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What's Up in Catalina World?
In short, making recipe tweaks and eating a lot of pizza. We’ve also started letting random people try samples.
The “Biloxi” at Tom’s Extreme Pizzeria in Ocean Springs, MS
Adventures In Bottling
We’re cooking and bottling the Catalina at home for now. I’ve tried a couple of different bottle types so far.
The first box of bottles were 12oz plastic. We’re hot filling them (the sauce is ~185F), and it turns out that’s hot enough that the bottles started to warp. I threw the second batch on ice after bottling to mitigate it.
12oz is a bit large to toss out as samples, so tonight we’re giving 5oz glass bottles a try.
Bottles of Catalina Pizza Drip
Trivia time: Did you know these bottles are called “woozy bottles”?
What Are We Up To These Days?
Are we still alive? Yes!
Working on anything cool? Yes!!
Growing up in Biloxi, Mississippi we were exposed to a pizza tradition that doesn’t exist anywhere else (that we’re aware of at least). People put Catalina salad dressing on their pizza (and pizza bones of course). Catalina dressing, what’s that? It’s this stuff
Popular commercially available Catalina
Great, so why do I bring this up? We thought it’d be cool to make an improved version and spread the Catalina joy. I’ve been hard at work in the sauce laboratory doing just that.
Mixing up a batch of pizza drip
Here’s your sneak peak at the Biloxi Sauce Guys and our #@!%in’ Catalina Pizza Drip.
What’s next? This is our first exposure to producing a food product, and as you might expect, it’s a little complicated. We’re currently fine-tuning the recipe, and it’s time to build some awareness and gather feedback.
If you’re interested, please follow along. You can sign up for email updates here, and we’ll post to Instagram at here.
Obscure Golf Trail. Course 12 -- Luling Municipal and Course 13 -- Lockhart State Park
Hitting these together due to their proximity. These are both 9-hole courses. You can knock out a morning round in Luling, and grab lunch at City Market. City Market’s dining room was closed due to covid-19 during our visit, but you could order and pick up outside. The Luling course does sell beer, and you get a couple decent views of the San Marcos River.
After lunch, head north 16 miles to Lockhart State Park. The park does not sell beer, so plan accordingly if you want to inconspicuously enjoy a couple. It looks like the course has a bit of a wild hog problem, so expect to see a couple of traps and some fairway damage.
If you haven’t burned out on bbq, you’ve got a list of well-known places to choose from.
Smitty’s Market (Probably my favorite pork ribs. Watch out if you enter through the back door as there’s a pit fire right there.)
If you’ve had enough que, there’s also a pizza joint downtown that we like: Loop & Lil’s Pizza
Obscure Golf Trail. Course 11 -- Marlin Country Club
We’ve finally started getting some good golf weather in Texas. Time to drop another OGT installment. Marlin is about 30 miles from Waco.
As you can see below, a lot of the course plays around a lake. Also, as you’ll see only members are allowed to fish in it :(
The layout of this 9 hole course is a little confusing (like where’s the 1st tee), but the locals at the bar are happy to give you a quick overview.
If you’re in the bbq mood while you’re in Marlin, Whup’s Boomerang isn’t too far.
Summer Refreshments
The weather is warming up, and it’s time to start testing the industry’s latest releases. A couple items on our radar right now.
Naturdays
https://www.naturallight.com/our-beers/naturdays.html
4.2% ABV. If you’re feeling fruity, this is your drink. It also seems to pique the curiosity of a wide demographic. James got a bunch of “Are those good?” from young and old alike while he was buying his pack and taking it to LA (Lower Alabama) last week.
Lone Star 24|7
https://www.ktsa.com/lone-star-out-with-new-low-alcohol-low-calorie-beer/
2.1% ABV. John’s been getting these in the Austin area (specifically a QT gas station—haven’t found them anywhere else yet). If you drink light beer you should be fine with these. These would be great for a marathon outdoor session where you need to maintain your cat-like reflexes.
Obscure Golf Trail. Course 10 -- Quail Creek
Saw some bad news. Quail Creek in San Marcos, TX is closing on July 1, 2018. We used to play there quite a bit. Knock out 18 holes then head over to Sean Patrick's Pub in town for some Irish Egg Rolls--good day. You can see a little bit of the Blanco River in one of the pics below.
Obscure Golf Trail. Course 8 -- Flatonia and Course 9 -- Hallettsville
Time for another OGT installment. Highlighting a couple of courses between San Antonio and Houston.
