Obscure Golf Trail. Course 2 -- Landa Park
Not all Obscure Golf Trail (OGT) courses are in the middle of nowhere. This installment takes us to the middle of New Braunfels, Texas. Landa Park is 18 holes, par 71, and up to 6200 yards. It was closed for a renovation and reopened late last year I believe. They have a bar (so don't roll up with your cooler), and as you'll see in some of the pictures, most of the deer in the area live here. The course even has iOS and Android apps.
Here's my suggestion: Go play in early November and you're right next to Wurstfest.
Obscure Golf Trail. Course 1 -- Hearne Municipal
We like playing some golf. Fancy courses are great, but we also like taking in the out-of-the way places. You never know when you'll find that hidden gem. Today's subject is a 9-holer in Hearne, Texas. It's about 1.5 hours from Austin and 30 minutes from College Station. The scorecard has it at 6373 yards. Hate bunker shots? You're in luck, there's no sand. They don't sell beer, so plan accordingly, although you'll be pleasantly surprised at the 19th hole.
First Trip With A Lytro Camera
I took a Lytro camera out to the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio yesterday. Aside from winning $8 off my buddy Mike, I got some pictures like those below. You can change the focus point by clicking around in the image.
--John
BBQ Shrimp with Neapolitan Grits
A little brunch inspiration for you. We made bbq shrimp and served it with Anson Mills white, yellow, and blue grits.
Recipe
Grits
Cook grits per their instructions (if you're using Anson Mills check their site). We cooked 1 cup of each. Be forewarned, if you're using Anson Mills you'll probably want to soak them overnight. The key would be to not make them a soupy mess as you're going to cut them into squares. Go ahead and get your BBQ shrimp going too.
Pour the grits into non-stick pans after they're done.
You want to give the grits time to set and cool off enough for you to touch the pans (probably 45 or more minutes). We used a square cutter, brushing the inside with melted butter to make our grit squares.
You should end up with a bunch of grit cakes.
BBQ Shrimp
Ingredients
2 lbs head-on Texas shrimp
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 lemon, juiced (discard seeds)
4 cloves minced garlic
2 springs Thyme
1 Tbsp horseradish
1 Tbsp sun-dried tomato paste
1 Bay leaf
1 tsp Tony Chachere's seasoning
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp Bayou Blast
1 Tbsp Crystal hot sauce
1 Tbsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
1/3 cup of White wine (Justin Wilson might have suggested Sauternes)
Instructions
Mix everything except shrimp in a baking dish
Add shrimp
Place in uncovered in a 400 degree oven
Stir after 5 minutes
Cook until desired shrimp doneness (don't walk off, it probably won't take more than 10 minutes).
Plate and garnish to the best of your abilities. Don't eat the Bay leaf, lemon rind, or shrimp heads.
Masters 2015
The BSG crew took a field trip to Augusta
Posted by Beer Shield Gear on Tuesday, April 7, 2015
What's In the Lab These Days?
In a couple of weeks you'll be able to get your hands on Beer Slush Generator.
You're probably aware of the rock salt trick with your ice to get your beer nice and slushy. We're packing the salt in travel size bags you can store in your golf bag or tackle box. Don't get caught outside with only mildly cold beer this summer.
Pizza Night
We fired up the Big Green Egg this evening for a pizza session. Aside from the standard pepperoni pizzas we made a couple special pies. First up is a Longhorn Bulgogi Pizza. We used a Sirloin from Dear Run Land & Cattle Company.
Bulgogi Recipe
- 1 lb Sirloin
- 1 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 3/4 cup ponzu sauce (optional, you can just use soy sauce)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup diced white onion
- 1 tablespoon garlic
- fresh cracked black pepper
Make the marinade by combining the soy sauce, ponzu (optional), brown sugar, onions, pepper, and garlic. Thinly slice the sirloin and cut the slices into smaller pieces. It helps to have the beef really cold while cutting. We covered the sliced beef with the marinade in a FoodSaver Marinating Canister for 20 minutes, but you can marinate it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
After you've marinated the beef, pour the liquid in a skillet over medium high heat. Reduce this down considerably, and then add the beef. Cook to your desired doneness. At this point you could serve it with rice, but we're going to use it as a pizza topping.
