A Fort Worth Afternoon

Last Saturday was a fabulous day! James, Anthony, and I started the afternoon with a visit to Rahr Brewery in Fort Worth.



It was Saturday---free tasting day---and we even took a tour of the place! Along with the tour, we learned how IPAs got their name. An IPA is a fabulous style of beer that was first made in the 1700s. With British trade booming in the East Indies, there was demand for beer in India by those folks living there working for the trading company. Unfortunately, with the long journey by ship from England to India, beer didn't survive; it went flat and got sour---sorta moldy. Someone finally figured out that by adding more hops (and alcohol) to beer, the hops would prevent bacteria from growing. (Keep in mind that all of this was before pasteurization and refrigeration.) And beer arrived in India just fine! And thus---the birth of the Indian Pale Ale, aka, the IPA.

Storm Cloud is Rahr's IPA, and but of course---I got a shirt!

After the brewery, we headed to the Fort Worth Stockyards. Indeed, I had just been there the night before, where I had that super tasty Dirty Love burger. Saturday, though, was reserved for seeing the herd one last time and a visit to Risky's BBQ.

The herd of longhorn cattle is driven twice a day down the center of Exchange. The history of longhorn cattle and Fort Worth goes way back, and if you're ever around, I highly recommend the walking tour of the Stockyards. This history is quite interesting---the stories behind Texas keeping the good beef but sending longhorns (not as tasty) north; the fire in the Stockyards and the fire-safe doors that were built after that, and many other tidbits of info.

And how could I pass up this opportunity for a photo shot on a longhorn?!

More photos of the day include this shot of the Exchange Building---now converted to offices. Dispute Resolution Services used to office here. When I did my mediation training, DRS was located in the Exchange Building.

And here's James and me waiting for the cattle drive.

We also stopped to watch the gunfight. Silly---but fun to watch.

And another destination for the day---Risky's BBQ. Knowing that Memphis focuses on pork, of course, I went for the beef ribs at Risky's---yummy!

After dinner, we wondered around the shops, me trying on cowboy hats and looking for a fabulous sort of Texas something, and finally, we finished the day with some Bluebell ice cream. Now, that's Texas!