Flatonia is conveniently located right off of I-10. Check out that ball washer!
30 minutes southeast of Flatonia you can knock out a round in Hallettsville. The course is in the city park.
While you're in Hallettsville, take a short trip down the street and check out the Lavaca County Courthouse.
Idea Lab: Pepper + Peanut Spray
In a few years I bet a good percentage of criminals will have peanut allergies. How about
A Cautionary Tale
If you've wondered how fast your drink warms up when it's hot outside here's a little chart for you.
The Setup
- 1 Beer with no koozie
- 1 Beer protected with BSG ONE koozie
- Temperature was in the high 90s, but the beers were mainly shaded
It doesn't pay to procrastinate, but a koozie definitely buys you some time! Pro tip: If you're using the BSG ONE, scoot the can up a tiny bit so only the koozie is touching whatever you're resting your drink on. Cut out that conduction between the hot surface the beer is on and your beer. Thinking man's drinking.
Longhorn Brisket Taco
We made a brisket taco today, and the brisket was the taco shell. Used a Longhorn brisket flat from our friends at Dear Run Land & Cattle Co. that weighed in around 7 pounds.
Rub applied, and placed on a V-rack on the Big Green Egg
Smoked over oak for about 8 hours.
Almost done.
Dressed with queso, guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, Yellowbird sauce, and some lettuce on the side.
Yes, it was good.
BSG ONE vs. 12 Gauge
Took a box of sparkling water and a Beretta A400 12-ga to the range today. Video below is 2 shots from around 25 yards.
And here's the outcome. The protected portion of the can only has some dents. You can see one of the pellets is embedded in the koozie (bottom right).
Run of the mill koozies didn't fare so well.
It's Less Than 100 Degrees In Texas
Been getting in some time on the North fork of the San Gabriel River outside Georgetown, Texas.
Hey, Player
We've taken the awesome microfiber Players Towel and dressed it up. Now available in the store.
Obscure Golf Trail. Course 7 -- Giddings Golf Course
It's Sunday of the Masters, and time for another OGT installment. Between Austin and Houston you'll find the small town of Giddings, Texas. If you've driven Hwy 290 you'll know it because they have a Buc-ee's. Just down the street from Giddings State School you'll find a golf course.
The Giddings Golf Course is a nine-hole layout measuring in at 2764 yards from the tips. It's pretty flat so you can channel your energy on some cold Diet Coors. Nothing spectacular, just a nice quiet spot to knock it around a little.
Speaking of golf, this is the last week to register for the 2016 Austin SEC Golf Tournament. It's on April 24th at ShadowGlen in Manor this year. Beer Shield Gear is sponsoring a $10k hole-in-one contest. Hope to see you there.
Range Day with an AR-15
We took some sparkling water cans to the beat laboratory for a little AR-15 action.
It was a little anticlimactic--definitely expected more impressive damage. The bad news is a regular neoprene koozie, or even the BSG ONE has no chance of stopping a .223 round. The good news is the rounds sail right through, and your BSG ONE is still ready for action.
Aftermath
This was cool, BSG ONE wrapped can took a flip, and stuck the landing after a hit from a Springfield XD-S 3.3" 9mm. I give it a 10.
Obscure Golf Trail. Course 6 -- Rockdale Country Club
Taking you about an hour east of Austin this time. Rockdale Country Club has 9 holes, and is just over 3300 yards. Nothing too noteworthy (it's pretty flat), but it's the only game in town. Now for the important info--yes, they sell beer.
Obscure Golf Trail. Course 5 -- Willie Nelson's Cut-N-Putt
Did you know Willie Nelson owns a golf course outside of Austin? It's nine holes and measures 3330 yards. Make sure you take a cooler, ice, and drinks. You're on your own out there.
Flooded Timber Camo BSG ONE Now Available
We've added a second BSG ONE camo pattern. Announcing Flooded Timber. They're sporting our fancy maroon and white Beer Shield Gear labels.
Oh yeah, we're also running a sale this month. 15% off with code sept2015.
Obscure Golf Trail. Course 4 -- Pine Forest Golf Club
Pine Forest isn't as off the grid as some of the tracks we hit. It's in Bastrop, Texas--which is fairly close to Austin--and they even have a web site. It does fly under the radar compared to Wolfdancer a few minutes away though.
It's worth a look if you're in the area. Pretty cheap, and plenty of hills.