John is into pizza a little more than most people. He keeps 2 different strains of Italian yeast cultures going. The pies below are on John's secret dough. For the Bulgogi Pizza we used a spicy Korean BBQ sauce instead of standard pizza sauce. Top with your Bulgogi, shredded white sharp cheddar, and brush the crust with sesame oil. We like to run the Big Green Egg so the dome temperature reads around 550 degrees. Let it run at this temp for a bit so your pizza stone gets to a decent temp as well.
After about 8 minutes we had our pizza. Top with green onions and sesame seeds.
Bulgogi Pizza
Bulgogi Pizza with cucumber kimchi
We also knocked out a BBQ pizza using meat from Stiles Switch. They have a sandwich called Buford T's Diablo Sandwich (think Smokey and the Bandit). Anyway, this is the pizza version with their brisket, jalapeño & cheddar sausage, sliced jalapeños, white cheddar, and bbq sauce.
Diablo Pizza
You're welcome.
Longhorn Brisket
We got some Longhorn beef from our friends at Dear Run Land & Cattle in Buda, TX. We tossed a brisket on the Big Green Egg yesterday. Pictures over here https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1006065032741483.1073741829.907149819299672&type=1
Rainbow Trout in Texas? Yes.
Took advantage of the nice weather in Texas this weekend to catch some trout in the Guadalupe River.
Obligatory product shots
Obligatory product shots
And yes, of course we caught some fish. They just weren't that big. It takes more skill to catch the smaller ones.
John releasing a trophy trout.
Product Review
Wide Open Spaces takes a look at the BSG ONE.
Don’t Worry, Kevlar-Armored Beer Shield Gear Will Protect What’s Important
But Does It Keep My Drink Cold?
You've seen the BSG ONE take a bullet, but does it keep drinks cold too? I had some time while I was smoking my Thanksgiving turkey to gather some data. It was sunny with a temperature in the low 60s. I set up a ThermoWorks ThermaData with 2 thermocouples to test a BSG ONE and a high quality Neoprene Koozie.
Here's the chart for the first hour. The beer I picked for the Neoprene happened to be slightly colder than the BSG ONE, but without getting all scientific on you, the performance is basically the same.
November Status
We finalized our packaging design, and we expect it to be ready in the beginning of December. As soon as that happens we're ready to release!
Hunting season is upon us so we decided to do a limited edition camo as well. Not sure if you can see this (it is camo after all), but here it is.
October Status
Got our first production batch of BSG ONEs in today. We're finalizing the packaging design now. Getting closer!
More Details
We're still over a month away from our planned release, but it's time to fill in some more blanks. What are we up to? We've been posting pictures of the BSG ONE. It's the best huggie/koozie yet to grace your pocket.
Why?
Fits most anything you're going to drink.
Folds for convenient storage.
Multiple layers that keep your drink cold and safe.
Layers? Yeah, 1000D Nylon exterior, 2 layers of Kevlar® 29 (that's right, the stuff they put in bulletproof vests), Neoprene, and a slip-resistant interior.
Another Preview
What size drinks do we work with?
Normal 12 ounce cans? Of course.
Skinny 12 ounce cans? Yep.
24 ounce cans? Looks like it.
Even 24 ounce bottles.
It Begins
Koozies, huggies--whatever you call them--we're into them in a serious way. Keeping your drink cold is important, but we think you can do a little bit better.
The next generation of drink protection has arrived. Here's a little recap of some field testing.
WARNING: Do Not Attempt At Home
First batch:
First test is a hit from a Ruger LCP (.380 ACP).
The .380 did not penetrate. Cans don't fare so well (maybe we can make cans next).
Up next was a Kimber Grand Raptor II (.45 ACP).
We can't stress enough that you don't want to get shot with anything, but you really don't want this.
The wrapper is still going strong, but the can has seen better days.
Want more video? Here's a plain can getting hit with .380.