WE NEED ANOTHER BERSERKERFEST!

[J a y H a c k]

For those who do not at least do an occasional drive by in the politics forum, we have had two virtual Berserkerfests - one to celebrate the election and the other to celebrate the inauguration. We will be having another one as soon as we find a good excuse.

As to in-person Berserkerfests - - - There are a handful of us who have done them. As I approach age 70, I have promised my wife NOT to organize any more. So some of you young ones need to step up. Be prepared because this gets serious.

Here is the recycling from BF 2.5, over 10 years ago.

I can't find my photo of the wine from BF 10.1 (I think that's what we called it) two summers ago, but there were 62 bottles arranged on the steps of my deck.

Someone should have a photo of the Berserkerfest at Whitehead's house in Chicago, which had a very impressive collection of bottles polished off over two days.

[JDavisRoby]

I think Todd needs to do what the Herman Story guys did a few years ago. Rent a big touring bus and tour the US holding Berserkerfests for a few weeks. Pick and drop off Berskers along the way. I am thinking an old concert tour t-shirt and everything.

Todd could be the Jerry Garcia of wine!

[Darin Kendrick]

LMFAO...

What you mean by a substantial amount of bourbon is a manhattan at PGC.

Like telling Tony Montana that you will need a substantial amount of cocaine...

That pretty well does it....this secures my vote for president

[Mattstolz]

LMFAO...

What you mean by a substantial amount of bourbon is a manhattan at PGC.

Like telling Tony Montana that you will need a substantial amount of cocaine...

That pretty well does it....this secures my vote for president

my thought exactly.

[Todd F r e n c h]

Beserkerfestapalooza?
Oregon
Texas
Atlanta
NYC
Chicago
Amsterdam
Andalusia
Melbourne
Singapore
Todd, start scheduling these out!

Live streamed from each locational the others, 24 hours of berserkerfest.

The moment Todd becomes David Guetta. Let's just add Ibiza and Dubai to the list!

WAY too old for that - need my 7-8 hours!

[Todd F r e n c h]

I’m sure we can make this the Fyre Festival of wine! Maybe without the Instagram influencers unless some of you have connections. Cheese sandwiches and emergency tents we can provide.

So, Fu isn’t invited?

lol

He wouldn’t come anyway

[Dan Hammer]

Beserkerfestapalooza?

NYC

We have the infrastructure in place.

PDH
DiFara's

... and of course Jay Hack.

[jon leifer]

RE: Themes

We have an 'Ugly Shirt' dinner theme which dates to the Squires days...

Puh-leez..I still get nightmares thinking about some of Squire's shirts..

[J a y H a c k]

Beserkerfestapalooza?

NYC

We have the infrastructure in place.

PDH
DiFara's

... and of course Jay Hack.

You have met Rebecca, right? You want to cross her?

[J a y H a c k]

For those of you who think this is just the babbling of a bunch of old guys, here is the original thread to the one at my house. viewtopic.php?f=8&t=13003&p=170348&hili ... .5#p170348

The menu was a full dinner every two hours for 8 hours inclusive - that's 5 dinners - followed by dessert. All cooked in house:

First Dinner Noon - choice of wild mushroom risotto or saffron seafood risotto with grilled vegetable platter

Second Dinner 2:00 pm - Oxymoron Sandwiches - smoked pulled pork on a Rockland bakery challah roll with choice of red or mustard BBQ sauce and creamy or vinegar slaw. This was supposed to be the third dinner but I had trouble with the fryer.

Third Dinner 4:00 pm - Cajun brined deep fried turkey (we fried two turkeys in succession)

Fourth Dinner 6:00 pm - Smoked brisket with mole sauce and caramelized onions a la Culinary Institute

Fifth Dinner 8:00 pm - Flannery Hanger Steak on grilled on the BGE.

They ate it all and I was worried that I had not cooked enough, and then I remembered the dessert. Chocolate fountain with assorted dipping items, notable including fresh cooked bacon. Somewhere there is a photo of Todd eating chocolate covered bacon.

