The contest is on! The contest is on! Entries are pouring on but there has been a bunch of other stuff keeping me from posting a semi-gallery so far. It is really a hemi-semi-demi-gallery so far but you get the point. Here is some stuff I have notice over the last few days:

• I brewed yesterday but I have no idea what I made. It's usually that way. It looks like a great holiday brew that I really should have put on about a month ago to do it justice. A real dog's breakfast of ten malts in the bill along with three hops, orange peel, five spices thrown together with a subtle hand to create one nutty ESB...or perhaps just a strong pale ale. I will name it something Norwegian to add a little more confusion. The spices and peel were steeped in the wort before it got to full boil. However it ends up tasting, it sure made the house smell swell.
• Steve at Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co. (a sponsor of the Xmas 2008 beer photo and blogging extravaganza - aka X08BP+BE...trips off the tongue, no?) forwarded a press release about Beau's working with Operation Go Home to tie helping eastern Ontario youth in crisis with the job of getting more of Beau's incredibly attractive ceramic flip tops back to the brewery. Great idea. By the way - I have six. Best home brew bottles ever.
• The Beer Bloggers Alliance is about to be announced. But because I am the beer blogger with the best connections to Entertainment Tonight, I can tell you that the back room gossip I have heard is that the group plans to focus on (1) increasing retail and wholesaler red tape and related costs to the consumer, (2) creating a code of ethics for beer blogging that will be overly complex and will create dissension as well as finger pointing while also (3) reaching out to marco-brewers to find out how members can be co-opted into acting a mouthpieces for big business. Should be great when it gets a bit more traction.
• I liked the New Yorker's article on Dogfish Head but it's got nothing on the article in The Atlantic from 21 years ago this month called "A Glass of Handmade".
• Don't forget: the return of the good topic at The Session is coming up. 21st Amendment is taking on the question of what prohibition's repeal means to you. I expect to take a cranky Canadian point of view.

That's it for now. I leave you with a great photo up there from Joe in Belgium. I real beauty. I have no idea where the brewery was but maybe you know. Even if you don't, please be like Joe. Send in photos for the Xmas 2008 beer blog photo contest. You will be happy you did. And if that didn't shift you maybe this will: SUBMIT! Be careful about this. I don't want to have to unleash the Daleks or anything.