, 2013 at 3:15 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 12:50 a.m.
In Clemson, sophomore righthander Daniel Gossett (Byrnes) struck out a season-high 12 batters to lead No. 15 Clemson to a 7-1 victory over Georgia Southern on Friday night. The Tigers, who took a 1-0 lead in the series, improved to 35-15 on the season. The Eagles dropped to 25-24 .
Gossett (8-3) pitched 7 1/3 innings to earn the win. He allowed just two hits, one run, and two walks with 12 strikeouts. He also retired the first 10 batters of the game.
Garrett Boulware and Mike Triller both went 2-for-3 with two RBIs to lead Clemson.
South Carolina 7, Georgia 2: In Columbia, South Carolina senior left-hander Nolan Belcher limited Georgia to two runs on five hits in 7 1/3 innings and seven different Gamecocks drove in at least one run.
The Gamecocks are 35-14 and 14-10 in the SEC with Georgia falling to 18-29 and 5-17 in league play. Game 2 of the series is scheduled for 1 p.m. today and is also Senior Day.
Belcher (7-5 ) struck out eight and walked none. He retired 16 straight batters from the first inning to the sixth inning. Grayson Greiner went 3-for-4 with two runs.
Western Carolina 6, Wofford 1: In Cullowhee, N.C., the Terriers scored first, but the Catamounts scored six unanswered runs over the final six innings to take the first game of the series.
Wofford is now 20-32 on the season and 10-18 in the Southern Conference. Western Carolina is 34-17 overall and 19-6 in league play to sit in first place. The Terriers were held to just two hits by Jeremy Null, who struck out 10.
Kennesaw State 4, USC Upstate 2: In Kennesaw, Ga., the Spartans (25-23, 8-14 A-Sun) lost their fourth straight league game.
USC Upstate scratched out an early 1-0 lead against Owls ace Stephen Janas, one of the country's top starting pitchers. Kennesaw State would score three runs in the third inning.
Brody Greer extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a sixth-inning single. Brandon Lee (6-5) took the loss, allowing four runs in seven innings.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Carole Baskin, DVM, MSc, CPIA
Director Public Health Program, Associate Professor of Environmental & Occupational Health
Research Interests: Regulatory and Compliance issues in Public Health
Teaching Interest: Public Health Ecology, Zoonoses, Biosafety
Education History: DVM, North Carolina State University
SLU faculty since: 2012
Carole Baskin, DVM, MSc, CPIA is a comparative medicine specialist with expertise in research compliance, integrity, and quality control in academic and public-private collaborative research environments. Dr. Baskin is also an influenza expert and has also worked on the next-generation smallpox vaccine.
She received her DVM from the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine, her MSc in Physiology and Immunology from Ohio State University, she also had her residency in Comparative Medicine at the University of Washington and a post-doc fellowship in the department of microbiology at the same institution. Dr. Baskin has received a certification in professional IACUC administration by Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research.


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With the warm, sunny weather in Colorado's High Country comes a lower risk of avalanche danger, but we're not in the clear yet.
"Deep persistent slabs remain a concern on high elevation shady slopes and some wet activity is possible by late in the day," the latest report for the Vail and Summit County zone reads.
Low overnight temperatures and cool daytime air with moderate winds minimizes the threat of wet avalanches, though there are some pockets of danger, primarily on steep, shady slopes near and above treeline. The cool nighttime temperatures refreezes the snowpack overnight. Meanwhile, daytime temperatures are "unseasonably warm," making wet avalanche activity the main concern.
Danger is low in the zone on all aspects and elevations, though officials say to "watch for wet, unstable snow if the snowpack warms more than expected."
"Each night the surface snow freezes, but during the day, the surface crust begins to melt and the danger from wet avalanches increases," officials with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center say. "As daytime temperatures rise, wet-loose avalanches will initiate around thin snow and rocky areas. They usually start small, but get larger as they move down the slope. The debris is thick and heavy, and once you're caught in the flow it can be very hard to get out. These wet, slough avalanches can be dangerous if they push you off of a cliff or into a tree or gully. Watch for roller balls and small, loose avalanches. If you see these signs or you're sinking into wet snow more than 6 or 8 inches, it is time to get off of and out from under steep, sun-exposed slopes."
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center has switched to spring operations, in which weather forecasts will be issued twice a day through April 30.
Statewide avalanche statements will be released three times weekly on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays by 5 p.m., likely continuing through the end of April. If conditions warrant, those statewide statements will continue into early May. If conditions change radically for the worse, special statements, avalanche watches and warnings will be issued.
The center still accepts condition observations through its website at http://avalanche.state.co.us.
Current weather forecasts call for some moisture to come through the state by mid-week, but largely missing the Vail and Summit County zone. Another low-pressure system is expected to come through the state late in the week, bringing slightly cooler temperatures but no moisture.


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I am a newbie to marathon training. I am still at the walk/run phase, however, one resource says build minutes(time) and yet another resource claims mileage is the only way to go. With time training you build the amount of time you are out running, starting with 30 minutes and you eventually reach like 3.5 hours etc..., the mileage is simply build a base and build miles.
So, which is better for the beginner trainer?
Any opinions would help.
They're basically the same thing. Try to slowly build your weekly mileage total to 20 - 25 miles as your "base". At the same time work on a once-a-week long run that will get to about 10 miles during this base-building phase. The rule of thumb is to increase your total weekly mileage by no more than 10% each week. A couple months after reaching your base mileage, you're ready to start a marathon training program.
I have put this in terms of miles but it could as easily be said "minutes" instead. Most people use miles because it translates more easily to your goal, the marathon, which is 26.2 miles, rather than 240 minutes, or whatever pace you're shooting for. There are advantages to minutes as well, for instance, on an out-and-back course, you run out for "x" minutes, turn aroound and come back. On the other hand, there's less accounting for how you run on a particular day. If you run 4 miles, it's 4 miles, whether fast or slow. 40 minutes is 40 minutes, but it might be 3.5 miles on a bad day and 4.5 on a good day. If you start doing speedwork, though, it's usually based on distance, more than time.
I agree with Len - and to add to it, there is a personal side to this in terms of your goal. That said, I've personally always thought about training in terms of miles and pace. But that creates (for me) a certain tension in that if I'm aiming for a mile-goal (an 18 mile LSD, for example), then I automatically translate that into a time expectation (3 hours or something). And if I'm not on that pace, then I worry about it and run faster than I should. Whereas if I'm out for a certain time, I don't sweat the distance too much, so that tension disappears.
If your goal is simply to finish, I would consider using Len's formula (10% increase/week) applied to time, with a goal of getting close to 4-hours (depending on how fast a runner you are) running time on a single LSD 3-weeks prior to your planned marathon. If you can run for 4 hours, you'll probably be able to finish the marathon.
On the other hand, if you have a target time in mind, then you need to pay attention to speed work (as Len says) and that almost always means miles at a pace.Though some recent work is being done training at low heart-rates for more time. Results look promising and with fewer injuries.
Not sure this all makes sense.
Thanks for the help. I have about 6 and a half months before my marathon, I definately gave myself time to train.
But for a beginner, its really getting here quick...
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