What was that about how you did not understand why I am too old for this shit?

[Jim Anderson]

LMFAO...

What you mean by a substantial amount of bourbon is a manhattan at PGC.

Like telling Tony Montana that you will need a substantial amount of cocaine...

That pretty well does it....this secures my vote for president

my thought exactly.

Wearing this right now. One of many BOURBON shirts. That and PGC shirts are pretty much my wardrobe.

[Mattstolz]

my thought exactly.

Wearing this right now. One of many BOURBON shirts. That and PGC shirts are pretty much my wardrobe.

96B68D6A-103B-4414-BF78-051F55ECCC70.jpeg

Based on our time at Patricia green, that shirt should just BE a PGC shirt.

[Brian Tuite]

I'll host one in Podunk. I'm semi-experienced at this offline stuff. There are plenty of extracurricular activities around these parts too!

[Brent C l a y t o n]

I am in, whenever, where ever (ok, not harvest time). I've never attended a Berserkerfest, though I'm met many fellow Berserkers over the years. But Todd is absolutely, once we get past this, we need a big meet up and maybe more than one.

It's kind of like dinner at the Count's House except imagine the wine version of a kegger in an apartment that size.

[brigcampbell]

I think Todd needs to do what the Herman Story guys did a few years ago. Rent a big touring bus and tour the US holding Berserkerfests for a few weeks. Pick and drop off Berskers along the way. I am thinking an old concert tour t-shirt and everything.

Todd could be the Jerry Garcia of wine!

The Ken Kesey and merry pranksters

[J a y H a c k]

BUMP . . . WTF . . . These young-uns are just too lazy to take the challenge.

[Dan Hammer]

J a y H a c k - tonight, Fat Tuesday, would have been the 8th annual DiFara’s pizza offline.

[Rodrigo B]

BUMP . . . WTF . . . These young-uns are just too lazy to take the challenge.

Or you know, current circumstances are such that a large in-person gathering isn’t really the best of ideas at the moment.

I’ve already noted this before, but once things have cleared up, my vote is for doing a big Oregon Berserker gathering. I’m sure there’d be other wines aside from pinot (your disdain for the grape is well recorded), but I think you and other non-pinot folks would need to make that push

[Todd F r e n c h]

Plans in the works, more on the longer term horizon....just wait a minute, sheesh!

[JDavisRoby]

C’mon Tood, you know patience among berserkers is about as likely as Rodrigo only have one decanter of wine on a berserker zoom.

[Rodrigo B]

C’mon Tood, you know patience among berserkers is about as likely as Rodrigo only have one decanter of wine on a berserker zoom.

[Chris C a r y]

I think Todd needs to do what the Herman Story guys did a few years ago. Rent a big touring bus and tour the US holding Berserkerfests for a few weeks. Pick and drop off Berskers along the way. I am thinking an old concert tour t-shirt and everything.

Todd could be the Jerry Garcia of wine!

The Ken Kesey and merry pranksters

Cuckoo’s Nest boat outing was Depoe Bay, right near south end of Willamette Valley. My BIL lives there. And has a boat!

[c fu]

So, Fu isn’t invited?

lol

He wouldn’t come anyway

I've been to at least two. One in Napa and one in Santa Barbara.

[Todd F r e n c h]

lol

He wouldn’t come anyway

I've been to at least two. One in Napa and one in Santa Barbara.

"back in the day" yeah...you are too big for this now!

[Anton D]

I'll host one in Podunk. I'm semi-experienced at this offline stuff. There are plenty of extracurricular activities around these parts too!

I'd go!

[Kevin Porter]

I'll host one in Podunk. I'm semi-experienced at this offline stuff. There are plenty of extracurricular activities around these parts too!

I'd go!

Sure, but will Neal Mollen go?

[Brian Tuite]

I'll host one in Podunk. I'm semi-experienced at this offline stuff. There are plenty of extracurricular activities around these parts too!

I'd go!

Sure, but will Neal Mollen go?

Who

[Eric Z.]

For those of you who think this is just the babbling of a bunch of old guys, here is the original thread to the one at my house. viewtopic.php?f=8&t=13003&p=170348&hili ... .5#p170348

The menu was a full dinner every two hours for 8 hours inclusive - that's 5 dinners - followed by dessert. All cooked in house:

First Dinner Noon - choice of wild mushroom risotto or saffron seafood risotto with grilled vegetable platter

Second Dinner 2:00 pm - Oxymoron Sandwiches - smoked pulled pork on a Rockland bakery challah roll with choice of red or mustard BBQ sauce and creamy or vinegar slaw. This was supposed to be the third dinner but I had trouble with the fryer.

Third Dinner 4:00 pm - Cajun brined deep fried turkey (we fried two turkeys in succession)

Fourth Dinner 6:00 pm - Smoked brisket with mole sauce and caramelized onions a la Culinary Institute

Fifth Dinner 8:00 pm - Flannery Hanger Steak on grilled on the BGE.

They ate it all and I was worried that I had not cooked enough, and then I remembered the dessert. Chocolate fountain with assorted dipping items, notable including fresh cooked bacon. Somewhere there is a photo of Todd eating chocolate covered bacon.

What was that about how you did not understand why I am too old for this shit?

Who doesn't love Rockland Bakery Challah - that could be a meal on its own!

Post-COVID, if we wanted to do anything in the NYC suburbs with ample space I have access to a 7 foot portable offset BBQ smoker. Could do a pig roast or just whole mess of BBQ stuff (ribs, brisket, pulled pork, chicken quarters, etc). Used to do competitions in the area - though I do not compete anymore my teammate still has this smoker and we are always looking for fun reasons to go out and cook.

[Jay Miller]

Who doesn't love Rockland Bakery Challah - that could be a meal on its own!

They have a lot of good bread but the challah has always been my favorite. Looking forward to post-vaccine when I'm not scared to go back there.

I also have an idea or two for a possible Bfest in NYC but don't know if lack of time/energy will overtake my enthusiasm so absolutely no comment until the possible dates get closer.

[Dan Hammer]

Who doesn't love Rockland Bakery Challah - that could be a meal on its own!

They have a lot of good bread but the challah has always been my favorite. Looking forward to post-vaccine when I'm not scared to go back there.

I also have an idea or two for a possible Bfest in NYC but don't know if lack of time/energy will overtake my enthusiasm so absolutely no comment until the possible dates get closer.

Hmmm. Maybe a return to Ping's or Wu's Wonton in Chinatown.

[Jay Miller]

Who doesn't love Rockland Bakery Challah - that could be a meal on its own!

They have a lot of good bread but the challah has always been my favorite. Looking forward to post-vaccine when I'm not scared to go back there.

I also have an idea or two for a possible Bfest in NYC but don't know if lack of time/energy will overtake my enthusiasm so absolutely no comment until the possible dates get closer.

Hmmm. Maybe a return to Ping's or Wu's Wonton in Chinatown.

You got me. I was wondering about the possibility of renting out Ping's downstairs banquet room. I hadn't considered Wu's as we'd need the entire room but maybe it would be possible. Personally I prefer Ping's. Or Bite of Hong Kong but they have the same problem of needing most of the restaurant.

I got a Ping's Peking Duck to go on Monday and had forgotten how good it is.

[brigcampbell]

I know a noodle guy...

[Jay Miller]

I know a noodle guy...

He'll just tell us we aren't managing our risks appropriately.

[Brent S]

It’s obvious we all have Covid fatigue. But sign me up for any la/Oc wine events these days!!!

[jordan jacobs]

Vegas?

Now you are talking

[Brent C l a y t o n]

They have a lot of good bread but the challah has always been my favorite. Looking forward to post-vaccine when I'm not scared to go back there.

I also have an idea or two for a possible Bfest in NYC but don't know if lack of time/energy will overtake my enthusiasm so absolutely no comment until the possible dates get closer.

Hmmm. Maybe a return to Ping's or Wu's Wonton in Chinatown.

You got me. I was wondering about the possibility of renting out Ping's downstairs banquet room. I hadn't considered Wu's as we'd need the entire room but maybe it would be possible. Personally I prefer Ping's. Or Bite of Hong Kong but they have the same problem of needing most of the restaurant.

I got a Ping's Peking Duck to go on Monday and had forgotten how good it is.

If we wait until spring we can probably get the outdoor seating all to ourselves.

[J a y H a c k]

. . . I have access to a 7 foot portable offset BBQ smoker. Could do a pig roast or just whole mess of BBQ stuff (ribs, brisket, pulled pork, chicken quarters, etc). Used to do competitions in the area - though I do not compete anymore my teammate still has this smoker and we are always looking for fun reasons to go out and cook.

That might justify coming out of retirement, but ONLY if I can get a lot of volunteer helpers, which I have never asked for before. We have a 125 foot long dead end along the side of my house that would definitely with a large smoker. I also have a friend from Memphis who shoots wild board across the Mississippi in Arkansas and then does wild boar roasts, who happens to have a wine cellar in his house because he bought a house formerly owned by "Billy" from North Berkey Imports. Maybe he can come and help.

[Eric Z.]

. . . I have access to a 7 foot portable offset BBQ smoker. Could do a pig roast or just whole mess of BBQ stuff (ribs, brisket, pulled pork, chicken quarters, etc). Used to do competitions in the area - though I do not compete anymore my teammate still has this smoker and we are always looking for fun reasons to go out and cook.

That might justify coming out of retirement, but ONLY if I can get a lot of volunteer helpers, which I have never asked for before. We have a 125 foot long dead end along the side of my house that would definitely with a large smoker. I also have a friend from Memphis who shoots wild board across the Mississippi in Arkansas and then does wild boar roasts, who happens to have a wine cellar in his house because he bought a house formerly owned by "Billy" from North Berkey Imports. Maybe he can come and help.

The smoker can hold a ton of food. Even has a charcoal grill on the front of the tounge of the trailer. Post covid if this is in the Tri-State NY/NJ/CT area I am in. My old teammate may come out and help too because he just likes cooking that much.

Can use some rockland bakery rolls to make pulled pork and brisket sandwiches!

[Todd F r e n c h]

. . . I have access to a 7 foot portable offset BBQ smoker. Could do a pig roast or just whole mess of BBQ stuff (ribs, brisket, pulled pork, chicken quarters, etc). Used to do competitions in the area - though I do not compete anymore my teammate still has this smoker and we are always looking for fun reasons to go out and cook.

That might justify coming out of retirement, but ONLY if I can get a lot of volunteer helpers, which I have never asked for before. We have a 125 foot long dead end along the side of my house that would definitely with a large smoker. I also have a friend from Memphis who shoots wild board across the Mississippi in Arkansas and then does wild boar roasts, who happens to have a wine cellar in his house because he bought a house formerly owned by "Billy" from North Berkey Imports. Maybe he can come and help.

The smoker can hold a ton of food. Even has a charcoal grill on the front of the tounge of the trailer. Post covid if this is in the Tri-State NY/NJ/CT area I am in. My old teammate may come out and help too because he just likes cooking that much.

Can use some rockland bakery rolls to make pulled pork and brisket sandwiches!

Maybe we need several BerserkerFests...

[PeterH]

Tour de Berserkers.

My wife has been after me to get a Sprinter, or similar, and do a long, long road trip. A string of Berserker events could be enough to overcome inertia.
Combined with hiking, biking, and skiing, that sums up to a healthy retirement life style.

[Nola Palomar]

That might justify coming out of retirement, but ONLY if I can get a lot of volunteer helpers, which I have never asked for before. We have a 125 foot long dead end along the side of my house that would definitely with a large smoker. I also have a friend from Memphis who shoots wild board across the Mississippi in Arkansas and then does wild boar roasts, who happens to have a wine cellar in his house because he bought a house formerly owned by "Billy" from North Berkey Imports. Maybe he can come and help.

The smoker can hold a ton of food. Even has a charcoal grill on the front of the tounge of the trailer. Post covid if this is in the Tri-State NY/NJ/CT area I am in. My old teammate may come out and help too because he just likes cooking that much.

Can use some rockland bakery rolls to make pulled pork and brisket sandwiches!

Maybe we need several BerserkerFests...

Definitely need to make up for lost time!!!

[Troy Stark]

This sounds fun. Hopefully we can attend.

[Jay Miller]

Jay - if you are generous enough to do this again I suggest you make it easier on yourself by relaxing your rules on doing everything yourself. I have nothing against control freaks (I fell in love with one after all) but if you let other people bring food, especially things that don't need the kitchen, you can relax a bit yourself.

And maybe their own glasses so you don't need so much washing up.

And maybe ask that everyone take away either a bag of garbage or a bag of recycling.

https://wifflegif.com/gifs/480245-calvi ... -freak-gif

[William Gladstone]

Wow, when all this global pandemic b.s. is over, we need another freakin' BerserkerFest!! Or two or three!

(putting this in Wine Talk as it needs more attention...nobody checks Offline Planner when we don't have Offlines!)

Please if some one will let me know when this is scheduled - we would be happy to donate an assorted mixed box
of wine, Champagne, Bordeaux & Burgundy - as the community has been so helpful and supportive of our endeavors.
If someone would just email me - where and when we'll select a mixed box.

[Eric Z.]

Jay - if you are generous enough to do this again I suggest you make it easier on yourself by relaxing your rules on doing everything yourself. I have nothing against control freaks (I fell in love with one after all) but if you let other people bring food, especially things that don't need the kitchen, you can relax a bit yourself.

And maybe their own glasses so you don't need so much washing up.

And maybe ask that everyone take away either a bag of garbage or a bag of recycling.

https://wifflegif.com/gifs/480245-calvi ... -freak-gif

if there are enough people for a small fee we could rent stems. If someone is so inclined they can bring their own. May not be the fanciest/highest quality stemware but there are local supply companies that will drop off clean plates, glassware, stemware, etc and come back the next day and pick up the dirty stuff and you are done with it. no cleaning, no drying, etc. based on the size and logistics, its an option.

[J a y H a c k]

. . .
if there are enough people for a small fee we could rent stems. If someone is so inclined they can bring their own. May not be the fanciest/highest quality stemware but there are local supply companies that will drop off clean plates, glassware, stemware, etc and come back the next day and pick up the dirty stuff and you are done with it. no cleaning, no drying, etc. based on the size and logistics, its an option.

Please note - I have had groups of 50+ people in my backyard for 3 Berserkerfests and at least three other events, and I have cooked dinner for over 100 at least a dozen times for various charity events, so I have done this before.

1. I always rent stems as emergency backup, but crappy rented stems are not worth the glass they are cheaply made from. There is a reason why I have 100+ stems, with the cheapest ones being the Costco Riedels. The reason is so that I can break a few every time while running them through the dishwasher and not feel bad about it.

2. I always rent tables, table cloths and chairs. Makes life easier, and the cleanup from those takes about 10 minutes.

3. Rent plates? What's wrong with Chinet? And besides, when Brad Kane steps into the swimming pool again, I can't afford to have him break a rented plate and make a mess.

4. Did you know that forks were originally considered the tools of the devil because the use of a fork implied that the hand and fingers that God gave you weren't good enough? Besides, I am still using up the residue of the 1000+ each of plastic forks, knives and spoons that I got when my son and I cooked and served 900 hot meals to Hurricane Sandy refugees and we were the last ones to leave the MCU Baseball Stadium parking lot, so every church in Brooklyn that was doing the same thing dropped off their extra plasticware with us when they left. We brought it home for the next decade of Berserkerfests.

There are two key issues, both of which tie to SWIMBO, who "the other Jay" knows well.

1. Cleanup, at least some of which ends up being the following morning, takes a lot of time.

2. Keeping all those Berserkers from dying of starvation for 8 hours take a lot of food prep time, and I refuse to serve store bought crap or other cheap cheezy stuff that any idiot can make, like hot dogs and hamburgers.

5.

[Nola Palomar]

. . .
if there are enough people for a small fee we could rent stems. If someone is so inclined they can bring their own. May not be the fanciest/highest quality stemware but there are local supply companies that will drop off clean plates, glassware, stemware, etc and come back the next day and pick up the dirty stuff and you are done with it. no cleaning, no drying, etc. based on the size and logistics, its an option.

Please note - I have had groups of 50+ people in my backyard for 3 Berserkerfests and at least three other events, and I have cooked dinner for over 100 at least a dozen times for various charity events, so I have done this before.

1. I always rent stems as emergency backup, but crappy rented stems are not worth the glass they are cheaply made from. There is a reason why I have 100+ stems, with the cheapest ones being the Costco Riedels. The reason is so that I can break a few every time while running them through the dishwasher and not feel bad about it.

2. I always rent tables, table cloths and chairs. Makes life easier, and the cleanup from those takes about 10 minutes.

3. Rent plates? What's wrong with Chinet? And besides, when Brad Kane steps into the swimming pool again, I can't afford to have him break a rented plate and make a mess.

4. Did you know that forks were originally considered the tools of the devil because the use of a fork implied that the hand and fingers that God gave you weren't good enough? Besides, I am still using up the residue of the 1000+ each of plastic forks, knives and spoons that I got when my son and I cooked and served 900 hot meals to Hurricane Sandy refugees and we were the last ones to leave the MCU Baseball Stadium parking lot, so every church in Brooklyn that was doing the same thing dropped off their extra plasticware with us when they left. We brought it home for the next decade of Berserkerfests.

There are two key issues, both of which tie to SWIMBO, who "the other Jay" knows well.

1. Cleanup, at least some of which ends up being the following morning, takes a lot of time.

2. Keeping all those Berserkers from dying of starvation for 8 hours take a lot of food prep time, and I refuse to serve store bought crap or other cheap cheezy stuff that any idiot can make, like hot dogs and hamburgers.

5.

I will help cook!!

[J a y H a c k]

. . .

I will help cook!!

Have you ever spit roasted a whole lamb? I always wanted to do that at one of our tailgates, but I am told that it takes longer than the four hours that the parking lot is open at Metlife. If I bought a case of brisket at Restaurant Depot, we could have a menu of roasted lamb, smoked brisket, roast suckling pig or roast whole pig, and Cajun brined deep fried turkey. That would be completely insane. I would need two pit masters for the commercial smoker, someone to roast the lamb and keep it based, and someone to watch the turkey fryer to make sure that we do not blow up the neighborhood. Somewhere I have a special mop for larger smoker jobs but I haven't seen it in years. AND I would hardly need my insulin injector due to lack of carbs. We could make mushroom risotto for the vegetarians if Loren comes.

[Eric Z.]

I’ve done whole hog and suckling pigs. No lamb here. My teammate has a ton of smokers and always says I can borrow them. His portable ones are a Lang 60 and Lang 84. Also a very large cabinet smoker but doesn’t have a way to transport it. So if someone can help move the Lang’s we can smoke a hog and plenty of briskets.

[Jay Miller]

There are two key issues, both of which tie to SWIMBO, who "the other Jay" knows well.

1. Cleanup, at least some of which ends up being the following morning, takes a lot of time.

2. Keeping all those Berserkers from dying of starvation for 8 hours take a lot of food prep time, and I refuse to serve store bought crap or other cheap cheezy stuff that any idiot can make, like hot dogs and hamburgers.

Exactly why I was making suggestions which would keep you and others out of the kitchen and reduce cleanup time. I know who needs to be propitiated here

I could always pick up a whole cooked pig at the good Filipino BBQ place we use on the way up. Since we haven't had a party last year or this year I'm definitely in the mood for one.